NZ scores well in gender gap index

New Zealand’s movement up the latest World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index to fifth is proof the Labour-led Government’s policies are helping to address the gap between men and women.

Minister of Women’s Affairs Steve Chadwick said that New Zealand has improved two places in the Index from last year.

“The Global Gender Gap Index, which was released last week, measures the gap between men and women in four areas: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; political empowerment; and health,” said Steve Chadwick.

“New Zealand’s score of 0.7649 (out of 1) puts us at fifth in the world – behind Sweden (0.8146), Norway (0.8059), Finland (0.8044), and Iceland (0.7836). This is good news indeed.

“It is clear that policies such as paid parental leave, free early childhood education for three- and four-year olds, Working for Families, and pay and employment equity, as well as workplace initiatives that support work-life balance, are contributing to the equality and advancement of women. This, in turn, improves the social, political, and economic outlook for all of New Zealand.

“We should remember, however, that while we are doing better than other countries, we are still only three-quarters of the way there (0.7649 when 1 equals equality). We can do better, especially in areas like sexual violence and other forms of violence where women are overwhelmingly the victims.

“And there is still work to do to close the pay gap – which sits stubbornly at around 12 percent – and in encouraging women into leadership positions, for example, on to private sector boards.”

ENDS

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