Major banks' large gender pay gaps on display

Monday, 7 March 2022

Female Bank of New Zealand staff earn on average 30.5 per cent less than their male colleagues.

The information was revealed through a new online public registry, called Mind The Gap, which went live on Tuesday, showing the average pay gaps for women at some of the country’s largest employers.

The voluntary registry shows each company’s name, the name of the board chair and chief executive, and whether the company reports its pay gaps as well as a link to reports showing the details.

Australian banks had some of the largest pay gaps, the site showed.

Westpac female workers earned 28.5 per cent less than men. At ASB women earned 26 per cent less and at ANZ 22.4 per cent less than men.

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Spark had the largest gender pay gap of the companies listed outside the banks. Women earned 28 per cent less than their male colleagues at the telecommunications company.

According to Stats NZ, on average women earned 9.1 per cent less than men last year.

But pay gaps within an individual business could be much higher.

Cathy Hendry​, managing director of Strategic Pay, said gender pay gap figures of 20 to 30 per cent at the main banks was not a surprise.

“Even though the banks had impressive representation of women at senior levels, the biggest contributor to these gaps was what jobs the women and men are doing,” Hendry​ said.

In the finance industry there were more men in high salaried specialist roles, while more women were on the frontline in call centres and customer facing roles, which created a gender imbalance in the overall data, she said.

“The overall gap was confronting. Most businesses that do this research see percentages much higher than the 9 per cent Stats NZ figure.

“But those that are sharing their gap should be celebrated. They are taking the front foot, and committing to recognising this issue.”

Mind The Gap spokeswoman Dellwyn Stuart​ said the registry showed pay gap transparency had become a common practice in New Zealand.

But action needed to be taken to get all employers on board, she said.

Mind The Gap asked 160 of the country’s largest employers to share data on gender pay equity gaps, but 63 per cent of businesses refused to report the figure.

Of the around 50 businesses that did report the gender pay gap, only 17 per cent reported the pay gap between Māori and non-Māori staff, and only 13.5 reported the pay gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika.

Stuart​ said businesses that shared their gender pay gaps had done the right thing.

“These leaders have collectively sent a clear signal that pay gap reporting is part of modern business practice and something all employers need to embrace,” Stuart​ said.

A business that reported its pay gap was more likely to solve gender pay disparity, she said.

Since pay gap reporting became a requirement of the public sector, pay gaps decreased from 18.6 per cent to 8.6 per cent, she said.

Pay gaps were not only an issue for women, as Māori, Pacific peoples, those with disabilities also faced pay discrimination, she said.

“We have the opportunity to catch up and implement what has been successful elsewhere in the world. By incorporating our indigenous people and ethnicities in new pay Gap Reporting law, New Zealand can be a world leader.”

Only seven of the 160 businesses that were asked supplied the pay gap figures between Māori and non-Māori staff.

Anna Stuck​, chairwoman of the Clare Foundation, which funded Mind The Gap, said she hoped the register would encourage more businesses to report the figures.

“There’s still a long way to go to see the transparency that New Zealanders deserve, especially in the gender space, so we hope the pioneering position of the ‘first 50’ will motivate other businesses to step up and participate.”

Businesses could continue to report their pay gaps and register at the Mind The Gap website.

The registry will be updated monthly.