Dear colleagues, mindthegap.nz is a privately funded initiative, with the support of more than 35 professional associations and industry groups.

We aim to achieve a significant and sustainable increase in the diversity of our leadership and the fairness in our workplaces, specifically with regard to women, Māori and our Pacific peoples.

We have written to you as the leader of your organisation, as this important change requires CEO-led action. Data informs actions. It matters what you measure – to your employees, customers and investors. It is important to know your pay gaps as this will tell you where there are imbalances in talent utilisation at all levels within your organisation – be they gender, Māori, Pacific peoples or with other ethnic groups.

Pay gap analysis can also highlight inequities in pay that need to be addressed. Some of our leaders acknowledge the issues in this and have already publicly reported their pay gaps. Private sector companies who have publicly reported include SkyCity, Westpac, Spark and Genesis. Join them. It is through this regular analysis and open commitment to closing their gaps that they can achieve more representative diversity in their management and fair pay at all levels.

For those of you who calculate your pay gaps but don’t yet report them publicly, we invite you to start adding your pay gaps to your company website and your annual report, as is now commonplace in a range of countries including Australia.

We are also seeing increasing encouragement to include social responsibility metrics from local and international investment communities, customers and talent in what is a very tight labour market. The government is also being vocal about supporting fairness and equality in the workplace and as we approach the 50th anniversary of our Equal Pay Act it pays for our business leaders to be at the forefront of this. We call on all business leaders to measure and publicly report your pay gaps – on your corporate website and in your annual report – and to, vitally, check that women are being paid the same as men for doing the same or similar work.

This is a legal requirement in New Zealand. By leading this change and advocating for others to do the same you are playing your part in ensuring Aotearoa New Zealand continues to promote fairness and to respond appropriately to foreseeable changes in public and market expectations.

If you already report your pay gaps or wish to know more about how to report, or if you choose not to report your pay gaps, email [email protected].

We are here to help you and your organisation take the lead on this important issue and have included below some FAQs and tips for how to start from learnings to date.

Thank you for your interest in this campaign; we appreciate your contribution to the social health and economic wealth of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I report? Email [email protected] to give your details. We’ll connect you to all you need to know about how to get started as well as expertise to show you how.

What is a ‘pay gap’? It is the difference between the earnings of two groups of people.

For example, the gender pay gap compares the median hourly earnings of women and men in full- and part-time work. So, if an organisation has a gender pay gap of 20%, this means that the median man earned 20% higher hourly pay than the median woman in the organisation.

The Māori pay gap and Pacific peoples’ pay gap need to be reported as the link between our gender, ethnicity pay gaps and our child poverty crisis needs to be addressed with urgency. “Material hardship rates are much higher for Māori and Pacific children/ethnicities (23-28%) compared with that for European or Asian children/ethnicities (6-10%). - Child Poverty in NZ Report prepared by Bryan Perry

Why does measuring our pay gaps matter? Gender and ethnicity pay gap measures show who has access to the higher paying roles in an organisation and who works in areas that attract higher salaries.

By measuring and closing the gaps, as a country we will ensure we are utilising all of our talent, all of the time.

Note: Paying someone less for the same or similar job is illegal under the Equal Pay Act 1972. In calculating pay gaps it is common for employers to find pay equity issues. In breaching this law and failing to resolve breaches with urgency, employers can face fines and prison time.

Who needs to make plans to know and close their pay gaps? Board directors, chief executive officers, chief financial officers, all managers, particularly people and culture managers, and business owners.

Who is likely to ask if you publicly report your pay gaps? Employees, investors seeking high trust investments, recruitment agencies on behalf of top talent, customers seeking high trust suppliers, the media.