The Long Campaign for Pay Equity: The Case of New Zealand

Judith K. PringleSchool of Business

Auckland University of Technologyjudith.pringle@aut.ac.nz

http://www.aut.ac.nz/nzwalmi/gd

Why an interest in pay equity?

It provides two lessons (at least)

1.A material example on how the principle of equality of difference can be implemented

2. An example of the ebb and flow of campaigns for justice longitudinally through supportive and hostile political environments.

Herstorical notes on pay equity

1897 - first call for equal pay from National Council of Women 1960 Government Equal Pay Act Eliminated sex separated pay scales in public service

National Council on Employment of Women (NACEW) est.Active lobby group

1972 Equal Pay Act aimed to introduce equal pay for the same jobs over 5 years.

“It cannot be denied that progress has come with women

[and others] adapting to the system. There is still no fundamental recognition that

equality means equality of difference, not equality for women to be like men. This will be the next major challenge.

Can the experience of women be incorporated in such a way that they have real choices

which extend beyond survival within a system still controlled by male experience?”

(Margaret Wilson, 2008)

Push for Pay Equity 1983 NZ ratified 2 conventions1984 Labour Government1985 Ministry of Women’s Affairs established1986 Coalition for Equal Value Equal Pay (CEVEP)

EEO Unit established1988 State Sector Act- EEO plans and reporting1990 Employment Equity Act- 10 claims lodged

1990 Conservative Government1991 Employment Contracts Act- individualism1992 EEO Trust established1994 EEO Reports (Wilson et al.)

1999-2008: The Decade of Women

Riding the wave of change

Push for Pay Equity (continued) 1999 Labour Government; woman Prime Minister

Campaign activists step to centre stage

2001 Human Rights Commissioner- Equal Opportunity2002 Ministry of Women’s Affairs report of EEO2003 Tripartite PaEE Taskforce established2004 Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce report2005 Five year Plan of Action

Pay and Employment Equity (PaEE) Unit est.Much research- review health, education sectorsResources and tools developede.g. Equitable Job Evaluation system

2008 New EEO policy for Public Service (April)Equality and Diversity, integrate equality & diversity into strategic planning, operations and performance;

Gender ratios, 1974-2008

Source: Hill (2009) using Statistics NZ, Quarterly Employment Survey, and Incomes Survey

Pay gap data, by gender and ethnicity, June 2008

Average hourly earnings from wages & salaries by gender and ethnicity

All women All men Percent All Mäori All Pakeha Percent

$20.52 $24.10 85.15% $18.96 $23.49 80.72%

Women Men Average

Pakeha $21.26 $25.67 $23.46

Mäori $18.04 $19.42 $18.73

Pacific $17.21 $17.82 $17.51

As a percentage of Pakeha men’s, all men’s and Pakeha women’s earnings

Pakeha men All men Mäori men Pacific men Pakeha women

Pakeha women 82.8% 88.2%

Mäori women 70.3% 74.9% 92.9% 84.9%

Pacific women* 67.0% 71.4% 96.6% 81.0%

Source: Hill (2009) using Statistics NZ Income Survey, June 2008

Beyond numbers to qualitative case studies

• Pay equity research seeks big levers the Govt can pull to make rapid differences

• Case studies to understand- micro-politics of inequality regimes• Pay gap between women and men in the education sector

• Why are women not going through to senior positions in the education sector?

• What can help encourage women to apply?• Are women appointed when they do apply?• What helps?

• and What about Govt. regulation?

Jones, J. & Torrie, R. (2009) Entering the twilight zone: The local complexities of pay and employment equity in New Zealand. Gender, Work and Organization, 559- 578.

2008 Election: The Boys are Back

Wipe-Out

Government Push for Pay Equity - dis-continued

2008 Change to conservative government (Nov.)

New priorities for Ministry Women’s AffairsViolence against women; Pay gap (not pay equity);Women in leadership (Corporate Boards);

2009 PaEE Unit dis-established (Dept of Labour)Protest action from women

(June, 2009)

National Government decides to axe two pay equity investigations, and the Pay Equity Unit

“achieving the goal of closing the pay gap can’t be realised by having a singular focus

on the state sector. This issue is the responsibility

of all employers and good employers will work to tackle it”

(Wilkinson, 2009)

Preparing for the next wave of change

Pay Equity Campaign - 2009

Recent movements in the pay equity struggleThe change to National party has shifted attention of groups/ especially women to mind set that is more 1970s and 80s in mood.

Goals of the Pay Equity Challenge were to:  ·       Achieve equal value and recognition of women’s work;·       Continue to make the objective of P&EE visible;·       Keep pressure on the government on P&EE ;·       Organise public activities, events to draw attention to Pⅇ·       Educate public about P&EE AND equal pay for work of equal value;·       Support groups of workers fighting for Pⅇ·       Create pressure on employers to deliver Pⅇ·       Investigate industrial, social, legal and political solutions

on Pⅇ·       Grow support for the P&EE Challenge Coalition.

High Pay EquiTea at AlbertonPlease join us at Alberton House, Kerr‐Taylor St, Mt Albert from 2‐4pm on Sunday the 11th of October.

We will hear from Hon Professor Margaret Wilson,DCNZM about the crucial importance of Pay Equity andwhy we are talking about women’s issues...again!

Scrumptious High Tea and access to Alberton house and gardens is included in the charge of $30 waged and $20 unwaged.

Mrs Kerr‐Taylor was a leading Auckland suffragist, so her former house is afitting setting for a rally for Pay Equity and a renewal of activism on issuesaffecting women. Any proceeds will go to support present and futureLabour women candidates for Parliament and local government

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Protest on the steps of Parliament, 2009

Suffrage celebrations

cake with 12% missing

(Sept-Oct, 2009)

Lessons Learned Business case of equality and pay equity- collapses in tough economic and recessionary times.

“Women [and men] who work for change through political and legal institutions must be skilled

opportunists and have an intimate knowledge of these institutions of power” (Wilson, 1993)

The power of concerted campaigns to obtain equality of differences

Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou- Struggle Without End

From this PM to

Initiatives advancing Pay Equity

2003: Tripartite Pay & Employment Equity Taskforce set up Publishes report on Pay Equity and Employment (PaEE)

proposes a 5-year plan of action

2005-: PaEE review process, development of: - 2007 Equitable Job Evaluation System NZ Gender Inclusive Job Evaluation Standard

Review process into public service, health, education sectors

2008: New EEO policy for Public Service, Equality and Diversity, integrate equality & diversity into strategic planning, operations and performance;

Assessment of pay equity (cont’d)

• typically, women and men are not employed in the same job:

– 20% of all male employees in the 10 most common job categories for men: sales assistant, general manager, truck driver, builder/contractor, crop/livestock farmer/worker, labourer, dairy farmer/worker, retail manager, and slaughterer

– 30% of all women employees in the 10 most common occs for women: sales assistant, general clerk, secretary, registered nurse, primary teacher, cleaner, caregiver, information clerk/receptionist, accounts clerk, and retail manager.

– 30% of Māori women employees were in nine occs, and 1/3 of Pacific women employees were in 11 common occupations (Census 2001)

• human rights & employment laws prohibit discrimination in employment, but there is no requirement for employers to ensure equitable pay systems. UN CEDAW Committee in 1999 raised this issue in commenting on NZ’s progress on the status of women (NZCTU 2008)

• National’s decision to axe two pay equity investigations(Parker, 2009)