What the data does show is that there is a wide and persistent pay gap between Pacific workers and other workers. In 2021, the gap between the median hourly earnings of Pacific men and Pākehā4 men was 18.8 percent. The gap was even larger for Pacific women compared with Pākehā men at 25.1 percent. Alongside Māori women, Pacific men and women experience the largest pay gaps compared to other ethnic groups. There is no sign that this gap is closing. To better understand the causes of pay inequities and to seek ways to identify and eliminate them, the Human Rights Commission set up the Inquiry. The Inquiry was conducted under section 5(2)(h) of the Human Rights Act 1993, which provides that the Commission can: The Inquiry was supported by an expert Reference Group made up of representatives from the Council of Trade Unions, Employers and Manufacturers Association, Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, two other private sector voices convened by the Commission. Centred on the experiences of Pacific workers, the Inquiry set out to focus on three key industries where Pacific workers are concentrated: manufacturing, construction, and healthcare. However, there was an overwhelming response from workers in a range of other industries including education, finance, the public service, retail, and social work. Our findings therefore reflect the wide range of employment experiences shared with us. inquire generally into any matter, including an enactment or law, or any practice, or any procedure, whether governmental or nongovernmental, if it appears to the Commission that the matter involves, or may involve, the infringement of human rights.5 How was the Inquiry conducted? The Inquiry was conducted between August 2021 and July 2022 through a broad and diverse combination of approaches, including: · a dedicated website that hosted two surveys: one for workers (738 responses) and one for employers (16 responses) · face-to-face and online interviews, talanoa (a Pacific form of narrative inquiry) and workshops/ webinars with community groups, union groups and other representative bodies – a total of 470 oral contributions (including 425 Pacific workers, 24 employers, four unions and one peak body) · a literature review · empirical analysis of income data 10 · research on the national prevalence of bullying, racial and sexual harassment in the workplace · engagements with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner. While we planned to conduct our engagements faceto-face, most had to be conducted online due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in August 2021, which led to a national lockdown and three further periods of lockdown for Auckland. Wherever possible, online engagement occurred at the convenience of the participant – whether from a quiet space or a shopping mall with free WiFi (see the appendices for further demographic information about participants). 4 Pākeha will be used in this report to refer to those categorised as ‘European’ in StatsNZ data. This category includes those who identify with a European ethnicity (eg New Zealand European, English, Dutch, etc.), with or without other ethnicities. We have chosen to use the te reo term “Pākehā” due to its grounding here in Aotearoa New Zealand. 5 Human Rights Act 1993, s 5(2)(h).