with higher education rates are more likely to be employed than those with no higher education.119 Pacific migrants with greater English proficiency had an employment rate of over 70 percent for most of the decade after residence approval compared to Pacific migrants with poor English proficiency rates with employment retention rates as low as 40 percent.120 There are also differences in employment outcomes depending on which Pacific nation migrants come from. Migrants from Fiji have the highest median income amongst Pacific migrants.121 These examples of how different characteristics impact migrant Pacific workers’ experiences of the Pacific Pay Gap provide further evidence of why it is important to consider the intersectional identities of migrant Pacific workers when analysing the Pacific Pay Gap. 4.2.3 The experience of Pacific disabled people Although there is no data on the pay gap for Pacific disabled people, we do know that there is a pay gap for disabled people across the general population of Aotearoa New Zealand. For the June 2021 quarter, the median weekly income from wages and salaries for disabled people aged 15 years and over was $957 compared to $1,098 for non-disabled people.122 This is a gap of $141 weekly. Statistics from the June 2021 quarter also showed that disabled people have a higher unemployment rate than non-disabled people (9.6 percent compared to 4.0 percent of those aged 15–64 years). Only 42.5 percent of disabled people aged 15–64 years were employed compared to 78.9 percent of the same age group for non-disabled people. Disabled workers were underutilised at twice the rate of non-disabled workers (21.8 percent compared to 10.3 percent).123 22 Given Pacific peoples generally earn less than non-Pacific workers, it is likely that disabled Pacific workers experience a greater wage gap than disabled non-Pacific workers. The Pacific Employment Action Plan recognises this, noting: Supporting Pacific disabled people to enter and navigate the labour market will also uphold our moral duty under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, particularly Article 27 regarding equal rights to work and gain a living.124 4.2.4 The experiences of the Māhū, Vakasalewa, Palopa, Fa’afafine, Akava’ine, Fakaleiti, Fakafifine (MVPFAFF) community Coined by Phylesha Brown-Acton, the collective term MVPFAFF refers to māhū, vakasalewa, palopa, fa’afafine, akava’ine, fakaleiti (leiti), fakafifine – a range of Pacific terms that refer to people who do not identify with Western categories for gender and/or sexuality.125 While we do not have data available on the pay gaps experienced by MVPFAFF communities, international research demonstrates that people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics are subject to a range of indirect and direct discrimination in their employment.126 Data from Counting Ourselves, a report on the health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand, found that the annual median income for trans and non-binary people is $15,001–$20,000 compared to a median income of $35,001–$40,000 for the general population.127 The survey carried out to inform this report found that, of participants who reported that their work colleagues 119 Sin and Ormsby, The Settlement Experience of Pacific Migrants in New Zealand, 21-22. 120 Sin and Ormsby, The Settlement Experience of Pacific Migrants in New Zealand, 21-22. 121 Sin and Ormsby, The Settlement Experience of Pacific Migrants in New Zealand, 21-22. 122 https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/labour-market-statistics-disability-june-2021-quarter#:~:text=Age%20 15%2D64%20years%3A%2021.8,with%20a%20gap%20of%20%24144. 123 https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/labour-market-statistics-disability-june-2021-quarter#:~:text=Age%20 15%2D64%20years%3A%2021.8,with%20a%20gap%20of%20%24144. 124 Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Pacific Employment Action Plan. Wellington: Ministry for Pacific Peoples, 2022, 13. https://www. mpp.govt.nz/assets/Corporate-Publications/Pacific-Employment-Action-Plan-FINAL-approved.pdf 125 Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Pacific Employment Action Plan, 15. 126 Thomas, Constance, and Catherine Weber. Information Paper on Protection Against Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) Discrimination. Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2019. 127 Veale, Jaimie, Jack Byrne, Kyle Tan, Sam Guy, Ashe Yee, Tāwhanga Nopera, and Ryan Bentham. Counting Ourselves: The Health and Wellbeing of Trans and Non-Binary People in Aotearoa New Zealand. Hamilton: Transgender Health Research Lab, University of Waikato, 2019. https://countingourselves.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Counting-Ourselves_FINAL.pdf.