EEO Commissioner alarmed at widening gender pay gap

Women are not receiving their fair share of rises in pay which is falling even further behind men's, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner said yesterday.

Judy McGregor's comments follow the latest Statistics New Zealand nationwide income survey for the June 2005 quarter, showing women on average are now earning only 82 per cent of what men earn, down from 86 per cent last year.

"It is clear from the latest figures that women are segregated in particular occupations that have not received their share of recent pay rises," Dr McGregor said.

Average hourly earnings had increased significantly in agriculture and fisheries, trades, and plant and machine operators and assemblers, she said.

"These are not areas that women traditionally work in."

Pay needed to rise in women-dominated occupations, such as care-giving.

The survey also showed pay for full-time working men had climbed 6.3 per cent since the June 2004 quarter, compared with just 3.2 per cent for women.

Part-time male workers' pay increased 8 per cent but women's lifted just 2.8 per cent.

The wider gap for part-time work might reflect some women having to accept lower-paid jobs when re-entering the workforce after having children. The Government and industry would both have to work to bridge the gap, she said.

Council of Trade Unions vice-president Helen Kelly said that "the Government has set up a pay equity task force to address the pay gap in the state sector and these latest figures show the need to extend that work to the private sector also".

New Zealand University Students Association women's rights officer Karen Price said female students would be concerned about the report's findings.

- NZPA