Tuesday 9 December 2014

In New Zealand, 8% Pay Gap Prevails Between Men and Women in Public Sector: Report


Dec. 9, 2014 (TMR Blog)-Even as the number of women helming affairs in the public sector has shot up considerably, they are still reportedly underpaid by 8% as compared to their male counterparts. This gap, according to Human Resource Capability report published by the State Services Commission of New Zealand, has not changed in at least the last five years. The report, which is published annually, says that the gap that prevails in the pay packages of men and women holding key leadership positions in the public sector has held steady since 2010. A year later, in 2011, this gap became wider, reaching 11%, but has now returned to its previous levels of 8% for those in senior roles.

According to the report, the pay gap between men and women was worse among those working at lower levels in the public sector – women’s pay packages were 14% less than their male colleagues. The report further states that this gap was visible across the entire public sector. Men were reported to be earning an average of $76,784, which translates into about $11,000 more than what women earn. Andrew Little, leader of the Labour party, said this gap indicated a “failure of leadership” across the public services.

Figures show that women constitute nearly 60% of the entire public service workforce, which is about 42% of the total workforce. The report also showed that the Department of Prime Minister and the Cabinet was the worst in terms of women helming affairs, with just 15% females at occupying the top offices despite constituting 50% of the total staff of this department.

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