NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand’s Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, Dr Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo (pictured) says a pay gap of 21 per cent for Pacific women working in the Public Service is alarming and needs to be addressed urgently.
The Commissioner was commenting on the findings of the State Services Commission’s report, Our People: Public Service Workforce Data 2018.
“The pay gap for Pacific women is alarming at 21 per cent,” Dr Sumeo said.
She said Pacific women continued to receive the lowest increases in pay.
“It is also disturbing that the report makes no mention of a strategy in the Public Service to address this with urgency,” Dr Sumeo said.
“It is simply unacceptable that the Public Service has done little to address this issue since 2008.”
She said this was ultimately about improving the quality of life and opportunities for Pacific women, many of whom were living in hardship or poverty.
Dr Sumeo said the trend in the Public Service ethnic pay gaps indicated that not only were Māori, Pacific and Asian ethnicities the lowest paid, but they were also still underrepresented in the top three tiers of Public Service management.
She said the State Services Commission must work on effective policies.
“I would personally welcome the opportunity to discuss targeted actions to see these appalling gaps close,” Dr Sumeo said.
She said she would also like to see more meaningful data about disabled people in the public sector workforce.
“We cannot know how well the public sector reflects the communities it serves if some people are not counted,” Dr Sumeo said.
Wellington, 8 January 2019
