Jo Copeland, human resources director at Simpson Grierson, was awarded individual commendation for her championing of equal pay in 2017. Copeland has been proactively sharing the law firm's learning curve via speaking engagements and media articles, and sharing her own personal experiences to help guide young women who may face challenges in the workplace.
"As lawyers, we believe in natural justice. For us, having a 0 per cent gender pay gap is a very important manifestation of our commitment to that principle. It is fundamentally the right thing to do. It's as simple as that," Copeland said.
YWCA Auckland chief executive and awards judge, Monica Briggs, said that the high standard of entries in the Gold category made it impossible for the judges to pick just one winner.
"We were very impressed with the level of internal communication, the desire to innovate and the visibility of Lion's CEO as an advocate for equal pay. Likewise, the personal commitment and drive shown by Jo Copeland at Simpson Grierson distinguishes her as a passionate campaigner for equal pay," Briggs said.
The Silver winner was engineering company AECOM, whose hiring policy of starting all new graduates joining the company on the same starting salary, and its strategic focus of encouraging more women into the industry, both impressed the judges.
International tourism firm Magic Memories claimed the Bronze category for their fast-faced commitment to addressing equal pay in a short space of time.
Median hourly earnings in 2017 for men was $25.49, and $23.02 for women.
Since 1998, the gender pay gap has been reduced by 16.3 per cent, but has stalled in the last decade.