“New Zealand was the first country where women won the right to vote, and now we can be the first country to have pay equity for women,” Green Party leader James Shaw said.
“The Green Party has a plan to ensure that women and their families are treated fairly and paid better.”
We will:
- Introduce pay transparency, by requiring all employers to collect data on what they pay men and women.
- Make public sector chief executives responsible for achieving pay equity for employees of core government departments.
- Amend the equal pay laws, to include agreed principles and place the onus on employers to prove they are paying women fairly.
- Fund an expert body to assist women so all pay equity claims are progressed efficiently.
- Double the funding for the Ministry for Women from $5 million to $10 million, to get a better deal for women.
- Fund social marketing and education aimed at eliminating bias in employment.
- Ensure the Minister for Women sits in Cabinet, and ensure gender balance amongst Green Party ministers.
“Getting a better deal for women is a priority for the Green Party in government,” Mr Shaw said
“The Green Party is committed to overhauling our pay equity laws, and we will place the onus on employers to ensure that the right to equal pay for women is being upheld.
“The fight for equal pay in Aotearoa New Zealand can be traced back to the suffragettes in the 1890s – they knew that a fairer society meant increasing pay for women.
“At the moment, most women only find out by accident, if at all, if they’re being paid less than a male colleague.
“Introducing gender pay transparency will mean the pay difference is made clear, so that employers can change what they have been doing.
“Doubling funding for the Ministry for Women and ensuring that the Minister for Women sits in Cabinet are important steps to ensure that Government shows leadership on issues for women,” Mr Shaw said.
Latest Women Announcements
Story
Greens welcome launch of People's Select Committee report on Pay Equity
Story
Greens support union action against pay equity changes
Story
Govt takes workplace equity efforts backwards
Story
US abortion decision reinforces need to protect rights in Aotearoa
Story
Prominent women reinforce collective approach to addressing gender-based violence
Story
Green Party celebrates better support for birth injuries
Latest Social Development Announcements
Story
Government clears the way to automate decisions about people's survival
Story
National’s public housing reform ‘cuts costs’ at the expense of our most vulnerable
Story
Government legalises debts for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in state care
Story
Another blow to young people as unemployment reaches near nine-year high
Story
Govt for the rich failing unemployed New Zealanders
Story