Covid-19 is still having a disproportionate impact on employment across the genders. Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara explains the trends, consequences and what could it mean for the gender pay gap. The latest labour market statistics for the September quarter came with few obvious surprises. The unemployment rate increased to a lower-than-expected 5.3%, and the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch stadium funding in the spotlight, more trouble for NZ First, and medical students caught in rort. Construction hasn’t even come close to starting on the new Christchurch stadium and the money is looking shaky. Stuff’s Michael Hayward reports a business case is currently in the works, … Read more
Art activist group the Guerrilla Girls has been calling out gender bias in the American art world since 1985. Their survey show, Reinventing the “F” Word, is in its final weeks at Auckland Art Gallery. But what’s the picture on gender representation closer to home? How equal are the opportunities for male and female artists … Read more
Quotas of women at the top are creating a backlash; an ‘opt-out’ system of considering all suitably qualified females for promotion is a better way forward, argues an expert. For years women have been told that to break through the glass ceiling they need to be proactive, find mentors, deconstruct the barriers they create for … Read more
Oppose the gender pay gap? You should be appalled by the wage exemption for disabled workers too, argues Michael Pulman. Disabled people, and others in marginalised communities, have long been exploited for cheap, even free labour. According to a NZ Herald report, a woman who is blind is being paid a grand total of $2.30 … Read more
I love my job, writes midwife Lucy Kelly. But love can’t make up for a wage I can barely survive on. On Wednesday the 19th of September we celebrated 125 years of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa. I found it hard to celebrate. It feels like we’re riding on the wake of a landmark success of … Read more
While a tiny group of Kiwis waits to find out how many millions they’re worth, a massive group waits to find out how much they’ll be underpaid, writes Sam Huggard, secretary of the Council of Trade Unions Today is the day the National Business Review’s Rich List is announced. By coincidence it’s also the day … Read more
New research shows women ask for rises as much as men, but just don’t get them, and it’s an indictment of all that ‘bootstrap’ bluster about equality, writes Madeleine Holden In an interesting development for anyone with skin in the game, new research shows that female employees ask for raises as often as their male … Read more
New research reveals the penalty women pay after becoming mothers, and it should spur us to take action to change, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw “Having children is just selfish.” It’s a common line. People have said it to my face happily enough (not to my husband’s though, oddly enough). There is an element of truth to … Read more
The effects of the gender pay gap don’t only last throughout a woman’s working life – they carry on into her retirement. But there are ways to soften the blow to your KiwiSaver, writes Merewyn Groom. If my recent article Super screwed: How the pay gap wrecks women’s retirements was all a bit depressing, for … Read more
Turns out, we’re still TWO HUNDRED YEARS from fully closing the economic gender gap. So we asked some of our Spinoff colleagues to cast their minds into the future. Each year The World Economic Forum produces a gender gap report which measures gender equality. The report looks at gender gaps across four thematic dimensions: Economic Participation … Read more
The causes of the gender pay gap can be subtle, but their effects can be dramatic and long-lasting – to retirement and beyond. The gender pay gap in New Zealand is often discussed in terms of hourly wages or represented by the idea that women effectively work for free from 14 November until the New … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Vodafone Xone. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Genevieve O’Halloran, a lawyer and mother who knows … Read more
We hear a lot about the gender gap in wages, but what about other kinds of demographic disparities? Taking the median yearly wage of a Pacific Island woman as a baseline, Chris McDowall plots out a year in New Zealand salaries. On November 14, Hilary Barry tweeted, “Dear Women of NZ, I’ve got some bad … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, Simon talks to Miranda Burdon of the 1 Day for … Read more
Researchers at Motu Institute have found that women who bring exactly the same value to a private firm as the men who work there are paid on average 16% less. Jess Berentson-Shaw considers what that means – and how the stubborn pay gap can be fixed. Whenever the gender pay gap is discussed in the … Read more
The announcement that the female-dominated aged care work force would have its pay equalised with similar male-dominated industries seemed like a huge cause for celebration. But now, says Home and Community Health’s Julie Haggie, it’s clear the government will be underfunding the deal while still requiring employers to pay. And the effect on an already … Read more
Yesterday’s news of a major settlement for aged care workers is a big win in the fight for pay equity in New Zealand. Now it’s time to close the loopholes that could prevent women with children benefitting from the deal, says Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. In announcing that the female-dominated aged care and caring work force … Read more
Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court assemble in front of a live audience for this International Women’s Day podcast special. ‘Twas a drizzly International Women’s Day when we recorded this live podcast at the Generator, hoping to dissect the previous month in women-hood in New Zealand whilst not throwing up in front of an … Read more