Pay equity and equal pay

Pay equity is the same pay for different work which has the same or similar level of skill, responsibility, and effort. Equal pay is the same pay for the same work, regardless of gender.

In certain occupations where the work is, or was, predominantly performed by women, wages have often been kept lower than occupations where the work has been performed predominantly by men.

Aotearoa New Zealand has a proud history of advancing equal rights. Since the early 20th century, women in New Zealand and around the world have fought for equal pay in the workforce.

The Government Service Equal Pay Act 1960 introduced equal pay legislation in the public service ensuring women in the public sector were to be paid the same as men for doing the same work under the same conditions.

This was followed by the Equal Pay Act 1972 which extended equal pay to the private sector. The 1972 Act outlawed discrimination in wage rates between men and women performing the same job.

Find out more about the history of journey towards pay equity in Aotearoa through an e-learning module.  

The Equal Pay Act was amended in 2020 to replace the court-based approach to pay equity claims with an accessible process based on the existing bargaining framework in the Employment Relations Act 2000.

The Court of Appeal found that the Equal Pay Act required equal pay for men and women doing the same work and equal pay for men and women doing different work deemed to be of the same value.

Following this decision, forums involving government, business, and unions on pay equity identified that legislative reform to allow for pay equity claims to be jointly resolved outside of court was required. This legislative change makes it easier to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts, and will assist employers in addressing those claims.

Pay equity claims

Pay equity claims can be a powerful vehicle for closing gender, Māori, Pacific and ethnic pay gaps, particularly for vulnerable workforces.

Pay equity claims are raised in sectors where work is or has been predominantly performed by women and is currently or has been undervalued due to social, cultural, or historical factors.

Unions can represent and lead employees through the pay equity claims process. Pay equity claims can be a long and complex process.

If the claim has been deemed arguable, a thorough assessment of the skills, responsibilities, conditions of work, and degrees of effort of the work done by the claimant must be undertaken. The work and remuneration of comparative industries also needs to be examined.

If undervaluation is found, parties to the claim must agree on how to correct the differences. This can often result in pay rises and corrections, but settled claims can also create opportunities for a workforce to gain access to more training or qualifications, funding grants, and new workforce condition regulations.

Find more information on the Employment New Zealand website.

Addressing pay gaps and equal pay in the public service

The Ministry has worked with the Public Service Commission over the past few years to address pay gaps and equal pay. This has included implementing Kia Toipoto — Public Service Pay Gaps Action Plan 2021 - 2024, the framework for government agencies and Crown entities to publish their annual pay gap data and action plans to address gender and ethnic pay gaps.

Since the implementation of pay gap reporting in the public service, pay gaps have reduced steadily, and the overall public service pay gap is currently 6.1% (as at 30 June 2024). However, pay gaps for wāhine Māori, Pacific women, and women from ethnic communities have remained consistently higher than for European women.