Effect of Motherhood on Pay 39. In 2017 Statistics New Zealand released a report summarizing its investigation into the effect of motherhood on women’s pay in New Zealand.40 It found that the gender pay gap between female parents (17%) was significantly larger than for non-parents (5%) - a “motherhood penalty” of around 12 %. The penalty was greater for mothers working part time than for those working full time. Pay Equity Settlement 40. On 18 April 2017, the Government announced a $2 billion pay equity settlement for 55,000 care and support workers in New Zealand’s aged and disability residential care, and home and community support services around the country. The settlement follows a claim brought by E Tu (previously the Service and Food Union) on behalf of care worker Kristine Bartlett. The case was successful in arguing that a caregiver’s pay was less than what would have been paid to a male with the same skill set in a different occupation and that this was because caregivers are predominantly women.41 41. The settlement is an historic achievement and an important step forward in the journey towards pay equity. However, more work needs to be done to ensure pay equity in other sectors, such as education, where female workers continue to be underpaid. WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP 42. At the time of writing, the gender representation of women in the New Zealand Parliament has gone backwards from 2008 - when it peaked at a high of 34% - to 31% at the 2014 General Election. Essentially there has been only glacial improvement since the first MMP election in 1996 when the percentage of women MPs was 29%. 43. Although women comprise 60.7% of all public servants, only 24.1% are chief executives of public service departments and only 45.2% of senior management are female.42 If current trends continue, the Public Service will reach 50% female representation in senior leadership by around 2021. 44. There has been a sharp decline in women in senior management roles in the private sector. Only 19% of businesses in New Zealand have women in senior management roles. New Zealand ranks low in this area when compared to other countries.43 45. The New Zealand Census of Women on Boards 2017 showed that females made up 22.17% of Board positions, an increase of 1.16 percentage points figure since 2016. There were 102 women serving in Board positions for the top 100 companies. However, a quarter of the top 100 companies have no female Board members. 40 http://m.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/Income/motherhood-penalty-summary.aspx Terranova homes and care limited v Service and FoodWorkers Union Nga Ringa Tota Incorporated & Kristine Bartlett [2014] NZCA 516. 42 http://www.ssc.govt.nz/public-service-workforce-data/hrc-diversity 43 https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2014/6725/5164/Tracking_Equality_at_Work_Summary_and_recommendations _2016_-_final.pdf 41 9