Pay gap widening for women, study says

Sue Moroney. Photo / Supplied

Labour blames Govt as international report scores NZ lower for equality Gender equality in New Zealand has gone backwards and the Government needs to step in before it falls further behind, says Labour women's affairs spokeswoman, Sue Moroney.

She was responding to results from the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, in which New Zealand held its fifth-place spot, despite a lower score than last year.

New Zealand was in danger of being overtaken by sixth-placed Ireland in next year's report if nothing was done and the Government was to blame, Ms Moroney said.

"Changes in Government policy and a lack of economic planning are responsible for the reversal in our previous progress," she said.

"National's axing of pay equity audits and their failure to develop the economy are just two examples."

Last week Women's Affairs Minister Pansy Wong praised the latest New Zealand Income Survey results, saying they showed the gender pay gap was closing, down from 11.3 per cent last year to 10.6 per cent.

But Pay and Employment Equity Coalition spokeswoman Angela McLeod said at the time that the apparent drop was a result of a poor economy.

"Incomes are dropping and more households are dependent on women's lower paid work.

"This is not a real closing of the gender pay gap, but an outcome of the recession and higher unemployment," Ms McLeod said.

Ms Moroney said Ms Wong's reaction showed National had no clear understanding of issues facing women.

The report has been published annually since 2005 and ranks countries on how well they are dividing resources and opportunities between their male and female populations.

The three highest-ranked countries this year were Iceland, Norway and Finland.

- NZPA