(ii) work under the same, or substantially similar, conditions, and with the same, or substantially similar, degrees of effort.320 In terms of unlawful discrimination more generally, section 2A(1) of the Act states: No employer shall refuse or omit to offer or afford any person the same terms of employment, conditions of work, fringe benefits, and opportunities for training, promotion, and transfer as are made available for persons of the same or substantially similar qualifications employed in the same or substantially similar circumstances on work of that description by reason of the sex of that person.321 The Act came after the report of the 1971 Commission of Inquiry into Equal Pay found that “women are paid as members of a category of lesser economic worth” which is “based on tradition and is without justification”.322 When the Act was passed, it was unclear whether it covered pay equity. It was not until 2014 that the Court of Appeal clarified that the Act covered pay equity as well as pay equality.323 Notably, the report and the resulting Act itself does not mention intersecting inequities on the basis of ethnicity and race, therefore making it impossible for a Pacific person to bring a pay equity claim on the basis of ethnicity and for a Pacific woman to bring an intersectional discrimination claim on the basis of her ethnicity and race as well as her gender. 6.2.2 Pay transparency and mandatory reporting There appears to be a lack of transparent measures in Aotearoa New Zealand policy that secure pay transparency and direct mandatory reporting for workplace discrimination or issues regarding pay equity. Transparency within pay rates would provide an opportunity for true structural change by establishing pay gap monitoring and identifying clear steps to closing the Pacific Pay Gap.324 Making pay rates accessible means that efforts can be tracked and employers can be held accountable with initiatives established to respond to such goals. As Lytle argues, any concern that pay transparency might be taken out of context can be addressed if policy reflects honest goals to be met by local governments and employers through their own policies.325 This would mean holding these bodies accountable in their movements for addressing income disparities, and if there is adequate justification as to why certain individuals are to be paid more (for example, if they are more qualified individuals), there are funded steps employees can take to receive payment promotions and further upskill their work such as additional training and education.326 6.2.3 Fair pay agreements In May 2021, the Government announced its plan to pass legislation to implement fair pay agreements in response to the lag in wage growth compared to the country’s economic growth. The purpose of fair pay agreements is to shift bargaining power to employees, which in the long term is envisioned to increase living standards and share the benefits of increased productivity more widely.327 However, based on available sources, this legislation does not intend to address the Pacific Pay Gap specifically or consider ethnic disparities more generally. The proposed legislation will ensure that unions initiate the fair pay process. However, the exact number of Pacific union members is unclear, although there is publicly available data on gender.328 320 Equal Pay Act 1972, s 2AAC. 321 Equal Pay Act 1972, s 2A(1). 322 Commission of Inquiry into Equal Pay in New Zealand. A. R. Shearer, Government Printer, H. 54, September 1971) at 12. 323 Terranova Homes and Care Ltd v Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc, [2013] NZCA 575 at [147]. 324 McAllister et al., “Glass Ceilings in New Zealand Universities,” 282. 325 Lytle, Tamara. “Should HR Make Pay Public?” Society for Human Resource Management, updated September 1, 2014, 4. https:// www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0914-salary-transparency.aspx. 326 Lytle, “Should HR Make Pay Public?” 3; New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Talanoa, 42. 327 Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. The Proposed Fair Pay Agreement System. Wellington: Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, undated, 1. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/14294-the-proposed-fair-pay-agreementsystem-pdf. 328 Ryall, Sue, and Stephen Blumenfield. Unions and Union Membership in New Zealand – Report on 2017 Survey. Wellington: Centre for Labour, Employment and Work, 2017, 10. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1814588/newzealand-union-membership-survey-report-2017.pdf. Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry Literature Review 45