This worker’s experience of white privilege is supported by research that shows that institutions can marginalise people through their regulations, policies and overall culture, which is often connected to institutional habit. The ways in which a company or institution does things based on their foundational value systems can contribute to or enforce institutional racism if the habits reward and/or encourage ‘white’ value systems.53 The experience of feeling like the workplace was not set up to help them fulfil family and community obligations was shared by other workers, who were again female: As the primary caregiver for my son and parttime carer for my dad, the workforce is not set up to support the family structure of many Pasifika families. (S158) low pay, employment insecurity and structural racism produces negative socio-economic effects for Pacific healthcare workers. For example, Pacific workers in the healthcare industry have an in-work poverty rate of 8.6 percent, significantly higher than all other ethnic groups. Again, as with the construction and manufacturing industries, the major concern of Pacific peoples regarding their overrepresentation in low-paying and less-secure healthcare work is for their ability to contribute to the wellbeing of their families and communities57 These research findings were borne out of several stories that we heard during our engagements. One healthcare worker told us: 80 percent of my pay goes towards my rent, and my partner’s pay goes towards our utilities etc., petrol. It’s hard trying to save here in Auckland let alone survive to next pay day, which is the fortnight. Living and surviving in Auckland are two different things, and I hope my children has a better future than me. (S174) One participant summed up that this issue spoke to how work was defined: Like the system, what we perceive as work and isn’t work is kind of very racist, sexist, ageist. (T020) Another healthcare worker had a similar experience: These women’s experience are supported by research that has found that “the experiences Pacific women have in the workplace regarding discrimination and pay inequity indicate the existence of the glass ceiling”.54 Other research has shown that Pacific women are more likely to remain in part-time work than full-time work to meet family or communal obligations, showing that Pacific women are typically employed in reduced hours of work.55 Potential explanations for such findings reflect the cultural and familial obligations Pacific women carry as daughters and mothers.56 There are wider wellbeing impacts of structural discrimination in the workplace, including on health outcomes and maintaining an adequate standard of living. Research shows that the aggregate effect of 74 My pay is not enough to live in Auckland. Everything is expensive now with rent going up, petrol and food prices. I’m worried my children will go hungry as I get paid fortnight. My rent is 80 percent of my wages, and sometimes I feel defeated but my partner tries to cheer me up by being positive. (S155) Experiences of discrimination from Pacific leaders and business owners Some participants we engaged with spoke of their experiences of discrimination from Pacific leaders or business owners with whom they worked. One person specifically told us “my experiences with regards to pay gap have been with Pacific managers/ employers, not non-Pacific” (S210). 53 Ahmed, Sara. On Being Included. Durham: Duke University Press, 2012, 26-42. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822395324. 54 Cotter, David, Joan Hermsen, Seth Ovadia, and Reeve Vanneman. “The glass ceiling effect.” Social Forces 80, no. 2 (2001): 655681. 55 Fa’anunu, Sinama Tupou. “Experiences of Tongan Women Migrants at Paid Work in New Zealand.” PhD dissertation, University of Waikato, 2007, 80. https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/2299. 56 Naepi, “Pacific Peoples, Higher Education and Feminisms,” 17-21. 57 Plum et al., In-work Poverty in New Zealand, 18; New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Talanoa, 25.