Six years above target, but only just

The latest stocktake of women on public sector boards and committees, released this week, shows women hold 50.2% of roles and 43.8% of board chair roles.

It is the sixth consecutive year women’s representation has remained above the Government’s 50% target, but only just. Representation has slipped from its high point: women held 53.9% of roles in the 2023 stocktake, falling to 52.1% in 2024 and 50.2% in 2025.  

New Zealand’s public sector board and committee roles remain at gender parity. That is an important achievement, but representation at the board table is only one measure.

Inside organisations, one practical test is whether directors know their gender pay gap, and what is being done about it.

New research from BERL and STILL Minding the Gap suggests that when businesses calculate their gender pay gaps, many take action and report benefits. 

A survey of 319 New Zealand firms found 94% of businesses took action after calculating their gender pay gap. Nearly half made salary adjustments. Many improved pay transparency by publishing salary scales internally or pay gaps externally, changed hiring or promotion practices, or invested in leadership development for women.

Two-thirds reported that the benefits of addressing their gender pay gaps outweighed the costs; a further 25% said it was too soon to know or they were still determining their actions. Only 2% said costs outweighed benefits.  

Expected backlash from gender equality programmes, particularly from male employees, did not materialise in the survey findings. Instead, respondents reported that men appreciated working in an organisation that was seen as fair to all employees.  

The specific benefits of measuring and reporting gender pay gaps included improved staff morale and engagement, reported by 42% of businesses. Improved employee retention and lower turnover among women employees were reported by 46%, while 39% said it was easier to attract new talent once they published their pay gaps. Productivity increased for 31%, with a further 12% linking their pay gap actions to increased sales.

Potential costs can be a barrier to measuring and reporting pay gaps, so the research focused on quantifying them.  

More than 80% of firms had no external costs, such as consultants or software, for their last pay gap analysis. Internal staff time was the main resource, often only a few hours for smaller firms. Fewer than 10% of firms spent more than 50 staff hours. Most costs were one-off setup costs, not ongoing costs. 

The research concluded that costs of reporting were minimal, proportional to organisation size and able to be absorbed by businesses.  

However, 50% of businesses surveyed had not calculated their pay gaps. The reasons given were twofold: there was no requirement to do so, so it was not a priority (40%) and they did not believe they had pay gaps because they paid their employees fairly (30%).  

These findings align with those of a Ministry for Women report in 2025: 40% of businesses had never calculated their gap and 37% had not because they did not think they had gaps.  

Pay transparency belongs at the board table. Directors sign off the structures, policies and reporting that influence how fairly people are paid.  

On these findings, nearly half of directors reading this may not know their organisation’s gender pay gap. Some may assume their organisation does not have one.

The Australian experience, where pay gap reporting has been compulsory for three years, shows about 20% of businesses report gaps of 0-5%. Based on this data, many New Zealand directors may wrongly assume their organisations do not have a gap when they may have one.

There is more at stake than individual business benefits. The economic benefits of pay gap reporting are significant. A modelled 25% reduction in the national gender pay gap could mean around $18 billion in additional economic output and a net fiscal gain of about $648 million annually. Higher productivity, a larger Government tax take and reducing means-tested transfers, such as Working for Families, would be timely.  

Measuring and reporting pay gaps may take only a few hours a year. Businesses report substantial benefits and the potential economic gains are significant. If directors do not know their organisation’s gender pay gap, now is the time to ask.  

Jo Cribb is an experienced governor, with recent roles including the Royal New Zealand Navy, New Zealand Winegrowers and Tātai Aho Core Education. She is a former chief executive of the Ministry for Women.