EY Gender Pay Gap reporting

New Zealand does not currently have mandatory employer-level gender pay gap reporting. However, many organisations choose to measure and publish their pay gaps voluntarily, recognising that transparency is an important step toward understanding and addressing the structural factors that shape pay outcomes. EY New Zealand continues to maintain commitment to narrowing the gender pay gap and analysing our New Zealand specific data.

At EY New Zealand, we view pay gap measurement as a tool to support transparency, accountability and to inform actions across the workforce. Our approach aligns with New Zealand guidance and voluntary reporting frameworks, and sits alongside broader efforts to create fairer systems, inclusive workplaces and sustainable progress toward gender equity.

Broader New Zealand context

Nationally, New Zealand’s gender pay gap has been narrowing in recent years. Official statistics show progress overall, while also highlighting that pay gaps remain significantly wider for wāhine Māori, Pacific women, ethnic women and disabled women. These differences reflect long-standing labour-market patterns, including occupational segregation, career interruptions, and unequal access to senior and higher-paid roles.

It is important to distinguish between pay gaps and pay equity. A gender pay gap looks at average earnings across the workforce, while pay equity focuses on whether different jobs of equal value are paid fairly. Both perspectives are critical to understanding how gendered outcomes in pay develop and persist over time.

The pay gap metric helps to identify societal factors that may impact people's careers, and address these in a comprehensive manner. Importantly, we view pay gap reporting as a tool to overcome barriers that may prevent people from reaching their potential, and in turn, contribute to a more productive society.  

In the future, our focus areas include:

• Expanding our approach to transparency to drive change
• Measuring the outcomes of our programs and initiatives to ensure that they meet the needs of our people and business
• Enhancing our data collection and capabilities to provide increased insight into intersectional pay gaps.

We look forward to building on our progress, learning and strengthening our collective ambition to Build a Better Working World.

What EY can do for you

The gender pay gap data your business discloses is powerful. Supported by detailed analysis and narrative it can:

• give your investors, employees and other stakeholders insight into levels of equality in your organisation
• identify any concerns that talent is not being successfully maximised and help you address them to future proof your workforce strategy.

How we can help

EY can work with you to build confidence in your gender pay gap disclosures, help analyse problems, assure the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at addressing them, co-develop strategies for continued improvement, and design a culture where people thrive at work. Our people and teams can support you to:

• identify errors in the way you apply the regulations to calculate your gender pay gap
• build and strengthen internal systems and controls for collecting and reporting gender pay gap data
• increase confidence in the accuracy and completeness of data and build credibility and trust among internal and external stakeholders that you are committed to gender equality
• identify problem areas and help you close the gap by suggesting targeted proven interventions.