New report reveals overwhelming demand to introduce mandatory pay gap reporting
The New Zealand government is being pressured to introduce mandatory pay gap reporting for businesses to close the country's pay gaps.
Jo Cribb, spokesperson for STILLMindingTheGap.nz, said it was time for New Zealand to catch up with other countries that are already addressing pay gaps.
"There is clear overseas evidence that when businesses are required to report their pay gaps publicly, it drives meaningful action and has seen national gender pay gaps drop by 20 to 40%," Cribb said.
"It is time for New Zealand to catch up with our international counterparts who are already addressing pay gaps, and it's time for our businesses to consider the concerns of their staff, their customers, and other fellow Kiwis and start analysing their pay gaps."
Lack of action on pay gap
STILLMindingTheGap.nz is an organisation advocating for gender pay equality in New Zealand.
Its recent survey showed that 74% of Kiwis agree that medium and large employers should be required to measure and publish their pay gaps.
The country's gender pay gap currently sits at 5.2% in 2025, according to the Ministry for Women, which noted that the gap goes "significantly higher" for wāhine Māori, Pacific, ethnic, and disabled women.
Despite the gap, a report from the ministry this year showed that more than a quarter of private sector businesses do not consider fixing the gap a priority.
And even with 95% of firms having the data needed to report pay gaps, just 43% of employers have current pay gap calculations and 40% have never analysed their pay gaps, according to the report.
"This research clearly shows that our business community is not going to address this issue on their own, with more than a quarter of private sector companies saying pay gap work is not a priority," Cribb said.
"It's not until businesses measure their pay gaps that they realise they have a gap and then can do something about it."
Mandatory pay gap reporting was recently introduced in Australia as part of its initiative to narrow its gender pay gap. It also introduced a policy that will require employers with over 500 employees to set and make progress on three gender equality targets.
