Pay gap pushes women into a month of unpaid work – NZCTU

November 30 marks a bleak milestone – all women in Aotearoa are effectively working for free compared to men, due to persisting gender and ethnic pay gaps.

“This moment is a damning indictment of the National-led Government that refuses to take pay inequality seriously at a time when families are struggling to put food on the table,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.

“The Government’s anti-worker and anti-women decisions will make the situation even worse. Overnight the Equal Pay Act was dismantled, which was our strongest tool for closing gender and ethnic pay gaps.

“Scrapping pay equity claims was an unforgivable step backwards. It told women, Māori, Pacific, Asian workers that their economic security is not a priority.

“During a cost-of-living crisis, pay gaps aren’t abstract numbers – they’re missed meals, unaffordable bills, and children going without. By refusing to act, the Government is making life harder for working women and their families at the worst possible time.

“Women in Aotearoa deserve safe workplaces, decent pay, and a government committed to equity. Workers are demanding action, and we will not stop until this country delivers it,” said Ansell-Bridges.

“When we won our pay equity claim, it meant women could finally afford to have their grandchildren over for the holidays, to feed them well, and to drop their second jobs so they could be present with their families,” said teacher aid Ally Kingi.

“Aotearoa cannot keep relying on the unpaid and underpaid labour of our Pasifika, Māori, Asian, and all women to maintain the very services and social fabric we all depend on. We need people in positions of power to pay attention, take responsibility, and right this wrong,” said YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau spokesperson Teresa Lee.

The significance of this date is derived from the NZCTU’s annual Work for Free Calendar, which shows when these groups of people are effectively working for free compared to Pākehā men:

• Pacific women: from 9 October

• Pacific men: from 15 October

• Māori women: from 18 October

• Asian women: from 25 October

• Māori men: from 3 November

• Pākehā women: from 25 November

• Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African women: from 30 November