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Winning workplaces for women
Four 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.
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.
The Supreme Award has been won by Chorus, which also took the Leadership and Progressive awards. Chorus General Manager for People 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.
“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.
“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.
Chorus General Manager for People and Culture, Shaun Philp
Bluebird Office staff
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
importance and value of diversity and equality in technology has affected thousands. She founded She Sharp as a non-profit women’s networking group in 2014 to provide encouragement, support and learning for women in the STEM field, and those considering joining it. She Sharp runs eight to ten networking and development events each year for high school girls, female tertiary students and professionals from within the industry.
The On the Journey Award was won by Xero, which entered the awards for the first time. Judges praised its rigorous and scientific mindset in addressing gender pay equity and noted the employee feedback channels were being effectively used to refine and improve its remuneration framework. The judging panel commented that it’s no surprise Xero dominates the Cloud accounting landscape.
Waikato-based Wintec won the Innovation Award with its Wintec Industry Sharing Experience (WISE) programme, which lets staff and students form valuable partnerships with employers through both industry secondments and industry teaching partnerships. Judge Rob Campbell described Wintec’s entry as an excellent public sector corporate initiative that reflects sound organisational strategy and passion from those delivering.
Auckland Council‘s Kia Puawai initiative demonstrated the wider social impact of the Council’s commitment to improving employment outcomes in South Auckland and won it the Community Award. Its customer services department initiated a highly successful partnership with Work and Income Manukau and the Solomon Group to bring local unemployed people into its contact centre workforce. Judges applauded the programme as a significant stepchange in how women in South Auckland are supported to enter (or re-enter) the workforce and improve the financial position of their families.
On 3 September 2019, Statistics New Zealand announced that the official gender pay gap was 9.3 per cent.
This is the third-smallest gap since the series began 20 years ago. In comparison, the gender pay gap was 9.1 per cent in 2012 (the lowest on record) and 9.2 per cent in 2018. While the gap has closed over the past 20 years, on average, women in New Zealand are still paid less for an hour’s work than men.
Chorus and She Sharp founder, Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh
