Getting gender equity on the bargaining agenda.
Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies has to include gender equality
Helen Clark, Former NZ PM
Equal Pay, Pay Equity, Gender Pay Gap, Pay Parity
Often these terms are used interchangeably, however, in law they mean very different things.
Equal Pay: By law no one should be paid a different rate for doing the same work with the same level of experience and knowledge. The Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1972 making it illegal to pay men and women differently.
Pay Equity: In history some work was deemed ‘women’s work’, and considered less than ‘men’s work’, without considering the actual skills needed to do the work. Pay equity is recognising and compensating for skills and therefore breaking the barrier of what has been deemed ‘women’s work’. Pay Equity affects all workers in those positions regardless of gender.
Gender Pay Gap: The gender pay gap is the difference in full time equivalent wages between a man and a woman for no reason other than gender. It is a multi-discipline issue that is based not only in industrial law, but also societal structures, culture and economic structuralism.
Pay Parity: Pay Parity is when some one in one sector, for example public service, gets a different wage to someone working in the private sector, who’s doing the same job Pay parity can also be for industries or sectors; eg early educators skills being valued the same as primary school educators.
Getting gender equality on the national bargaining agenda
- 1.
Stand for election for the national committees, Council and/or elected leadership positions. Working and engaging at the national level will allow you to be at the decision-making table when the National Industrial Strategy is reviewed and developed.
- 2.
Become part of a relevant reference group or network which feed into national committee work e.g. the Women's Representative Network, Te Uepu, the Rainbow network, and the ROVE, Academic and General reference groups.
Getting gender equality on the local bargaining agenda
- 1.
Throughout the year discuss gender equity issues with your branch members and branch committee and identify areas needing improved processes or conditions.
- 2.
Talk to your organiser about areas of inequality that might be addressed through bargaining.
- 3.
Explore the model claims found in the Industrial Strategy, which outlines the conditions that are non-negotiable.
- 4.
Propose through the National Women’s Committee if any of these model claims/clauses could be updated to reflect better inclusion.
- 5.
Put yourself forward to be considered for the Branch Bargaining team.