Performance story - Our mahi in action - Five case studies Case Study: End Pay Secrecy campaign Pay discrimination persists in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is a violation of fundamental human rights to equality and equity, including the Equal Pay Act 1972. One of the main barriers to ending pay inequity and discrimination is the secrecy that surrounds pay and career progression. The Commission’s End Pay Secrecy campaign encourages the government to help close pay gaps, due to discrimination, by implementing pay transparency legislation. The status quo of leaving this to the employment market and businesses has failed women and vulnerable groups. The economic crisis due to COVID-19 has made vulnerable workers, especially women, even more susceptible to pay discrimination. Overseas examples show that pay transparency legislation helps to close the gender pay gap. We want this and more for Aotearoa because we know that people of colour are also marginalised. Our research has found that men of colour are victims of pay inequity and Pacific women are the lowest paid in the public sector, earning 20 percent less than Pākehā men. In the public service, Pacific men earn less than European women. 12 Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2019/20 The lived experiences of Māori, Pacific, trans women, and women in junior and senior roles in the public and private sectors, have propelled the case for legislation. Both the Minister for Women and the Prime Minister have lent their support to the need for pay transparency in workplaces throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Our campaign has been supported by a coalition of large employers. Lion NZ, AIA Insurance, SkyCity Entertainment Group and the Warehouse Group are introducing pay transparency and sharing their practices including: • transparency and clarity on salary bands • detailed analysis of gender pay gaps • removing detailed descriptions and gender bias wording from job advertisements • ensuring a minimum requirement of 40 percent women and men are shortlisted for roles • use of data to look across age, gender, ethnicity and disability to find out where workers are disadvantaged. During our campaign, the Government’s Enduring Letter of Expectations for 2019 and 2020 financial years explicitly lists the expectation for Crown entities to close both gender and ethnic pay gaps. Unions have also started advocating for closing the ethnic pay gap.