1. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement about equal pay for women: “The law at the moment actually provides quite clearly that it’s against the law to discriminate on the basis of gender”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes, it is prohibited under the Human Rights Act 1993, the Employment Relations Act 2000, and the Equal Pay Act 1972.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
How can a woman take a successful case under the Equal Pay Act without information about rates of pay by gender in her workplace?
I am not in a position to advise an individual person when they take a case before the courts, but I am sure they are in a position to gather information by looking at other employment in the same area.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
How can the current law be enforced when employers such as the Bank of New Zealand have refused to release salary data to those who are concerned about gender pay discrimination?
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Is it not the case that it is very difficult for a woman to find out whether she is being paid less than a man who does the same job, because there is currently no requirement for employers to disclose that information?
For privacy reasons it is not generally possible for any person, irrelevant of their gender, to find out why somebody earns more or less than they do. There are a number of reasons why there is a gender pay gap in New Zealand, which currently sits at 10.6 percent. I should say that at one level New Zealand is to be congratulated because, at least in terms of the gender pay gap, ours is the third-lowest in the OECD.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Will he consider adopting the Green Party’s Equal Pay Amendment Bill, which requires employers to report on gender pay rates in their workplaces and release aggregated information on gender pay to employees on request; if not, why not?
As the bill has not been drawn from the ballot, we have not yet had an opportunity to consider it as a caucus. But I say to the member that there is probably more chance of Happy Feet having a holiday in Honolulu than there is of her bill ever being drawn, because the Labour Party is filibustering its entire parliamentary time to stop the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill.
Mr SPEAKERCatherine Delahunty Link to this
What is his Government’s plan to reduce the gender pay gap and ensure the Equal Pay Act is enforced, apart from more research?
I am glad the member asked that question. She will be aware that in 2009 the Government put $2 million into the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The ministry is doing a number of things, which include conducting research on what employers can do to encourage more women into trades and what works to encourage more women into trades; setting up women in trades networks in Wellington and Auckland; making the case for flexible work within the accountancy sector; conducting research on career choice in the secondary school years, and how this has changed over time—
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I very specifically asked the Prime Minister what the Government was doing, other than research, on the specific matter of the gender pay gap.
I think the Prime Minister did outline a range of issues. It was not just research that the Prime Minister outlined.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. He outlined a range of issues to do with women in unfamiliar trades, and with research. He did not talk about the gender pay gap, in any shape or form.
The member has a further supplementary question. I cannot judge the quality of an answer. It seemed to me that the Prime Minister did answer the question. The member has a further supplementary question in which to pursue the detail of that answer.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Sorry, I have not finished the answer. There is a lot more that the Government—
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Is his comment that he “hoped people were not being paid differently because of their gender” an example of the political leadership women are looking for on this issue?
No, it reflects the fact that I hope employers follow the law, as prescribed under the Human Rights Act 1993, the Employment Relations Act 2000, and the Equal Pay Act 1972. I go back to the comment I made earlier that although the gender pay gap sits at 10.6 percent, it is the third-lowest in the OECD. There are a number of contributing factors to why that might be the case, but one of them is that the labour market in New Zealand is highly segregated. About half of all men and women work in occupations where at least 70 percent of workers are of the same gender, so a comparison across the entire workplace provides a misleading number from time to time.
Carol BeaumontWhat concerns does the Prime Minister have about the gender pay gap of 27.5 percent in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet at June 2010, as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, Dr Judy McGregor?
We would have to look closely at it. The issue there may be, as it is in a lot of workplaces, that because different people are doing different jobs, it is not an issue of gender; it is an issue of the jobs they perform.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
I seek leave to table a letter from the Bank of New Zealand to the finance sector union, refusing to release salary data, from 19 October 2010.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
I seek leave to introduce my Equal Pay Amendment Bill to the House, given that it is claimed it—