6. SUE MORONEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Women's Affairs
What actions has she taken to advance the causes of women in New Zealand?
Hon PANSY WONG (Minister of Women’s Affairs) Link to this
The answer to that question would take up the balance of question time, so I will confine myself to the three priorities of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. They are increasing the number of women in leadership through initiatives such as Women on Boards, addressing the gender pay gap, and reducing violence against women, especially sexual violence. These priorities have received overwhelming support from the 52 public meetings that have been held by the ministry throughout the country in recent months.
Given that two out of every three of the newly jobless in New Zealand are women, what action has she taken to get her Government to create jobs in the parts of the economy where women work; or will she continue to sit on her hands because she believes that it is inevitable that women will bear the brunt of the recession, as she said in her press statement dated 25 February 2009?
The National Government has done much to stimulate the economy, especially our Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Tourism. In one of the workshops with women, I was impressed when they talked about the hospitality and tourism industry being an important industry for women. I am glad that the Minister of Tourism is putting in more money and a cycleway project to promote tourism in order to create jobs, especially for women.
Amy AdamsWhat support did the Ministry of Women’s Affairs receive in Budget 2009 to advance the causes of women in New Zealand?
I thank my National colleagues, who support the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. It received $2 million for the next 4 years to tackle the 12 percent pay gap that has existed since 2001 under Labour’s watch. Now the Ministry of Women’s Affairs can embark on four projects to tackle the pay gap. The first one is to tackle the differences in pay between male and female professionals after they have completed tertiary study. The second one is to promote the business case for flexible work arrangements. The third is to develop career paths for women in low-paid jobs, and the fourth is to highlight the barriers that prevent young women from choosing trade occupations. I thank my National colleagues for their support.
Apart from endless research, will she take action to support the call of the 15,808 New Zealanders who signed my petition urging the Government to reinstate pay equity investigations for the female—
Catherine Delahunty
Mr SPEAKERThere is a point of order, and I think I know what the member’s point of order will be. Members could not hear that question. I ask whether that was the point of order.
Will the Minister take action to support the call of the 15,808 New Zealanders who signed my petition urging the Government to reinstate pay equity investigations for the female-dominated occupations of school support staff and social workers at the front line of Child, Youth, and Family?
The National Government listens and responds. I say to those signatories that my diligent and hard-working colleague the Minister of Labour makes sure that resources developed by the Department of Labour’s employment and equity divisions are used, and ensures that the chief executive continues to have response plans that take seriously pay equity between male and female workers. I say “Good on you!” to the Minister of Labour.
Can the Minister confirm that she will not be renewing the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, or will she finally do something constructive and announce its renewal as the country celebrates women’s suffrage day this Saturday?
I understand that only one person raised the subject of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women during the 52 public meetings held in New Zealand. That person was the Labour spokesperson on women’s affairs. In the same 52 meetings, there was overwhelming support for the three priorities set by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. They are about women in leadership, addressing the gender pay gap, and reducing violence against women. I say that National is on the right track with women.
I seek leave to table what is left of a document to update the Minister of Education on the pay and employment equity review in the compulsory schooling sector. Most of it has been blanked out, but I would like to table it.
I seek leave to table a copy of the press release from Pansy Wong dated 25 February that I referred to, where she said it was inevitable that women would bear the brunt of the recession.
I seek leave to table a copy of a speech given today at an event celebrating the signatures gathered on the pay equity petition. The speech was given by Angela McLeod from the Pay Equity Challenge.
I seek leave to table a copy of a speech by Putiputi Tēmara, a school support worker who gathered around 400 signatures on the pay equity petition.