New Zealand’s gender pay gap has narrowed to its lowest level on record – and one economist says some sectors have contributed more to the improvement than others.
Stats NZ said today the gender pay gap was a median 5.2% in the June quarter, down from 8.2% a year earlier.
That is the lowest level since the data began in 1998.
It was the first significant annual decline since 2017.
Stats NZ said there were larger increases in median hourly earnings from wages and salaries for women than for men.
In the year ended June 2025, median hourly earnings from wages and salaries rose $1.44 (4.3%) to $35.00. For women, median hourly earnings from wages and salaries rose $1.68 (5.2%) to $33.76 in the year to the June 2025 quarter.
For men, median earnings were $35.62 in the June 2025 quarter (up 1.9% annually).
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said there were some industries where there were fewer women employed than a year earlier, which could mean than some of the women on lower pay had dropped out of the statistics.
But he said there were a number of areas where there had been increases in women’s employment as well as their pay.
Education had a 6% increase in women’s employment over the year and a 5.6% increase in median earnings for women.
“That means, together, education contributed about 17% to the total change in female pay.”
He said public administration also had an increase in employment and a 5% increase in women’s pay.
Financial and insurance services only had 4.3% of the total female workforce but had a 9.4% increase in earnings for women so contributed 11% of the total change.
He said some of the increase was driven by collective pay deals.
“Often they are scaffolded so the pay increase comes through over time. That’s particularly true of education and the public sector.”
Minister for Women Nicola Grigg said it was fantastic news.
“Last year I launched the first ever, government-backed gender pay gap calculator to support businesses to reduce their gender pay gap. I want to thank everyone who has taken up the challenge, calculated their pay gap, and taken action to address it. Collectively we are all working towards achieving my ambition of growing economic empowerment for women across the country.
“Pay gaps remain wider for women from some ethnic groups, so I will be launching the second iteration of the toolkit to address those ethnic pay gaps in the coming months.
“I’m incredibly proud of the businesses that have leaned into addressing their gender pay gaps. We know there is more to do to keep growing incomes and closing the pay gap and I encourage all employers to make this a priority.”
Where did pay increase?
- Financial and insurance services – up $4.04 (9.4%) to $47.23
- Transport, postal, and warehousing – up $4.00 (12.9%) to $35.00
- Construction – up $3.03 (9.5%) to $35.00
- Public administration and safety – up $2.03 (5.2%) to $41.24
- Education and training – up $1.99 (5.6%) to $37.66
- Arts, recreation, and other services – up $1.70 (5.7%) to $31.36
- Manufacturing – up $1.52 (5.2%) to $30.61
- Retail trade and accommodation – up $1.00 (4.0%) to $26.00
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