Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mixed views on freshwater rules, pay equity settlement for teacher aides, and concerns raised about new internet filtering proposal. The final form of a major package of freshwater reforms was announced yesterday, and it was notable how little anger came from certain quarters. Throughout this process, … Read more
With many workers being asked to take voluntary pay cuts to help struggling businesses stay afloat during the Covid-19 crisis, it begs the question: why are so many of us compelled to accept? Towards the end of March, Ben* was asked by his employer of almost 20 years to take a 15% pay cut. Working … Read more
Today, on International Day of the Midwife (May 5), midwives share what it’s like working through a pandemic. As you read this new lives will be delivered into the world. Not just new babies, but new parents too. For those women birthing, this might be the most powerful and strong, scared and overwhelmed, vulnerable and … Read more
Tomorrow, early childhood educators and support staff around New Zealand will be wearing black and white. Teacher Mel Burgess explains why. There are plenty of ways to mark International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March. You can take some time out to honour women who have blazed trails in the past or look to those … 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
Controversial American academic and writer Christina Hoff Sommers is coming to New Zealand in 2019 for #FEMINIST, a talk with Roxane Gay about 21st century feminism. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to her about what it means to be a self-styled ‘equity feminist’. With the self designed nickname “factual feminist”, Christina Hoff Sommers has defined her brand by … Read more
High school teacher Amy Paulussen says that paying part-time teachers less for equivalent work than their full-time counterparts is evidence of how the gender pay gap has sneaked into the state sector. I recently returned to teaching. I’m not going to lie, with all the teacher-shortage and work-load-untenable news stories, I was daunted. And I’ve … Read more
The Football Ferns are about to get equal pay to the male All Whites when they represent New Zealand. It’s a huge step for the sport, but will it lead to genuine equality across football? Read on in today’s cheat sheet. What’s all this then? For what is believed to be the first time in … 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