GOVERNANCE AT MERCURY.

Objectives

Gender

We have clear and simple targets for gender diversity of 40:40:20 at all levels. This means we aim for a minimum of 40% female and 40% male, with the balance being any gender.

Pay Equity

We ensure that everyone is rewarded fairly for their work.

Ethnicity

Aligned to our goal of having clear & simple targets, we have simplified long-term targets for ethnicity of 15:15:10. This means we aim for a minimum of 15% Māori, 15% Asian and 10% Pasifika at all levels (these are closely aligned to our population demographics and are minimums).

Age

To ensure our business is diverse in a range of ways, we monitor our age profile to check that we are aligned to the national median.

The median age of the NZ workforce is 41.8 years (National Labour Force projections, 2023)

Benchmark against national median age of the labour force in New Zealand National Labour Force projections

41.7, consistent with national labour force projections

Benchmark against national median age of the labour force in New Zealand National Labour Force projections

41.2, slightly below national labour force projections

At 30 June 2023, the proportion of women on the EMT (including the Chief Executive) was 37.5%, or three out of eight (as at 30 June 2022 this was 44% or four out of nine).

The proportion of women on the Board at balance date was 50%, or four out of eight, including the Chair (as at 30 June 2022 this was 25%, or two out of eight). At 30 June 2023, no Directors or EMT self-identify as gender diverse (as was the case as at 30 June 2022).

During FY23 we have improved our collection of ethnicity information by expanding from one to three ethnicity fields. In order to maintain consistency of measurement against our targets, we have adopted the Stats NZ prioritised ethnic groups. This involves each person being allocated to a single ethnic group based on the groups they have identified with, which are, in order of priority: Māori, Pacific, Asian and European/Other.

At 30 June 2023, our gender pay equity was 97.1% (as at 30 June 2022 this was 94.9%).

Gender pay equity is calculated as the average position in range (relative to the role’s band midpoint) of female fixed remuneration compared with the average position in range of male fixed remuneration. Our gender pay gap which compares the median hourly rate between males and females was 41.9% (as at 30 June 2022 this was 21.7%).

Pay equity by ethnicity compared to “other” ethnicity was Māori 99.9%; Asian 98.6% and Pasifika 97.6%. The ethnicity pay gap which compares the median hourly rate between each ethnicity and “other” ethnicity was Māori 32%; Asian -2.7% and 37.7% for Pasifika.

The Board believes that for this reporting period Mercury has continued to make progress towards achieving our inclusiveness, equity, and diversity objectives and against our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy generally. However, the Board notes that continued focus is required for us to achieve our FY24 diversity target.

* We acknowledge there are gaps and we are addressing these through programmes such as the Diverse Emerging Leaders programme