Gender pay gaps The gender pay gap is a high-level indicator of the difference in pay experienced by men and women in the workplace. There are several ways of measuring gender pay gaps, with different strengths and limitations. However, the key message is that, no matter what technical approach is taken to measure gender pay gaps, the results tend to be remarkably consistent: men are generally paid more than women. One way to measure the gender pay gap is to compare the annual pay of full-time workers. However, this indicator excludes part-time workers. This is an important concern with measuring the gender pay gap as women are more likely to work part-time in paid employment than men. An alternative measurement relies on hourly pay. It compares the average or mean hourly pay of men and women. This measurement focuses on the difference between the main wage of men and women, sometimes referred to as base pay. It can take into consideration the difference in earnings of men and women overall, including in the calculation of any bonus pay received or benefits (such as cars and KiwiSaver contributions).18 A third means of measuring the gender gap is the one used most commonly in Aotearoa New Zealand. 30 This is based on the gap between men and women using the metric of median hourly earnings. In 2021, the gender pay gap in Aotearoa New Zealand was 9.1 percent.19 This gap is consistent with that measured in the three years prior to 2021.20 There are many different drivers for the gap in pay between men and women: • unequal distribution of caring roles between men and women as women continue to shoulder more unpaid care and domestic work.21 • interruption to career progression and changing patterns of work associated with parenthood that impacts women more significantly than men.22 • occupational stereotyping, which means that men and women tend to study different subject matter areas and work in different occupations (also known as occupational segregation). Jobs where women are overrepresented tend to be less valued than jobs where men predominate.23 • overrepresentation of men in leadership roles and in high-paid work, while women are overrepresented in low-paid work (also known as vertical segregation).24 • Gender-based discrimination.25 18 Strategic Pay. Pay Equity: Analysing the Gender Pay Gap in New Zealand. Auckland: Strategic Pay, 2021. https:// www.strategicpay.co.nz/site/strategicpay/2021%20Pay%20Equity%20Booklet.pdf?utm_source=website&utm_ medium=text+link&utm_campaign=Pay+Equity+Booklet+2021+PDF+Download. 19 Ministry for Women. “Gender Pay Gap.” August 20, 2021, https://women.govt.nz/work-skills/income/gender-pay-gap. 20 Ministry for Women, “Gender Pay Gap.”; Stats NZ. “Gender Pay Gap Unchanged.” August 18, 2021. https://www.stats.govt. nz/news/gender-pay-gap-unchanged. 21 Ministry for Women, “Gender Pay Gap.”; Dey, Monica, Caroline White, and Sanmeet Kaur. The Pay and Progression of Women of Colour. London: The Fawcett Society, 2022. https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=c1300375f221-4a88-8c66-edf3c30bd2c7; Ministry for Women. Gender Inequality and Unpaid Work: A Review of Recent Literature. Wellington: Ministry for Women, 2019. https://women.govt.nz/sites/public_files/Gender%20inequality%20and%20 unpaid%20work%20.pdf. 22 Dey et al., The Pay and Progression of Women of Colour; Stats NZ and Ministry for Women. Effect of Motherhood on Pay – Methodology and Full Results. Wellington: Stats NZ, 2017. www.stats.govt.nz (https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Reports/Effectof-motherhood-on-pay-methodology-and-full-results/effect-of-motherhood-on-pay-methodology-full-results.pdf. 23 Strategic Pay, Pay Equity: Analysing the Gender Pay Gap in New Zealand; Stats NZ and Ministry for Women, Effect of Motherhood on Pay. 24 Strategic Pay, Pay Equity: Analysing the Gender Pay Gap in New Zealand; Ministry for Women, “Gender Pay Gap.” 25 Strategic Pay, Pay Equity: Analysing the Gender Pay Gap in New Zealand; Ministry for Women, “Gender Pay Gap.”