In Aotearoa New Zealand, pay equity isn’t just an ideal.
Pay equity is a right hard-won by generations of women, union members, and community advocates. But in 2025, that right is under threat. The current government has pushed through changes that wind back progress, weaken workers’ voices, and make it harder for women – especially Māori, Pacific, and low-paid workers – to get a fair deal. 33 pay equity claims have been pushed back; the threshold for lodging pay equity claims has been raised; and we have had enough.
This page brings together the facts, stories, and actions you need to stay informed and fight back.
Pay Equity Stories
Have you been part of the fight for pay equity? Whether you were on the front lines of a claim, supported your colleagues, or lived through the impact of a settlement? We want to hear from you.
We’re gathering stories to honour the history, understand the real impact, and lift up the voices of those who’ve helped push for fairness. Your kōrero helps show why pay equity matters, and why we must protect it.
Pay Equity Explainers
It took less than two days for the Government to announce their changes to the Equal Pay Act, and then make those changes. Because things happened this fast, a huge amount of information about pay equity has sprung up in a really short time-frame—which can be pretty confusing for anyone new to the issue! To help you out, we’ve compiled some information on the pay equity process and the changes that were made to it. What’s the difference between equal pay and pay equity? What does a comparator do? How long has this been going on? Find all the answers here.
Latest Pay Equity info
- Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia and the wider meaning of suffrage
If Kate Sheppard is the best-known face of New Zealand’s suffrage story, Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia reminds us that the story was always broader, deeper and more complex than a single… Read More »Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia and the wider meaning of suffrage - Kate Sheppard: Change is not inevitable. It is made
Every Suffrage Day (19 September), Kate Sheppard is rightly remembered as the organiser whose discipline, courage and political imagination helped change the course of New Zealand history. But if we leave… Read More »Kate Sheppard: Change is not inevitable. It is made - Suffrage was never just history. Enrol and vote!
Aotearoa New Zealand holds a proud place in democratic history. On 19 September 1893, this country became the first self-governing nation in the world where women won the right to vote… Read More »Suffrage was never just history. Enrol and vote! - Talk Pay Equity Vote Pay Equity
This election, we’re asking everyone to be part of the campaign for pay equity. What is pay equity? It’s a way to get people in female-dominated professions paid what they are… Read More »Talk Pay Equity Vote Pay Equity - Gender pay gap widens — women work for free from 27 November
Today, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi released the 2026 Work for Free Calendar which shows the scale of systemic pay inequality facing women across Aotearoa and… Read More »Gender pay gap widens — women work for free from 27 November - NZ pay equity rollback triggers United Nations complaint
A group of organisations has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations, asking it to investigate whether the government’s changes to New Zealand’s pay equity laws amount to systemic discrimination… Read More »NZ pay equity rollback triggers United Nations complaint - Resolving Pay Equity for Care and Support workers is a Disability Rights issue
There will be those who read that headline and scratch their heads and wonder, what does resolving Pay Equity have to do with Disability Rights? Some will say that Disability Rights… Read More »Resolving Pay Equity for Care and Support workers is a Disability Rights issue - Government must reverse disastrous pay equity changes
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is calling on political parties to adopt the recommendations of the People’s Select Committee and ensure that women are valued and paid what their… Read More »Government must reverse disastrous pay equity changes - Pay gap pushes women into a month of unpaid work
November 30 marks a bleak milestone – all women in Aotearoa are effectively working for free compared to men, due to persisting gender and ethnic pay gaps. “This moment is a… Read More »Pay gap pushes women into a month of unpaid work - Women should not be working for free
The 2025 “Work for Free” calendar shines a harsh light on pay inequity for women and marginalised communities across Aotearoa. Each year, these dates symbolise when women and many ethnic groups… Read More »Women should not be working for free - Documents reveal Government efforts to avoid scrutiny on pay equity
Newly released Government documents reveal the lengths to which ministers went to avoid scrutiny and ignore official advice on their decision to gut the Equal Pay Act and cancel pay equity… Read More »Documents reveal Government efforts to avoid scrutiny on pay equity - Not Done Yet: Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity
On Saturday 20 September communities across Aotearoa will unite for a Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity – taking place 132 years after New Zealand women secured the right to… Read More »Not Done Yet: Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity - Submission guide: Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025
When the National-led Government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act under urgency in May this year, they did so without consulting the working women affected. The People’s Select Committee on Pay… Read More »Submission guide: Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 - Unions take pay equity fight to the ILO
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges has taken the pay equity fight to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO is… Read More »Unions take pay equity fight to the ILO - Pay Equity Explainers
It took less than two days for the Government to announce their changes to the Equal Pay Act, and then make those changes. Because things happened this fast, a huge amount… Read More »Pay Equity Explainers - Unions launch petition to protect pay equity
Major Aotearoa unions have launched a new petition calling on the Government to reverse their proposed amendments to the Equal Pay Act and restore existing pay equity claims. Unions behind the… Read More »Unions launch petition to protect pay equity - It’s time for Beehive women to get real on pay equity
NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is issuing a challenge to women in government to stand with working women on International Women’s Day by pushing policies to reduce the gender pay gap. “We… Read More »It’s time for Beehive women to get real on pay equity - Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights… Read More »Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill - Equal Pay, Equal Rights: Fighting for Pay Equity in Aotearoa
Next month will mark 52 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed in Aotearoa New Zealand. For over a hundred years, unions have continued to work tirelessly in the pay… Read More »Equal Pay, Equal Rights: Fighting for Pay Equity in Aotearoa - Gender Pay Gap Not Closing
Evidence released by the NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi today shows that the gender pay gap is not closing quickly enough. “Calculations of official data show that women are paid 8.9% less… Read More »Gender Pay Gap Not Closing - Axing of Pay Equity Taskforce will entrench inequities for working women
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is deeply disappointed by confirmation of the Public Service Commission that the Pay Equity Taskforce will be disestablished. “The disestablishment of the Pay Equity Taskforce will… Read More »Axing of Pay Equity Taskforce will entrench inequities for working women - NZCTU calls on Govt to reverse disestablishment of Pay Equity Taskforce
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is calling on the Government to reverse their decision to disestablish the Pay Equity Taskforce team, as it will result in gender and ethnic… Read More »NZCTU calls on Govt to reverse disestablishment of Pay Equity Taskforce - Women in New Zealand effectively working for free for the rest of the year
Council of Trade Unions Vice President Rachel Mackintosh says New Zealand’s gender pay imbalance can and must be fixed. “Employers discriminate against women from the first day of work to the… Read More »Women in New Zealand effectively working for free for the rest of the year