The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) uses an alternative measure to the gender pay gap called the gender wage gap to compare the difference in men’s and women’s wages across its member countries.

The gender wage gap only measures the difference between the median hourly wages of men and women who work full-time, whereas the gender pay gap includes part-time workers.

Using the gender wage gap as a measure, New Zealand has one of the lowest pay gaps in the OECD. In 2023, New Zealand’s gender wage gap was 4.2%.

Some economists have theorised that our gender wage gap is so low because New Zealand has a minimum wage. This raises the wages of women in lower-paying jobs.

Three in ten New Zealand women work part time. When part-time workers are included in pay gap measures, we start to see the pay penalties faced by these women, many of whom are mothers. We call the drop in pay for women after having children the “Motherhood Penalty”.

Visit the OECD’s website to compare New Zealand’s gender wage gap with other countries, or to see the changes which have happened over time.