Equal pay
18/02/10 13:05 Filed in: Speeches
Rally of the NZ Federation of Business and Professional Women for Equal Pay
Jim Anderton with other Opposition MPs and rally organisers at the rally at Parliament on Thursday, 18 February 2010.
The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women should be proud of itself today.
You continue to keep equal pay for women in the spotlight year after year, and one day I am sure your efforts will be rewarded.
The world is changing all the time.
I see that in 1988, you marked Equal Pay Day with a Red Purse.
Now you’ve progressed to a Red Bag, which is bigger than a purse.
I’d like to think that symbolically, this marks the fact that some progress has been made in closing the pay gap between men and women.
Or perhaps it just means we have a lot more data on inequality and now we need a bag to carry it all around.
But I know that there is more to be done.
I have just done a quick check on Public Service chief executive salaries. The facts bear out that you have a good reason to be here today.
While there are 29 chief executives that are men, there is only six that are women. The male CEOs get an average salary package of between $454,166 to $463,332 – while women CEOs are paid almost to the dollar, $100,000 lower per year.
Equal pay - equity and equality in the workplace - is unfortunately still an issue. So too are conditions and attitudes to women in the workplace.
Paid parental leave has helped. But we can do a lot more to make sure that women don’t get the short straw when it comes to pay.
The Obama administration should be applauded for introducing ground-breaking equal pay legislation in the first few days of taking power.
We have to look at why women end up in lower paid situations, and look at changing not just the pay they get, but also the conditions and the flexibility in the work place.
The recommendations of the Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce should be implemented.
But what did the new Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson do as soon as National came to power?
She closed the Pay and Employment Equity Unit because, she said “it had completed its work”.
Clearly pay equity is not a priority for this government.
Eliminating the 12% gender pay gap has been put on the back burner.
But you have proved you’re in for the long haul, and we will keep fighting alongside you for equal pay.
Good wishes for the battle.
Jim Anderton with other Opposition MPs and rally organisers at the rally at Parliament on Thursday, 18 February 2010.
The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women should be proud of itself today.
You continue to keep equal pay for women in the spotlight year after year, and one day I am sure your efforts will be rewarded.
The world is changing all the time.
I see that in 1988, you marked Equal Pay Day with a Red Purse.
Now you’ve progressed to a Red Bag, which is bigger than a purse.
I’d like to think that symbolically, this marks the fact that some progress has been made in closing the pay gap between men and women.
Or perhaps it just means we have a lot more data on inequality and now we need a bag to carry it all around.
- I’m proud that in government we introduced paid parental leave, and four weeks paid annual leave,
- Raised the minimum wage by over 70% or $200 per week, and
- Introduced subsidies for pre-school care so that mothers could re-enter the work force.
But I know that there is more to be done.
I have just done a quick check on Public Service chief executive salaries. The facts bear out that you have a good reason to be here today.
While there are 29 chief executives that are men, there is only six that are women. The male CEOs get an average salary package of between $454,166 to $463,332 – while women CEOs are paid almost to the dollar, $100,000 lower per year.
Equal pay - equity and equality in the workplace - is unfortunately still an issue. So too are conditions and attitudes to women in the workplace.
Paid parental leave has helped. But we can do a lot more to make sure that women don’t get the short straw when it comes to pay.
The Obama administration should be applauded for introducing ground-breaking equal pay legislation in the first few days of taking power.
We have to look at why women end up in lower paid situations, and look at changing not just the pay they get, but also the conditions and the flexibility in the work place.
The recommendations of the Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce should be implemented.
But what did the new Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson do as soon as National came to power?
She closed the Pay and Employment Equity Unit because, she said “it had completed its work”.
Clearly pay equity is not a priority for this government.
Eliminating the 12% gender pay gap has been put on the back burner.
But you have proved you’re in for the long haul, and we will keep fighting alongside you for equal pay.
Good wishes for the battle.