Status of Women Report to UN Committee

The pay gap between men and women is a major cause of economic discrimination in New Zealand, and the economic reforms of the 1990s have resulted in a significant group of women and children living in poverty, the United Nations has been told today.
The UN committee monitoring the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been presented with a report from a range of non-governmental organisations, which outlines the status of women in New Zealand.

Almost 120 groups contributed to the report, which is being presented by JB Byrne of the Council of Trade Unions, and Anne Todd-Lambie from the National Council of Women.

The report highlights the unequal debt burden created by the student loans scheme. Women take twice as long as men to repay their student loans - because they are often paid less than men - and therefore pay thousands of dollars more in interest.

Casualisation of the workforce is another key point in the report, which says that many women deal with uncertain hours and conditions of work, low wages, job insecurity, and dangerous or unhealthy work.

The report says there is insufficient recognition of women's work as mothers and caregivers, and highlights the health and financial insecurity of older women as an area of concern.

The UN has also been told that women's health initiatives in New Zealand are notoriously under-resourced, and said the McGoogan report showed the need for greater resourcing to avoid the failings that were seen in the Gisborne cervical screening case.

A separate report representing the concerns of Maori women has also been presented to the UN committee today.