Labour Party also proposing pay transparency in job postings
Large employers could be required to report pay differences and be transparent about pay in job postings under a new bill to be introduced by the Labour Party.
The party announced on Wednesday that the Member's Bill, the Pay Transparency Bill, aims to close gender and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand workplaces.
Under the bill, employers with more than 150 employees will have to report pay differences. They will also need to include pay ranges in job advertisements.
"Labour believes in equal pay for equal work and this Bill takes another step towards that," said Carmel Sepuloni, Labour women's spokesperson, in a statement.
"By making pay information transparent, we can see where the gaps are and take action to close them."
Gender, ethnic pay gaps
New Zealand's gender pay gap is at 5.2% in the June 2025 quarter, the lowest since Stats NZ collected the data in 1998.
Meanwhile, ethnic communities in New Zealand are earning 7.2% less in hourly earnings relative to NZ Europeans, according to the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, citing labour force survey data between 2016 and 2024.
"In too many workplaces, women still earn less than men for doing the same job. It's time that changed," Sepuloni said.
The bill comes amid a growing movement of pay transparency in workplaces worldwide to address gender pay gaps. In Australia, the Federal government recently passed a law that publishes employers' gender pay gaps to boost transparency and gender equality in workplaces.
