For decades, work and roles predominantly held by women have been undervalued and underpaid.

In Aotearoa-New Zealand, the Equal Pay Act 1972 was introduced to support government, employers, and unions, on behalf of workers, to identify, quantify, and redress gender-based pay discrimination. However, it was not until the Equal Pay Act was amended in 2020 that the pay equity process was more accessible and provided the mechanism for a consistent, rigorous and a fair work assessment process was put in place where jobs are evaluated and sex-based pay gaps able to be addressed where the evidence indicates it exists.

This process has helped correct the pay for tens of thousands of workers and many thousands more were set to receive appropriate increases in the coming months and years.