Zoe Hunter: Why women should be paid the same as men

Zoe Hunter says women should be paid the same as men. It's that simple. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

Women should be paid the same as men. It's that simple.

To echo Tauranga Business Chamber's Anne Pankhurst: "You do the mahi, and get paid accordingly".

Your pay should reflect your skills, ability, value and performance - not your gender.

Our lead stories in Money, NZME's publication in the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, last weekend put the spotlight on the gender pay gap.

We spoke to top female businesswomen who called for action to pay women what they are worth.

Fingers were pointed at employer behaviour and a reluctance to change.

I cannot believe that in 2022 we are even still talking about this subject.

Stats NZ shows the median hourly rate for men was $29 and for women, it was $26.37 - and that stat hasn't moved much in the past five years.

This is unacceptable.

I'm not buying the rubbish about women being the "second income", women have to stay home and care for their babies and ageing parents, or more men are in higher positions so they've earned it.

We live in the 21st Century and that sort of thinking is no longer true or relevant.

The cost of living is rising too much for women not to be getting paid what they are worth. Families need the extra money.

Men are paid to take parental leave too and rightly so. More men should take up that option.

Mind the Gap co-founder Jo Cribb says the power of change is in the employers' hands. They chose who they recruit, who they promote, who they pay what, and who gets what opportunities.

Her research shows the gender pay gap is more about organisations and their behaviour towards it.

Some Bay employers are taking the lead, so that is a good sign.

Apparently, according to the research, women are less confident in asking for a pay rise - and this is something that also needs to change. Women should feel empowered to speak up.

Minister for Women Jan Tinetti says there should not be pay discrimination for any reason.

She is launching New Zealand's first-ever Women's Employment Action Plan specifically targeted at improving work for women. We will see how that goes.

There are things being done to close the pay gap but it is a slow burn.

But pretending it's not happening is only going to risk creating more of what Cooney Lees Morgan partner Mary Hill calls an "us and them" culture in the workplace.

There needs to be a cultural shift in the workplace.

Everyone, woman or man, has their strengths. Let's pay them what they are worth.