Christmas Message from the Pay Equity Challenge

Media Release: for immediate use
21 December 2009

Christmas Message from the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition

Christmas is coming
The goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the wo-man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny
A ha’penny will do
If you haven’t got a ha’penny
Then God bless you.

The Pay Equity Challenge Coalition says women of New Zealand might just be saying this, this Christmas, as they wait for a message from on high especially given that we are out of the recession.

The Coalition was set up earlier this year to push for the gender pay gap to be closed.

However, spokeswoman Angela McLeod says the Coalition, believes achieving this will take a miracle unless government starts to take the issue seriously

“We’ve seen no evidence this government has any intention to address the gender pay gap,” says Angela McLeod.

Figures show the gender pay gap is 12% per hour worked and if you take in to account all income sources, full and part time, then the gap is 42%.

The Pay Equity Challenge Coalition has launched a website to highlight the issue: providing information to educate readers, and the latest news and events.

“The gender pay gap does exist”, says Mrs McLeod. “When you have over 60% of the graduates who are women, earning 8% less than their male counterparts at the end of their first year of working, and 14% after 5 years, we have a problem.”

At Christmas when we should all be showing goodwill to all, the Pay Equity Challenge coalition is asking where is the goodwill for the women of New Zealand from the Government?

ENDS

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