The gender pay gap in the Public Service is the lowest it has ever been, at 8.6 per cent, the Minister for Women, Jan Tinetti has announced today.

'The gender pay gap is the lowest it's ever been which is a great result. This is a direct result of concerted effort this Government has made,” says Tinetti.

'We made a commitment to closing the gender pay gap in 2018 and we've delivered the largest three-year drop since measurement began in 2000.

"We've shown what can be achieved when the Government, the Public Service and unions work together," she says.

This is a 30 per cent decrease since the Public Service Gender Pay Gap Action Plan was launched in 2018, when the gap was 12.2 per cent. By comparison, the national gender pay gap has remained flat in the same period.

The gender pay gap in the Public Service continued to fall in the last year, down from 9.6 per cent in 2020 to 8.6 percent, at 30 June 2021. When measurement began in 2000 the gap was 18.6 per cent.

Māori, Pacific and Asian pay gaps have also dropped. The Māori pay gap has fallen in the last year from 9.3 per cent to 8.3 per cent. The Pacific pay gap has fallen from 19.5 per cent to 17.9 per cent and the Asian pay gap has come down from 12.8 per cent to 11.6 per cent.

'More work is needed. We need to make a bigger difference, for more people, by closing ethnic pay gaps as well.”

Tinetti today launches Kia Toipoto, a three-year Action Plan to tackle gender and ethnic pay gaps and, Te Orowaru, a new pay equity work assessment tool that helps recognise the value of cultural skills in work, including te reo Māori.

These two initiatives will support the Public Service to continue to close the gender pay gap and to accelerate gains for Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities.