Report: Ethnicity and the Gender Pay Gap
New Zealand’s cultural make-up is increasingly diverse. The shares of the population who identify as Māori, Pacific, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African have all grown.
Large ethnic pay gaps exist in New Zealand, with Europeans earning more than any other ethnic group. For women of diverse ethnicities this means gender and ethnicity combine to create larger pay gaps compared with the median hourly earnings of all men. The New Zealand General Social Survey has found that the workplace is also the most commonly reported location for New Zealanders to experience racial discrimination.
The gaps in pay between all men and wāhine Māori (15.0%), and between all men and Pacific women (17.0%) are substantially higher than the overall gender pay gap (8.2%).
The gender pay gap is just one measure of economic wellbeing. Another is unemployment. Unemployment rates for wāhine Māori and Pacific women are nearly double the overall rate for women.
Leadership
Women from all ethnic groups hold positions of leadership across New Zealand society.
Public sector boards and committees (as at December 2023):
- Wāhine Māori held 15.7% of board roles.
- Pacific women held 4.3% of board roles.
- Asian women held 3.8% of board roles.
- Middle Eastern, Latin American or African women held 0.4% of board roles.
Across the public sector (as of 2024):
- 16.7% of public servants identified as Māori.
- 15.9% of public servants identified as Asian.
- 11.0% of public servants identified as Pacific.
- 2.3% of public servants identified as Middle Eastern, Latin American or African.
Across Parliament (as of 2024):
- 17 women Members of Parliament self-identify as Māori (13.8% of all MPs).
- 4 women Members of Parliament self-identify as Pacific (3.3% of all MPs).
- 6 women Members of Parliament self-identify as Asian (4.9% of all MPs).
Employers have an important role in reducing inequality and ensuring that the capability of diverse women is recognised. An organisation that rewards the contribution of diverse women can reap the benefits of the broader experience, networks, and problem-solving approaches that a diverse workplace can bring. This begins by understanding people as individuals, by building trusting teams, by learning to value each other and by taking care to avoid bias.
As part of this tool, we have developed a set of guidance to support employers understand the gender pay gap and take steps to close it.