Government action on pay transparency announced today is being hailed a “significant step in closing the pay gap for Kiwi women”.

Around 900 entities with more than 250 employees will be required to publicly report their gender pay gap, and later those with over 100 workers, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti and Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan have announced. 

“The reality is that women have different experiences in the workplace than men, and change is needed. Requiring companies to publish their gender pay gap will encourage them to address the drivers of those gaps and increase transparency for workers,” says Minister for Women Jan Tinetti.

“Countries we compare ourselves to including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already successfully introduced gender pay gap reporting. We need to ensure we’re staying in line with international standards to attract highly skilled women to New Zealand and do what’s right as an inclusive and forward-thinking country.”

“Today marks an important step to address inequity in the workplace. Initially, around 900 entities will be required to report their pay gap, and then after four years, this will increase to almost 2,700. Action plans will be voluntary at the start, and we will review this after three years to determine whether it needs to be made mandatory,” says Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan. 

“We know that many businesses are leading the charge and are already reporting their gender pay gap. Around 200 companies including Spark, Air New Zealand, My Food Bag, and Sharesies are already or committed to voluntarily reporting their gender pay gap. We’ll be engaging with them to learn from their experience and establish a universal model for reporting so there is consistency and guidance for employers and workers.”

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions welcomes today’s announcement on progressing pay transparency in New Zealand.

This morning, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti and Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan, announced that pay gap reporting would be made mandatory for businesses with more than 250 staff. After four years, this would include businesses with over 100 staff.

NZCTU National Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges says the announcement was a great start to improving the culture of pay transparency.

“We know that a culture of greater transparency will empower working people to continue to improve their pay."

Ansell-Bridges also encourages the Government to ensure that ethnic pay gaps would be included as well.

“Research shows us that income inequity is compounded further for ethnic minorities. All marginalised workers need action on pay transparency.

“We think every worker should have access to greater pay transparency and hope to see the range of businesses included increase in the future. We would also like to see prohibitions on pay confidentiality clauses and requirements to advertise pay ranges in job ads."