NEWS ROUNDUP
Winning workplaces for women
F
our of New Zealand’s leading employers and one outstanding individual were named as the winners of the sixth annual YWCA Equal Pay Awards at a celebratory function in Auckland on 12 November.
and Culture, Shaun Philp, said that the company’s success in designing and implementing flexible work and a zero pay gap strategy reflects a whole organisation commitment. “The Chorus Board and Executive team fundamentally believe that gender pay equity is a central principle to our broader belonging strategy, which is why we’ve taken an active approach to managing gender-equal pay,” he said.
Gender pay equity is a central tenet to our broader belonging strategy.
Chorus and She Sharp founder, Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh, were both recognised as champions of equal pay in the 2019 Awards, which acknowledge best practice in creating gender-equal workplaces.
“We subscribe to the philosophy that equal pay is a social justice and an important economic issue. The focus on gender balance across Chorus (and, in turn, pay equity) has benefited all our employees and the workplace in several ways. It is hugely satisfying internally, from a leadership and People and Culture team perspective, to see the progress we are making – it’s important we now take a role in the wider business community and share what we are doing to support others also to make progress,” Philp added. The judging panel was very impressed with Chorus’s internal and external communications, which include publishing its gender pay data in its 2019 Annual Report. Judging panellist, Kirsten Patterson, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors, described the Chorus entry as a holistic programme that has achieved tangible results across the organisation.
The Supreme Award has been won by Chorus, which also took the Leadership and Progressive awards. Chorus General Manager for People 4
HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2019
“Chorus has set a well-defined strategy and is making significant and meaningful progress against the objectives in a measured and transparent way. The Board level leadership for their gender pay
journey is commendable, and their transparency by providing genderequal pay data in their annual report is an encouraging trend many other organisations could similarly adopt,” she said.
Companies that have diversity at the Board level do better than those that don’t. Workplace Programme Lead of The Y Auckland, Zoe Brownlie, said that the awards play a critical part in closing New Zealand’s gender pay gap. “Some companies are making great progress in this area – they know that embracing diversity – including attracting and retaining a range of women in the workforce – pays dividends to their bottom line. We also know that companies that have diversity at the Board level do better than those that don’t. Over the past six years, we have seen a rise in companies addressing their gender pay gap and the number of new entrants and new sectors represented in 2019 is proof of this,” she said. YWCA Auckland (The Y) is a charitable organisation with a heritage of providing free community programmes in Auckland for more than 132 years. The Y is part of the world’s largest women’s organisation, a global network of 25 million women leading social and economic change in more than 100 countries worldwide. The Champion Award, which recognises an outstanding individual driving equal pay in an organisation, was awarded to AUT Senior Lecturer, Computer Engineer and Founder of She Sharp, Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh. Her work addressing the gender imbalance in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field and raising awareness of the
