Source: New Zealand Government
New Zealand’s gender pay gap has decreased from 8.2 percent in the June 2024 quarter to 5.2 percent in the June 2025 quarter, which is the lowest since the series began in 1998 according to Stats NZ data released today.
“This is fantastic news for women across New Zealand,” Minister for Women, Nicola Grigg says.
“The Government is committed to growing the economy to lift wages, opportunities, and living standards for all New Zealanders. Inflation and interest rates are down, wages are growing faster than inflation, and growth is expected to average 2.7% per year creating 240,000 jobs over the next four years.
“Last year I launched the first ever, government-backed gender pay gap calculator to support businesses to reduce their gender pay gap. I want to thank everyone who has taken up the challenge, calculated their pay gap, and taken action to address it. Collectively we are all working towards achieving my ambition of growing economic empowerment for women across the country.
“The data today shows women’s median hourly earnings in the past year have grown to $33.76. However, pay gaps remain wider for women from some ethnic groups, so I will be launching the second iteration of the toolkit to address those ethnic pay gaps in the coming months,” Ms Grigg says.
The gender pay gap declined 3.0 percentage points, the first statistically significant decline since 2017.
“I’m incredibly proud of the businesses that have leaned into addressing their gender pay gaps. We know there is more to do to keep growing incomes and closing the pay gap and I encourage all employers to make this a priority.
“Our Government is focused on supercharging the economy so that all New Zealanders are better off, including women and girls across the country.”
