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Has sexism suppressed teachers’ pay? Education ministry launches investigation

Published

4 years ago

May 9, 2023

The Education Ministry has begun investigating whether sexism has suppressed teachers’ pay.

The pay equity investigation covers about 90,000 school and early childhood teachers and principals and follows claims lodged by the Educational Institute and the Post Primary Teachers Association in 2020.

The unions said teaching had been undervalued right across the education sector because the education and care of children was historically viewed as women’s work.

Ministry figures indicated 64 percent of secondary teachers, 85 percent of primary teachers and 97 percent of early childhood teachers were women and, depending on qualifications and experience, their base pay scale ranged from $51,358 to $90,000 a year.

Early childhood teacher Mel Burgess helped the Educational Institute lodge its claim in 2020 and said she realised there was an equity gap when she graduated from teacher education.

“I held the pay scale that I could expect to be earning once graduating side-by-side with the fees that I had just clocked up and I realised it was a huge disparity in that and at that moment wondered if it was worth it.

“At the same time I knew of somebody who was graduating, same length of degree as me, going into IT and their starting salary was going to be $20,000 more than what I could expect and that was the moment I knew that thing were pretty unfair,” she said.

Burgess said she hoped teachers would get the sort of settlement other education staff had won in recent pay equity decisions.

“So for people like support staff and teacher aides, librarians and science techs, they’ve seen some really big jumps of 20 to 30 percent and I would love to see something similar to that. I think that’s what we deserve,” she said.

“All the professions that are undervalued are those ones that are predominantly done by women or are relying on what they like to call soft skills, jobs that require empathy or understanding how people work or human communication, all those kinds of things.

“I think that’s what I would like to see addressed because that kind of work is extremely challenging to do well and people underestimate the skill and the expertise that’s needed,” Burgess said.

The OECD’s Education at a Glance publication said New Zealand primary teachers earned 94 percent of what workers with similar tertiary qualifications earned in other professions, but secondary teachers earned the same as those with similar qualifications.

Louise Ryan from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association said secondary teachers’ pay used to be one-and-a-half times the average salary but by 2020 that had declined to one-and-a-quarter as the secondary teaching workforce became more feminised.

“Early 1990s probably more than half of the secondary teaching workforce would be female, and at the moment, we would say that about 70 percent of secondary teachers are female and over the past 20 years we’ve seen that downward trend in secondary teachers’ base pay relative to the average wage and we do believe that this is connected to that increasing feminisation,” she said.

Ryan said teachers’ pay was determined through collective bargaining with the Education Ministry and that process failed to recognise the nature of secondary teachers’ work.

“This is really important. It matters. Because regardless of gender, all workers should be paid the same for mahi of equal value,” she said.

She said the investigation was starting with interviews of teachers, which should be complete by the end of the year.

“This is the part of the process that identifies areas of secondary teachers’ work that have been traditionally under-valued,” Ryan said.

The associate director of the New Zealand Work Research Institute at AUT, Katherine Ravenswood, said the claim was massive, covering a big workforce.

“I think it’s potentially a really strong case. They’re not going to put a claim in if they don’t think there’s pretty good grounds for it because the pay equity claims process is quite intense and it is quite long. So it’s a lot of effort if you think it’s not going to be a pretty sure win,” she said.

Ravenswood said teachers’ responsibilities and skills were significant as was the impact of their work on society.

“When we’re thinking of the kinds of work teachers do, they have to be experts in a lot of things,” she said.

Ravenswood said the pay equity investigation would compare teachers work and earnings with a similar male-dominated occupation.

She said a possible comparator workforce might be engineers because they required three or four years of education and the consequences of their work were significant.

SOURCE RNZ

Latest News

Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2026

News Staff

Police say a person who fired a gun at officers in Napier is still at large.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Joel Lamb said Police tried to stop a vehicle in the Pirimai Area at about 10pm on Tuesday.

He said someone in the back seat pointed what was presumed to be a firearm at officers pursuing the vehicle.

“Staff have then heard two distinct gunshots as the firearm was discharged.

“Fortunately, neither of our officers were injured, and the patrol vehicle did not sustain any damage.”

He said hours later, the vehicle was seen travelling north on the Waikato Expressway towards Auckland.

Police seized the vehicle at an address in Manurewa, but they had not found the alleged offender.

Lamb said people who lived at the Manurewa address were engaging with Police.

He said Eastern District and Counties Manukau Police were making enquiries.

“Presenting a firearm at a Police officer is a serious escalation that puts our staff and the wider community at risk. This behaviour is entirely unacceptable.

“We are taking this incident extremely seriously and will be pursuing all lines of enquiry to locate the offender and hold them accountable.”

Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Police on 105 or online using the reference number 261111/3764.

Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

rnz

Latest News

New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

News Staff

The players tasked with ending Australia’s Rugby League World Cup dominance have been named.

The Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns have announced their squads for this Sunday’s World Cup finals in Brisbane.

Both sides are chasing their first titles since 2008, and both are looking to end their opponents run of three crowns in a row.

“Our Kiwi Ferns have been so dominant in years gone by, and we want to bring dominance back to this jersey, so I think it will be a case of who wants it more,” said co-captain Georgia Hale of the impending clash.

The Kiwis get a major boost for the final as they welcome back Ronaldo Mulitalo after he served a one-match ban for a high tackle against Fiji Bati.

Mulitalo replaces Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who moves to the six-man bench, which again includes utility Te Maire Martin, middle forwards Naufahu Whyte, Erin Clark and Xavier Willison plus fullback Keano Kini.

Loose forward Joseph Tapine will make his 30th Test appearance in a familiar pack again, including second-rowers Isaiah Papali’i and Briton Nikora, and props James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.

Winger Jamayne Isaako is on the cusp of claiming the New Zealand record for most Test points.

His five goals against Tonga lifted his career points tally to 225 – level with Shaun Johnson – while centre Casey McLean goes into the final with 16 tries in just eight Tests.

Fisher-Harris will again captain the team.

Fullback Ponga said the goal of the group was clear.

“We have high expectations around what we want to achieve, and obviously winning a world Cup is one of them.”

Meanwhile, Ricky Henry has selected a settled side to take on the Jillaroos, led by their lethal centre combination of Stacey Waaka and Mele Hufanga.

Veteran Apii Nicholls takes the number one jersey, Leianne Tufuga and Mackenzie Wiki on the wings.

Henry has stuck with his halves pairing of Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Raecene McGregor with Alexis Tauaneai, Georgia Hale and Otesa Pule up front.

Rounding out the starting pack is Shaniece Monschau, Kaiyah Atai, and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

“We have been building well throughout the tournament; we understand the Jillaroos side, and will give it our all to make New Zealand proud this weekend,” said Henry.

RLWC Finals:

Kiwi Ferns vs Jillaroos- 6.10pm

Kiwis vs Kangaroos – 9.35pm

Sunday November 15

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Live blog updates on RNZ

Kiwi Ferns:

1. Apii Nicholls 2. Leianne Tufuga 3. Mele Hufanga 4. Stacey Waaka 5. Mackenzie Wiki 6. Chantay Kiria-Ratu 7. Raecene McGregor 8. Alexis Tauaneai 9. Georgia Hale 10. Otesa Pule 11. Shaniece Monschau 12. Kaiyah Atai 13. Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

Interchange: 14. Ashleigh Quinlan 15. Annessa Biddle 16. Shannon Mato 17. Ivana Lauitiiti.

Reserves: 18. Brooke Anderson 19. Zahara Temara 20. Brianna Clark 21. Abigail Roache 22. Tenika Willison.

Kiwis:

1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Casey McLean, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. James Fisher-Harris (c), 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Moses Leota, 11. Isaiah Papali’i, 12. Briton Nikora, 13. Joseph Tapine (v/c).

Interchange: 14. Te Maire Martin, 15. Naufahu Whyte, 16. Erin Clark, 17. Xavier Willison.

Reserves: 18. Keano Kini, 19. Phoenix Crossland, 20. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 21. Scott Sorensen, 22. Leo Thompson.

rnz

Latest News

Parliamentary Service working on extra chairs and offices for increased number of MPs

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

News Staff

The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.

On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.

Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.

In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.

“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.

“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”

Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service Rafael Gonzalez-Montero appears before select committee. — Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero.

VNP / Phil Smith

Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.

That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.

“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.

Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.

Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.

The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.

Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.

Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.

“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”

Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.

rnz