Exploring the ethnic pay gap further..................................................................................................................... 32
Taking an intersectional approach to the gender and ethnic pay gaps....................................................... 33
Cumulative effects of the Pacific Pay Gap............................................................................................................ 35
What we know about racial discrimination in the workplace.......................................................................... 35
Research into bullying and harassment........................................................................................................... 36
Commission and MBIE employment discrimination data............................................................................ 36
Survey data on experiences of discrimination................................................................................................ 37
Findings from engagement on the development of a National Action Plan Against Racism.............. 38
5. What Pacific workers told us..............................................................................................................39
Experiences in recruitment...................................................................................................................................... 40
Discrimination in the recruitment process...................................................................................................... 40
Pacific names can be a barrier............................................................................................................................ 41
Qualifications and work experience are undervalued.................................................................................. 41
Lack of pay transparency by employers........................................................................................................... 43
Opportunities for Pacific peoples to support one another......................................................................... 43
Retention and pay negotiation................................................................................................................................ 44
Experiences of being undervalued and underpaid....................................................................................... 44
Desire to be paid the living wage........................................................................................................................ 45
Discrimination in negotiating pay rates and pay rises.................................................................................. 46
Lack of awareness and understanding about pay negotiation................................................................... 47
Barriers to promotion............................................................................................................................................... 48
Discrimination in the promotion process......................................................................................................... 48
Promotions without additional benefits........................................................................................................... 48
Pacific women are promoted less often than men........................................................................................ 49
A government worker’s story............................................................................................................................... 50
Upskilling and training opportunities.................................................................................................................... 51
Some people have access to training while others do not.......................................................................... 51
There are barriers to accessing training........................................................................................................... 52
Training does not lead to remuneration increases....................................................................................... 53
Training does not lead to advancement........................................................................................................... 53
A lack of awareness and enforcement of workers’ rights................................................................................. 54
Many Pacific workers are not aware of their employment rights............................................................... 54
The impact of COVID-19 on workers’ rights..................................................................................................... 54
Education about employment rights................................................................................................................. 55
Cross-cultural communication issues................................................................................................................... 56
Differing cultural norms........................................................................................................................................ 56
Language barriers.................................................................................................................................................. 56
Employers’ role in communication..................................................................................................................... 56
Pacific workers supporting each other to communicate.............................................................................. 57
A construction worker’s story.............................................................................................................................. 58
Experiences of self-employed contractors.......................................................................................................... 59
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