Pay Equity Rollback Puts Young Women at Risk, Says YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand

Published by YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand National Board

The Government’s recent move to repeal core provisions of Aotearoa’s pay equity legislation is more than a policy change, it’s a rollback of progress, a dismissal of lived realities, and a direct attack on the future of young women and gender-diverse people across the country.

At YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand, we are outraged. We are heartbroken. But more than that, we are mobilised. Because this decision reinforces what we already know: gender equity will never be handed to us. It must be continually fought for.

Why Pay Equity Matters … Still

Despite the many advancements made in recent years, the gender pay gap in Aotearoa remains stubbornly persistent. Women continue to earn less than men for work of equal value. For Māori and Pacific women, disabled women, migrant women, and young women just starting their careers, the gap is even more pronounced. 

In 2022, the aggregate gender pay gap across all industries in Aotearoa was 9.4%. However, for Māori women the pay gap relative to European men was 23%, for Pacific women 24%, and for Asian women 18%—showing the compounded impacts of both gender and ethnicity.

These pay gaps are especially pronounced in industries where many women work, such as Education and Healthcare, which continue to have some of the highest gender pay gaps, 13% and 14% respectively, even though they are female-dominated sectors (2024, NZ Policy Research Institute & Ministry for Women).

Pay equity laws were designed to challenge this. To recognise that women-dominated industries like care work, administration, and education have been systematically undervalued. These laws created tools for workers and unions to challenge discrimination and seek fair wages. Their repeal signals that this government is comfortable maintaining a system where women are paid less because of who they are and the work they do.

While the law still allows pay equity claims the rules are now much stricter. Jobs now need to be at least 70% female-dominated for more than 10 years, and comparisons to other jobs must meet a new criteria. These changes mean fewer workers will be able to make successful claims.

The 33 claims that were cancelled by this law change affect over 150,000 workers. Many of them are in education, care, and community services, sectors where women make up most of the workforce and which have long been underpaid.

The now-repealed legislation provided a vital mechanism to challenge this inequity, particularly in care, education, and social services where systemic undervaluation has contributed to persistent pay disparities (2024, NZ Policy Research Institute & Ministry for Women).

Young Women Will Be Among the Hardest Hit

The impact of this repeal will be deeply felt by young women, many of whom are entering the workforce into jobs with insecure contracts, stagnant wages, and limited protections. Women and non-European workers are disproportionately employed in lower-paid industries like Retail and Hospitality, and are overrepresented in the lowest earning deciles across nearly every industry (2024, NZ Policy Research Institute & Ministry for Women).

“Young women already face some of the most precarious economic conditions“ states Aaminah Ghani, Co-President of YWCA A/NZ “With rising costs, unstable work, and systemic bias. Removing legal mechanisms for pay equity tells us our futures don’t matter. We deserve better, and we will fight for it."

We also know that these impacts have a layered approach. Wāhine Māori and Pacific women continue to face the largest disparities in the country and are overrepresented in lower-paid sectors, disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis, and underrepresented in positions of power.

At its core, this repeal is a signal. It tells young women that economic justice is optional, that structural barriers are acceptable, and that our voices and our labour are expendable.

“For young women entering the workforce, this sends the worst possible message: that the system is not designed to work for you. Pay equity was never about handouts, it was about fairness.”  — YWCA A/NZ Young Woman Board Member 

The Government has also chosen not to seek public feedback before making these changes. When a law affects this many people, it’s only fair that workers and communities have the chance to be heard.

We Demand Better

The YWCA is part of a global movement for gender justice, and we will not stand by as our rights are dismantled. We are calling for:

• The immediate reinstatement of pay equity protections, and strengthening of legal tools for workers to challenge discrimination;
• Meaningful engagement with young women and proper democratic processes followed, especially those from marginalised communities, in all policy-making processes;
• A public recommitment to closing the gender pay gap with transparent reporting and accountability.

To the young women of Aotearoa: we see you. Your work has value. Your voice has power. And your fight is ours too.

Comments from political leaders calling previous claims “absurd” ignore the purpose of pay equity law. The law is designed to help compare the value of different kinds of jobs, not just the job titles, to see whether some roles have been unfairly paid because they are mostly done by women. New Zealand is better than this. 

Reference

New Zealand Policy Research Institute, & Ministry for Women. (2024). Gender and ethnic pay gaps: An industry-level portrait of Aotearoa. https://nzpri.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/926901/Gender-and-ethnic-pay-gaps-An-industry-level-portrait-of-Aotearoa.pdf