Introduction This research note aims to explore the factors that contribute / explain the Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand. The gaps between the average (as well as median) hourly wages for the European workforce relative to Māori and Pacific workers is substantial. A statistical analysis by Treasury in 2018 also showed that the ratio in average hourly wages (based on published survey estimates by Stats NZ) for both ethnic groups, relative to Europeans, had stayed at a similar level for the last decade, as stated on p.1 “there has been movement from year to year but no consistent upward or downward trend” (Treasury, 2018). The substantive and persistent ethnic pay gaps warrant empirical analysis, as it is important to control for differences in characteristics. These include individual, household, occupation, industry and other job characteristics of the individuals. The analysis within this note has been undertaken as an input to the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry that is being conducted by the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand. Their motivation for the Inquiry is to better understand why the Pacific Pay Gap exists and how it can be closed. In addition to this research input, the Human Rights Commission is also collecting evidence via surveys, submissions, workshops and Talanoa. This study is a short note wholly focussing on the empirical analysis of Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand. We therefore do not delve into the wider employment picture for these population groups, such as the mechanisms by which various groups acquire labour market attributes (such as educational attainment), the functioning of labour market institutions, or the nature of potential discriminatory practices. A useful starting point for building a wider picture of Pacific peoples in New Zealand is research undertaken on a range of aspects of this population by the Ministry of Pacific Peoples (2021). This analysis makes use of unit record Income Survey data from Stats NZ to estimate the ethnic pay gaps for three groups relative to Europeans: Māori; Pacific and Asian. We employ the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique which apportions each of these gaps into two parts: the explained and unexplained. Simply put, the explained reflects differences in the observable characteristics of the ethnic groups; while the unexplained reflects differences in returns. The format of the remainder of this note is as follows: Section 2 describes the data, key variables and descriptives of our sample; while Section 3 details the method and results. The results include ethnic comparisons for the aggregate survey population, as well as ethnic differences by gender. Empirical analysis of Pacific, Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand 2