The anniversary of the Equal Pay Act is a reminder that we still have work to do to achieve equality for women across this country, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg said.

“Today marks the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act that was introduced in 1972. Over the past few decades, pay equity in New Zealand has improved, but women are still paid on average 8.2 per cent less than men," Grigg said.

“While we have made significant progress, there is still work to do and we must continue to keep the pressure on this issue. My ambitions for the future are that there would be no pay gap in the public and private sector, and that is what we should all work towards."

Grigg says recent data shows that, at 6.1 per cent, the public service gender pay gap is the lowest it has ever been, and has halved since 2018.

"Across New Zealand the pay gap is trending downwards but while this is a wonderful achievement, we cannot be complacent," Grigg said.

“It requires continuous efforts across the public and private sector to ensure that we can continue to see results. This can be achieved by supporting women into leadership, lifting incomes, and providing businesses with the tools to calculate, understand and address their gender pay gaps.

“In June our Government announced that we are developing a pay gap calculation tool in partnership with business so that there is a consistent method for businesses to calculate their pay gaps and take steps to address them."

Grigg said groups like the Global Women and Champions for Change are proving the benefits of promoting women in leadership and addressing pay gaps, including better financial performance and decision making.

"This work continues to be supported by the Ministry for Women," Grigg said.

“I am excited to say that we will have an announcement on the pay gap calculation tool in the coming weeks.

“We know that gender pay gaps are complex, nuanced - and stubborn - which is why bringing sunlight to the issue is essential to creating meaningful and sustainable change.

"As calculating pay gaps will not fix the issue in silo, our Government is also focused on growing the economy and providing women more choice and freedom in their careers through schemes like FamilyBoost and raising parental leave by 6 per cent."

Grigg said women deserve to be paid fairly and to be supported to succeed.

"And we are doing everything we can to ensure this happens."