It will take until 2055 for women to stop working for free.

CTU economist Craig Renney has provided shocking details showing while the gender and ethnic pay gap is slowly shrinking, it won’t close for the average woman until 2055.

In his calculations for this year, Renney points out it will take 83 years after the introduction of the Equal Pay Act to achieve its ambition.

“A women worker starting work this year at age 18, will be 49 before they see pay parity,” Renney explains. “These gaps mean that there is an annual loss in wages to women workers of $7.2 billion per annum. These lost wages mean valuable taxes are being missed to support education, health and housing, as well as lifting the household incomes. For some this is a lift out of poverty”.

Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary, Sandra Grey, points out that the Government has disestablished the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Pay Equity Taskforce at a time when unions are fighting much needed pay equity claims for underpaid workers. “Women’s work is not only never done, but it is also undervalued and under renumerated. The shocking mentality of this government to disestablish this much needed resource reflects the governments choice around equity”.

Due to the almost 20% gender and ethnic pay gap with all men, Pasifika women will effectively work for free for the rest of 2024 starting from 27 September.

Based on the same calculations, wāhine Māori effectively work for free from 14 October, for other ethnic women it’s 15 October, for Asian women it’s 21st October and all Aotearoa working women work for free from 20 November this year.