Council launches new tool to help close Pacific wage gap

$488,310.

That half a million dollar figure is the difference between what a Pakeha male will earn over his lifetime, compared to a Pacific woman.

The differences aren’t much better for other demographics, as there’s a 19% pay gap for Pacific men and Māori women, and a 14% pay gap for Māori men.

And as Auckland Council’s Southern Initiative programme manager Lisa Meto Fox told William Terite on Pacific Mornings, this yawning divide has a myriad of ramifications.

“It’s a lot of money … but when I look at these figures, you know, I think about a house purchase, significant contributions to retirement savings, school uniforms purchased, easier fa'alavelave, and a life of more opportunities and less stress in general.”

Meto Fox, who previously worked for the Human Rights Commission, said the reasons are varied, but a lot of it comes down to unconscious bias in schools and the workplace.

But a new tool could give employers the information they need to start reducing these gaps.

The tool is called the Good Employer Matrix (GEM) and builds on the a decade worth of work by Southern Initiative, which is a social innovation hub situation within Auckland Council with the remit for social and economic development focusing on Māori, Pasifika and South and West Auckland.

Meto Fox said one issue identified was that employers wanted to do better at recruiting and retaining Pacific talent, but they didn’t know how.

“We found when we were talking to employers was after they realized there was a problem, the next thing they wanted to know was what they needed to do about it. And what employers really wanted was a detailed guide on what to do and how to do it - and that really is what the GEM is."

The tool provides a “nitty-gritty” guide on how organisations can be good employers for Māori and Pacific workers and also lays out guidelines on how to reduce wage gaps and increase diversity in the workplace.

And Meto Fox said initial feedback from employers, unions and Pacific stakeholder groups has been really positive.

"Employers know that recruiting, retaining and progressing Māori and Pacific staff is the right thing to do, but they also realise that it is a smart business decision because the Māori and Pacific proportion of the population is increasing.

"So by 2043, 21 per cent of the country's employment base will be Māori and 11 per cent will be Pasifika. So we're not only the current and future clients of tomorrow, we are also the future workforce."

Click here for more information about the Good Employer Matrix.

Watch the full interview below: