2018/19 Estimates for Vote Women

Transcription

1 2018/19 Estimates for Vote Women Report of the Social Services and Community Committee July 2018 Contents Recommendation... 2 Introduction... 2 Women in leadership roles... 2 Closing the gender pay gap... 3 Pay equity legislation... 3 Employment relations legislation... 3 National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women... 4 Paid parental leave... 4 Flexible work... 4 Violence against women... 4 Suffrage Appendix... 6 Gareth Hughes Chairperson

2 Vote Women Recommendation The Social Services and Community Committee recommends that the appropriations for the year ending 30 June 2019 for Vote Women, as set out in Parliamentary Paper B.5 Vol.9, be accepted. Introduction Budget 2018 proposes $5.441 million of funding for Vote Women, an increase of 1.9 percent from estimated actual expenditure of $5.34 million in 2017/18. The multi-category appropriation Policy Advice and Related Services accounts for 99 percent of the Vote. It consists of: $4.386 million to support decision-making by Ministers on government policy matters that improve the lives of women $460,000 to provide suitable women nominees for appointment to state sector boards and committees $355,000 for support services to the Minister for Women $200,000 for administrative, advisory, and research support for the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women. The Minister for Women is responsible for the appropriations in the Vote and the Ministry for Women is the appropriation administrator. The Vote aims to achieve better outcomes for New Zealand women. Women in leadership roles The Minister told us that having more women in leadership roles is a priority. We discussed the Minister s recent comments about the lack of diversity on boards. The Minister said that over 81 percent of members of private sector boards are men, and most are white and of a certain age. She believes that to achieve diversity it is a mathematical fact that some of them would need to move on and make way for more new talent and diversity. We asked the Minister about the recent appointments of five men (out of five appointments) to chief executive positions in the public sector. The Minister told us that gender diversity in senior management and leadership positions in the state sector is important. We heard that the Minister is working with the State Services Commissioner to achieve the target of at least 50 percent of senior leadership positions in the public sector being held by women. We asked the Minister whether she would have more influence in this area if she was a member of Cabinet. The Minister told us that she does not believe so. She said that the Prime Minister and Cabinet are committed to gender equality, gender diversity, and closing the gender gap. Some of us are concerned about the Minister s ability to influence appointments while outside Cabinet. 2

3 Closing the gender pay gap The Minister told us that her top priorities are to introduce pay equity legislation and ensure that women in the state sector are paid fairly. We heard that the average gender pay gap in the public sector is 12 percent. Statistics New Zealand reports the pay gap for all of New Zealand using the median measure of 9 percent. The Minister said that median equates to an average of 12 percent, meaning the pay gap for the State sector and all of New Zealand is similar. The Minister told us that the Government s target is to eliminate the pay gap in New Zealand. We asked what challenges the Minister anticipates in her role and how pay rates can be improved for women at the lower pay scale. The Minister noted that the pay gap for Māori and Pacific women and migrant women of colour is almost twice the national rate. She said that the Government wants to highlight this issue and eliminate it over time. The Minister said that the ministry has been asked to specifically focus on the ethnic pay gap. She told us that the women who are most vulnerable, discriminated against, and lowest paid need to be prioritised while closing the gender pay gap. The Minister explained that it is important to acknowledge unconscious bias and discrimination and have policies to address them. She believes that it is also important to acknowledge the significant contribution these women make to New Zealand society and the economy in work that is not recognised or paid. We note that the Government has raised the minimum wage, and heard that this change largely benefits women. The Minister told us that many sole-parent women are in harmful, precarious work, and often work multiple jobs that are low paid or on a minimum wage. Pay equity legislation We heard that the Government withdrew the National Government s Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill. The Minister said that this legislation, if passed, would have created barriers for women in female-dominated industries. The Minister has reconvened the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles. We heard that the Minister will introduce legislation this year that will embed the equal pay principle in the Equal Pay Act The group will contribute to the policy work for the legislation. Employment relations legislation We asked what changes were made to the Employment Relations Amendment Bill as a result of the Minister s advocacy or the ministry s policy work. We are particularly interested in any work to ensure that the legislation does not reduce opportunities for flexible work for women. Some of us were concerned about the impact of the employment relations legislation on flexible work. The ministry told us that it has responded to seven Cabinet paper requests for consultation on matters relating to amendments to the Employment Relations Act The subjects included: the right to rest and meal breaks 3

4 90-day trial periods restoring protection for vulnerable employees (mainly low-paid women) under Part 6A of the Act collective contracts and union contracts duty of good faith bargaining fair pay agreements. The ministry supported the proposed changes as it believed they made overall positive changes for employed women. National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women We were interested in the membership and work programme of the NACEW. The Minister provided information confirming the members are the same as they were in 2016 and that their work programme includes: funding research on the employment experiences of women contributing funding to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Return to IT pilot providing advice to the then Minister for Women, Hon Paula Bennett, about pay equity supporting an event with the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce Women in Business group funding a literature review on interruptability as part of flexible work agreeing to begin a process to appoint a Future Director candidate to NACEW participating in consultation on gender pay issues with MBIE. Paid parental leave We note that the new Government has extended paid parental leave from 22 weeks in 2018 to 26 weeks in The Minister told us that parental leave is an ongoing issue for families in New Zealand. She wants to ensure that mothers have adequate time with their babies and can return to the workforce. Flexible work We heard that the Government supports secure work for women, not simply flexible work. Some of us are concerned that mothers who cannot access part-time or flexible work will face a significant barrier returning to the workforce. Violence against women Some of us expressed concern that the Integrated Safety Committee in Christchurch will no longer be funded, noting its previous success. We asked how gender-based violence will be reduced without this committee, and what is being done instead. The Minister told us that 4

5 she is working closely with the Under-Secretary for Domestic and Sexual Violence to address gender-based violence, family violence, and sexual violence. We heard about a programme in Rotorua that is similar to the Integrated Safety Committee, which the ministry helped evaluate. It said that the aim was to incorporate key lessons from the programme so it can be expanded. Suffrage 125 The Vote proposes $300,000 in funding for one new initiative, the Suffrage 125 Commemoration programme. In September 2018 it will be 125 years since women achieved the right to vote in New Zealand. The Minster is focused on celebrating this milestone by recognising the contributions made to women s rights. The Minister told us that this funding will be used in a contestable fund to support community projects that will celebrate this anniversary. 5

6 Appendix Committee procedure We met on 13 June and 4 July 2018 to consider Vote Women. We heard evidence from the Minister for Women, Hon Julie Anne Genter, and the Ministry for Women, and received advice from the Office of the Auditor-General. Committee members Gareth Hughes (Chairperson) Darroch Ball Dan Bidois (from 27 June 2018) Hon Judith Collins (until 20 June 2018) Hon Kris Faafoi Hon Alfred Ngaro Greg O Connor Maureen Pugh Priyanca Radhakrishnan Hon Louise Upston Advice and evidence received In addition to the standard Estimates documents, we considered the following documents as evidence and advice. They are available on the Parliament website, Minister for Women, Responses to pre-hearing questions 1 to 122. Minister for Women, Responses to post-hearing questions 123 to 126. Office of the Auditor-General, Briefing on Vote Women, dated 13 June Standard Estimates Questionnaire responses Vote Women. 6