Pay Gaps 101
What are pay gaps?
Pay gaps are differences in pay between groups of workers. Pay gaps based on performance are justified. Pay differences based on gender or ethnicity aren’t justified, and that’s what STILLMindingTheGap is focused on.
Who is affected by pay gaps in New Zealand?
Many groups of workers in New Zealand face significant unjustified pay gaps in their pay packets. There are gaps between men and women (gender pay gap), for Māori employees, for Pacific employees, for other ethnic groups (ethnic pay gaps), for employees with disabilities and people who are gender diverse.
What is the gender pay gap in New Zealand?
The gender pay gap was 5.2 percent for all women in the June 2025 quarter, according to Stats NZ. That figure is down from 8.2 percent in the June 2024 quarter.
The 5.2 percent gender pay gap only covers people in paid jobs – not the self-employed, and not people out of work. With unemployment rising over the past year pay gap figures could be influenced by other factors, such as job losses, especially among lower-paid women.
In recent years, our gender pay gap has barely shifted, usually stubbornly sitting around 8-9 percent and is much higher for some ethnic groups and for women in professional and managerial roles.
What is the ethnic pay gap?
When you combine gender and ethnic pay gaps, it is much worse than the general gender pay gap.
The most disturbing gaps are for Pacific women at almost 16 percent and wāhine Māori at about 12 percent and Asian women 10.2 percent (June 2025). (Source: Ministry for Women)
What causes gender and ethnic pay gaps?
New Zealand research shows only about 20 percent of the gender pay gap in New Zealand can be explained by differences between men and women in education, occupation choice, age, type of work and family responsibilities.
What’s driving around 80 percent of gender and ethnic pay gaps is decisions made within organisations about pay and promotions - that is, unconscious or conscious bias.
Pay differences based on performance are justified. Pay differences based on gender or ethnicity aren’t justified, and that is what STILLMindingTheGap.nz is focusing on.
Why should we address pay gaps?
Because it is fair, and it is good for the economy.
Addressing pay gaps will go some way to promoting a fair, equitable New Zealand. Women’s wages are critical to the wellbeing of children, families and whanau and it will also boost economic prosperity.
What will help reduce gender and ethnic pay gaps?
STILLMindingTheGap.nz is campaigning for the Government to introduce mandatory gender and ethnic pay gap reporting for businesses as an important step to help close unjustified pay gaps.
It is a simple, low-cost, high-impact solution that we know works from international experience. When businesses are required to report their pay gaps publicly, it drives meaningful action and can reduce gender pay gaps by 20-40 percent. Does Pay Gap Reporting Work
Definitions
What is equal pay?
Equal pay is the same pay for the same job (no differential based on gender)
What is pay parity?
Pay parity is the same pay for the same job, across different employers/workplaces
What is pay equity?
Pay equity is the same pay for different work of equal value.
What is the gender pay gap?
The gender pay gap is between the median or average earnings of women compared with men.
What is employment equity?
Employment equity is pay, conditions, experiences in the workplace and access to jobs at al levels not being affected by an employee’s ethnicity or gender.