Dellwyn Stuart is critical of the Government for halting pay equity claims and gutting the Equal Pay Amendment Act. Photo / Marty Melville
Dellwyn Stuart is critical of the Government for halting pay equity claims and gutting the Equal Pay Amendment Act. Photo / Marty Melville
Opinion by Dellwyn Stuart
Dellwyn Stuart is CEO of YWCA, leads the Pay Gap Insights Hub and is co-founder of Mind the Gap
There’s a reason The Emperor’s New Clothes is an enduring story. It’s not just a children’s tale – it’s a sharp allegory for political vanity, wilful blindness and the cost of silence.
In the story, the emperor is convinced to parade through town in invisible garments, woven only forthe worthy. No one speaks up for fear of seeming foolish, until a child calls out what everyone can see: “He’s not wearing anything at all”.
Today, in Aotearoa, we find ourselves in a disturbingly similar position. A Government cloaked in claims of “fairness”, “common sense”, and “economic discipline” is in fact walking back decades of progress. The gap between what they say and what they do is growing too vast to ignore.
This Government says it supports women, yet it has halted all current pay equity claims, gutted the Equal Pay Amendment Act, and narrowed the path for future claims. These actions send a clear message: the structural inequality women face in the labour market is not a priority.
Dellwyn Stuart suggests putting more money in the hands of low-paid women can help stimulate the entire economy. Photo / 123rf
The machinery that enabled women cleaners, teachers and social workers to fight for fair pay has been stalled. In its place? Lip service about “efficiency”, “affordability” and “red tape”.
They say they value opportunity for all, yet the Government’s Budget choices paint a different picture. Services that support wāhine Māori, young mothers and survivors of violence have been slashed or defunded altogether.
Funding for gender-based initiatives is minimal or non-existent. All while tax relief is skewed towards businesses and those least in need.
They say they are restoring accountability, yet they rush legislation through under urgency, sidestepping democratic process and public consultation.
Select committees, where many women’s groups have long had a voice, are being bypassed. It is a systematic unravelling of the very threads that bind gender progress to democratic practice.
Dellwyn Stuart urges public action and calling out the coalition on its policies, emphasising that gender equity is essential for economic and social progress. Photo / Marty Melville
In this political fable, the public is being asked to admire an invisible outfit – one stitched from half-truths, spin and empty slogans. But the weave is weak and the consequences are real.
It is time to say what we see: a government talking about equality while dismantling the systems that support it.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis' Budget choices paint a different picture to the Government's claims of valuing opportunity for all, says Dellwyn Stuart. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A caucus lauding democracy while undermining its foundations. The emperor, in this version, wears a banner of reform – but it is women, particularly the most marginalised among us, who are being stripped of hard-won gains.
This isn’t just about pointing out hypocrisy. It’s about insisting that gender equity is not ornamental, it is essential.
Putting more money in the hands of low-paid women doesn’t just support fairness – it stimulates the entire economy. It leads to higher household spending, boosts local business activity, increases tax revenue and reduces reliance on social services.
It improves child wellbeing, health outcomes and educational attainment. It helps break intergenerational cycles of poverty and builds long-term economic resilience.
We cannot afford to stand silently at the roadside, watching the parade of damaging policies go by. We must be the voice that interrupts the pageant. We must say, clearly and collectively: “This is not the future we were promised”.
