Media Release BPW NZ

For immediate release

Fantastic, the debate on pay-gaps proceeds

BPW NZ (The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women) applaud the raging debate about the gender pay-gap.

“ It is amazing and gratifying to see the number of well researched articles that have appeared over the last few weeks regarding this issue,” says Carolyn Savage, President.

“The authors of these articles are mainly women. No surprise there!”

BPW NZ has campaigned for equal pay for work of equal value since 1946.

It is a problem when Prime Minister John Key states the differences in his office between gender pay rates are because different people do different jobs.

BPW NZ is part of the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition and supports whole heartedly the proposed bill launched by the EEO Commissioner Judy McGregor, and also Catherine Delahunty’s member’s bill which would give employees the right to ask for information on what colleagues are paid for the same job in their workplace.

“Neither bill suggests the information be made public,” says Carolyn. ”We just need transparency so that women know the goal posts for negotiation and so that when a person is given a raise that is more than another, it is clear that it is performance based.”

“The happy feet we want to hear is that of women walking in to their workplace in the knowledge they are valued in their pay packet. We have come a long way since Kate Sheppards day, unfortunately there is still a long way to go.”

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