95bFM Calls for mandatory reporting to address Pacific pay gap in Aotearoa
21 July, 2022
By Emilia Sullivan
MindTheGap, the organisation behind Aotearoa's first Pay Gap Registry, is calling for employers to be required to make their Pacific, Māori, and gender pay gaps public. Photo: Unsplash.
A new pacific pay gap inquiry has shown a significant income disparity between Pasifika and non-Pasifika in New Zealand, and most of it can't be explained even after accounting for factors like differences in occupation and educational achievement.
The research, conducted by AUT and published by the Human Rights Commission, was the first time the Pacific pay gap had been looked at closely, and the findings were dismal.
For every dollar a Pākehā man earns, a Pākehā woman earns 89c; a Pasifika man 81c; and a Pasifika woman earns 75c, according to non-profit organisation MindtheGap.
The pacific pay gap inquiry found that for 73 percent of Pasifika men and 61 percent of Pasifika women, the pay gap is at least partly due to racism or unconscious bias by employers.
MindTheGap, the organisation behind Aotearoa's first Pay Gap Registry, is calling for employers to be required to make their Pacific, Māori, and gender pay gaps public.
Founder Jo Cribb told 95bFM's The Wire that when organisations are required to publish their pay gaps, they often drop very quickly.
"Employers used to be able to write off this pay gap because of factors like education, and for Pasifika women childcare responsibilities. But they are not the main reason there is a pay gap in New Zealand. It is the behaviour of employers. We need to do something in our workplaces to ensure all workers are paid fairly."
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