Govt doing nothing to reduce gender pay gap
Minister of Women’s Affairs Pansy Wong effectively conceded today that her Government has taken no new steps in the last year to reduce the pay gap between men and women, despite telling Parliament in June 2009 that she would “leave no stone unturned” to try to close the gap, the Green Party said.
The Minister also claimed that the gender pay gap had reduced from 12 to 11 percent under her Government. The latest Quarterly Employment Survey shows that the gap in average hourly earnings is 12.35 percent. When the Government took office in November 2008 it was 12.19 percent.
“This Government has done nothing to close the average pay gap between men and women. It axed the Pay and Employment Equity Unit in the Department of Labour and hasn’t introduced a single new policy or initiative to advance pay equity,” Green Party Women’s Affairs Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said.
“The Minister’s claims in the House today were frankly outrageous. She claimed that the gap has decreased, which is not true according to employment figures from Statistics New Zealand. If she has figures from another source that suggest otherwise I invite her to make them public.
“She claimed that flexible work policies introduced by the Green Party – which National voted against – were evidence that her Government was doing something about the gender pay gap.
“And apparently ‘showing leadership’ and partnering with the Institute of Chartered Accountants on some research is her Government’s idea of ‘leaving no stone unturned.’
“The Minister’s attitude to the gender pay gap is disrespectful to the thousands of women who are underpaid and struggling to make ends meet.
“Her flippant and, at times, bizarre answers to my questions today demonstrate that this Government doesn’t care that women earn 12 percent less than men in this country,” Ms Delahunty said.
Ms Delahunty joined members of the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition, Labour MPs, and union representatives at lunchtime today in an action on Parliament’s forecourt turning over stones showing actions the Government should be taking to close the gender pay gap, such as reviewing existing legislation, implementing the recommendations from the axed pay and employment equity investigations, and increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
References:
Video of Ms Delahunty’s question to the Minister of Women’s Affairs today: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/3758