1 Introduction In December 2020, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission launched the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry. The purpose of the Inquiry is to look into the Pacific Pay Gap and working conditions of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand by considering the issues as they concern private sector employers and employees in three sectors: manufacturing, construction and health. The Inquiry is engaging workers, employers and other key informants to identify the factors contributing to the Pacific Pay Gap and the opportunities and barriers to addressing it. To ground the Inquiry, this report reviews the literature relevant to the Pacific Pay Gap and the experiences of Pacific peoples in the workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand, both generally and within the three sectors of focus. The literature review draws on over 120 pieces of individual literature from policy, academic articles, opinion pieces, government reports, news articles, theses, local council reports, podcasts and radio interviews. 4 It begins by contextualising the Pacific Pay Gap and working conditions for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand in terms of Pacific peoples’ multiple migrations to Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand’s colonial empire in the Pacific, the Dawn Raids of the 1970s and Pacific peoples’ contribution to New Zealand’s economy today. It then sets out four key framing ideas that frame and guide the review the literature: institutional racism, social inequity, intersectionality and human rights obligations. Importantly, this review then examines the literature on mechanisms for addressing the Pacific Pay Gap, looking at mechanisms adopted to address ethnic and gender pay gaps in other countries and mechanisms currently in place in Aotearoa New Zealand. Finally, the literature on mechanisms for improving the working conditions of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand is explored, looking at the current legal framework for discrimination claims, cultural competency training and policy design for Pacific peoples.