In New Zealand, on average, women earn less than men. We’ve known there was a problem with pay equity for as long as feminism has been a thing, and it doesn’t look like it’ll stop being a problem anytime soon. The 2013 census reveals that on average New Zealand men have a median income 1.6 times that of women. Most discussions I’ve seen about this pay gap tend to assume that women are paid less for doing the same work their male counterparts do, but in 21st century New Zealand that isn’t entirely true. In reality men and women don’t do the same work, and that is why we have a pay gap.
A lot of this income disparity occurs because women work less hours than men. They’re more likely to be employed part time or not employed at all, because they’re more likely to spend their time taking care of kids. As long as women are more likely to take time out of work to raise their families, women’s average income will be lower than that of men. I don’t presume to tell other people how to arrange their childcare, so I’m not going to discuss that aspect of the pay gap. What I want to look at here is the type of work that men and women do. Take a look at the following table, which comes from the 2013 census data available here:
Industry (ANZSIC06 division)
|
2013 Census
| ||
Men
|
Women
|
Total
| |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
|
8.7%
|
4.6%
|
6.7%
|
Mining
|
0.5%
|
0.1%
|
0.3%
|
Manufacturing
|
13.3%
|
5.9%
|
9.8%
|
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
|
1.0%
|
0.4%
|
0.7%
|
Construction
|
13.1%
|
2.3%
|
8.0%
|
Wholesale Trade
|
6.2%
|
3.8%
|
5.0%
|
Retail Trade
|
8.3%
|
11.5%
|
9.8%
|
Accommodation and Food Services
|
4.6%
|
7.3%
|
5.8%
|
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
|
5.9%
|
2.5%
|
4.3%
|
Information Media and Telecommunications
|
1.9%
|
1.8%
|
1.8%
|
Financial and Insurance Services
|
3.2%
|
4.0%
|
3.6%
|
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
|
2.6%
|
2.6%
|
2.6%
|
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
|
9.0%
|
8.5%
|
8.7%
|
Administrative and Support Services
|
3.2%
|
3.6%
|
3.4%
|
Public Administration and Safety
|
5.2%
|
5.0%
|
5.1%
|
Education and Training
|
4.3%
|
12.8%
|
8.4%
|
Health Care and Social Assistance
|
3.5%
|
17.0%
|
10.0%
|
Arts and Recreation Services
|
1.8%
|
2.0%
|
1.9%
|
Other Services
|
3.9%
|
4.2%
|
4.0%
|
As you can see, the biggest employers for women are Retail Trade, Education and Training, and Healthcare and Social Assistance. Women are much more likely than men to work in these areas. Why? Well, our culture considers these industries to be women’s work. I think women often go into these industries because our culture tells them these are appropriate jobs for women, while men often avoid these industries because they aren’t considered appropriate work for men. Compare this with the figures for the Manufacturing and Construction industries, which are the biggest employers for men and are widely perceived as “manly” industries.
Unfortunately, the industries most likely to employ women are notorious for their low pay and lack of opportunities for career progression. You may think Manufacturing and Construction aren’t overly lucrative either, but I’ve worked in Construction myself and can assure you it pays much better than teaching or working in a shop.
When my parents were leaving school, there was a pervasive social expectation that women who worked were only marking time until they got married and quit their jobs to raise a family. Career progression and income potential were therefore not considered priorities for a girl choosing a career. Boys were expected to think about such things though, because they were expected to earn enough to support a family. The idealised nuclear family of the Baby Boomer-era sitcoms doesn’t really exist anymore (if it ever did), but I think these attitudes still get passed on to kids when the time comes to think about what they might like to do after they leave school. That’s a problem.
Modern women expect to have careers, and most have to work anyway. It’s a matter of financial necessity for most people regardless of gender. So it’s just as important for women to think about pay and promotion opportunities as it is for men, and it’s important to encourage girls to consider these factors when they make career decisions. If we really want to get serious about reducing gender based income disparity, we have to take a serious look at the messages we send kids about the kind of career they should aspire to.
