Pay Gap Registry launches with 47 large employers on board

A world-first Pay Gap Registry has been launched in New Zealand on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2022), showing 47 large employers reporting their gender pay gaps.

The voluntary registry, which went live at mindthegap.nz, also shows seven of those employers reporting their pay gaps in Māori and Pasifika.

The businesses include publicly listed companies across the banking, insurance, electricity, infrastructure and professional services sectors. Most are reporting this information publicly for the first time and they join the likes of Westpac and SkyCity, who have led the way on reporting in Aotearoa.

The registry shows the company’s name, board chair, CEO, whether they are reporting their pay gaps, as well as a link to the organisation’s reports.

“I want to congratulate each organisation for signing on to report their pay gaps and choosing to do what is right. These businesses should be celebrated and supported by investors, their staff and consumers alike,” MindTheGap spokesperson Dellwyn Stuart said.

The MindTheGap alliance, which is backed by the Clare Foundation, is campaigning for pay equality for Māori, Pacific peoples and other ethnicities, for gender and disability communities. The registry aims to normalise reporting so everyone is paid fairly for their work.

Stuart said the launch is an important milestone in eliminating discriminatory pay gaps and that measurement and transparency is becoming common practice in New Zealand.

“Committing to transparency is the first step. These leaders have collectively sent a clear signal that pay gap reporting is now part of modern business practice and something all employers – state, not for profit and commercial – need to embrace.”

Stuart said pay gap reporting is an easy, low-cost, tangible way for companies to make a significant difference to people’s aspirations and livelihoods.

The campaign follows international evidence that shows when businesses know and report their pay gaps, they are more likely to work towards closing them. Since reporting became a requirement in the public sector, gender pay gaps decreased from 12.2% to 8.6%.

Stuart said pay discrimination impacts on the nation’s well-being: the aspirations of Māori and Pasifika, marginalisation of other ethnic groups and child poverty.

“The pandemic has and will continue to drive inequalities and feelings of unfairness. New Zealand is slipping behind international peers and on our international agreements on discrimination.

“We have the opportunity to catch up and implement what has been successful elsewhere in the world. And by incorporating our indigenous people and ethnicities in new Pay Gap Reporting law, New Zealand can be a world leader,” Stuart said.

Lagging behind

MindTheGap is also calling on the Government to recognise the momentum in reporting and facilitate standardised measures and expectations on reporting for all employers.

“Progress on pay gap elimination has stalled,” Stuart said. “We are more than a decade behind other modern economies in taking action. Now is the time for the Government to work with employers to ensure all employees have the benefit of transparency.

“The Government is on record that it will address pay gaps and now is the time to stay true to that promise. We would like to see an announcement on pay gap reporting before the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act in October.”

Anna Stuck, founder and Chair of the Clare Foundation, said the response so far is an excellent base for inspiring other businesses to join the registry.

“We truly applaud the businesses already doing their bit by being part of the registry,” said Stuck. “There’s still a long way to go to see the transparency that New Zealanders deserve, especially in the gender space, so we hope the pioneering position of the ‘first 50’ will motivate other businesses to step up and participate.”

Businesses can register at mindthegap.nz. The registry will be updated monthly.