Latest / Best of Business / Brad Olsen: Infometrics Principal Economist on NZ's gender pay gap narrowing to record low

Transcript

Brad Olsen: Infometrics Principal Economist on NZ's gender pay gap narrowing to record low · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZEDB. Follow this
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio Heather
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: du for see Alan.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Tender paygap has fallen three percent in the year to June.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: This is according to Stats and z Data just out.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Brad Olsen is Informetrics principle economist and with us.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: Hello Brad, good evening.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: What's caused the fall?
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: Well, I think we're seeing a few things coming through.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: In general, There's been quite a number of industries that
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: have seen a number of higher pay numbers for female employees,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: so that's been a big change. You've seen some quite
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: large increases across the likes of the transport sector, information
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: technology finances, so there have been some genuine changes there.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: We've also seen continued larger pain increases for a number
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: of quite large female dominated industries, the likes of education
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: and health as well. Those have helped to contribute to
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: the fall. This is one of the most stick significant
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: fools we've seen in the gender pay gap, down to
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: five point two percent previously it was eight point two.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: That is a big shift and I think that's really
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: coming through as you've seen a number of these changes
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: in pay over time, so it's not all of a
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: sudden things have changed. You've had a build up of
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: changes that have now started to hit the numbers.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Can we relax now and stop talking about it if
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: it's only five percent?
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't think anyone will be comfortable
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: with that now. To be fair, there's a lot of
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: various measures that come into the gender pay gap that
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: can be a bit of a blunt instrument because we
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: know that there are, of course differences in the type
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: of women are, type of work that different women are
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: involved with, and men as well. But at five point
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: two percent, it still doesn't feel comfortable given that there
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: is a difference, and certainly when you look at some
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: of the types of work that's done, it does seem
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: like we need to continue.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Telling there will always be a difference. As long as
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: women are the ones popping out the babies and staying
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: home to breastfeed, there will always be a difference, won't.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: They well, especially because that one isn't even really considered
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: as well in the gender pay gap. But yes, I
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: don't think just because there might always be a challenge though,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: that we should not address it. We've got to continue
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: to work on it, and given we've got some momentum here,
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: clearly it should be the sort of thing that we
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: continue to work on. One area where we haven't made
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: as much progress is the ethnic breakdowns of the gender
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: pay gap, and I think that's an area that we
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: continue to need to look at, only because clearly, if
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: we're doing work, everyone should be paid similarly for that
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: work that's done.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, Brad, thank you so much. Brad Olson, Infametrix Principle Economist.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: For more from News Talks b listen live on air
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: go with our podcasts on IR Radio