University announces gender pay gap figure

The gender pay gap is a high-level indicator of the overall difference in earnings between gender groups, based on median hourly earnings.

The University’s gender pay gap is 9.2 percent, based on a pay snapshot taken on 8 December 2022. This figure is in line with the gender pay gap for Aotearoa New Zealand generally.

While the gender pay gap is a measure of inequality, it is not the same as an ‘equal pay’ issue, where people of different genders are paid differently for doing the same work. The gender pay gap can result from people doing different jobs, or from bias and discrimination, among other reasons.

In line with Government expectations on pay gap reporting, the University has committed to an annual release of its pay gaps and plans to address them. Now that the overall gender pay gap has been identified, the University will investigate the data to understand better what is driving the differences. A detailed report to provide further insights into the pay gaps relating to gender and ethnicity, and proposed University solutions, will be released in September 2023.

This work will build on past and present programmes to address equity issues, such as the Academic Standards Review.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity, Professor Cathy Stinear, said that the University is committed to enhancing equity for its diverse community, which includes how people are remunerated.

“We know that there are issues of fairness in pay, and owning our number helps us understand the areas where we need to focus our efforts. It’s the first step in addressing the systemic issues that produce these gaps,” she said.

“It’s not a bad start being at the Aotearoa average, but certainly we can and should improve.”

The pay equity work is championed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater, who said that equity in pay is essential to a leading international university.

“Pay inequities across gender, ethnicity and other groups have developed over time for a number of reasons. As thought leaders, universities need to be the first to address anomalies in this space.”