Table 5 Percentage (%) gender ethnic pay gap in median weekly earnings from main job compared to European men Year Men Women European Māori Pacific peoples Asian MELAA European Māori Pacific peoples Asian MELAA ref 13.2% 23.4% 15.2% 4.6% 25.5% 30.6% 34.9% 29.9% 23.7% 2021 Source: Household Labour Force Survey data from Stats NZ. Note: All percentages are compared to the reference group – European men – for each year. MELAA statistics should be interpreted with caution. The occupational distribution for Pacific men and women, as noted already, is contributing to pay gaps. For example, only 8.5 percent of Pacific men and 8.1 percent of Pacific women hold manager roles compared to 21.3 percent of Pākehā men and 14.0 percent of Pākehā women (see Table 6). Table 6 Occupation distribution for Pacific peoples by gender compared to NZ European aged 20–64 years (2018 Census data) Share by occupation Men Women NZ European Pacific peoples NZ European Pacific peoples Manager 21.3% 8.5% 14.0% 8.1% Professionals 9.2% 5.1% 8.8% 8.0% Technicians and trade workers 23.7% 17.6% 5.4% 3.5% Community and personal service workers 5.2% 8.1% 15.7% 19.1% Clerical and administrative workers 5.2% 6.2% 30.9% 20.6% Sales workers 7.5% 4.5% 14.6% 14.2% Machinery operators and drivers 14.2% 25.8% 2.0% 6.7% Labourers 13.6% 24.2% 8.6% 19.9% Source: Pacheco et al. (2022)34 using 2018 Census data. The Pacific Employment Action Plan, launched by the Government in May 2022, recognises the intersectional pay gap for Pacific women. It notes: Pacific women’s high rates of participation in historically female-dominated industries where labour is undervalued, as well as barriers faced by Pacific women in progressing into higher- 34 paid careers or occupations including a lack of culturally relevant development support from employers, a lack of awareness or bandwidth to engage in educational or training opportunities, and difficulty in returning to work from having a child or taking up family responsibilities like caring responsibilities.35 34 Pacheco, Gail, Alexander Plum, and Linda Tran. The Pacific Workforce and the Impact of COVID-19. Auckland: New Zealand Work Research Institute, 2022. https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/674559/Pacific-Labour-MarketOutcomes_final_website.pdf. 35 Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Pacific Employment Action Plan – Prosperous Pacific Communities. Wellington: Ministry for Pacific Peoples, 2020, 10. https://www.mpp.govt.nz/assets/Corporate-Publications/Pacific-Employment-Action-Plan-FINALapproved.pdf.