10 February 2022
Liz Simons
[FYI request #18188 email]
Tēnā koe Liz
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST
I refer to your official information request of
14 January 2022:
Dear Ministry for Women,
Under the Official Information Act I request the following information:
What is the percentage of Ministry staff that are male.
What level of gender balance is targeted or desired by the Ministry with respect to the
male/female gender balance. What is the tolerable percentage deviation from a 50:50
ratio the Ministry is happy with.
What is the gender pay gap between men and women at the Ministry.
What is the percentage tolerance level targeted with regards to pay difference between
genders that the Ministry views as allowable.
Does the Ministry look to have gender balance within all its business units and does it
actively pursue and monitor this.
What percentage of the senior leadership of the Ministry are men.
Does the Ministry ever envision a male CEO of the Ministry.
Does the Ministry support transwomen as real women and include them in female
statistics.
Does the Ministry support transwomen in women's sports.
Yours faithfully,
Liz
MW-OIA 21-22 0018 D-248522
The information you have requested is below. This information is sourced from the Public
Service Commission Te Kawa Mataaho (PSC) Workforce Data Collection for 30 June 2021.
The Workforce Data Collection is the annual process, led by PSC, to gather core Public
Sector data. The information is available on the PSC website here:
https:/ www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-work/workforce-data/.
What is the percentage of Ministry staff that are male?
At Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women 15.4% of staff are male.
What level of gender balance is targeted or desired by the Ministry with respect to the
male/female gender balance. What is the tolerable percentage deviation from a 50:50 ratio
the Ministry is happy with?
The Ministry aims to have a diverse and inclusive workplace. Under the Ministry’s Gender
Pay Action Plan October 2021, we continue to monitor our goal of 70/30 gender balance
in favour of women in leadership roles.
What is the gender pay gap between men and women at the Ministry?
The Ministry does not have any gender pay gaps between staff in the same roles – this is
called a “like-for-like jobs” gender pay gap comparison.
The Ministry's gender pay gap data is not published in the public service workforce data
because it does not meet the threshold required to produce the meaningful, high-level,
gender pay gap statistics specified in the Stats NZ guidelines for measuring
organisational gender pay gaps. Using this measure, the Ministry would need to have at
least 20 men and 20 women within its workforce for the results to be meaningful. In 2021
the Ministry had an organisation wide gender pay gap of 8.5 percent in favour of men.
Care needs to be taken with the interpretation of this figure as changes in the Ministry’s
staffing (even small changes) make the organisation wide figure volatile.
What is the percentage tolerance level targeted with regards to pay difference between
genders that the Ministry views as allowable?
The Ministry does not have any gender pay gaps between staff in the same roles – this is
called a “like-for-like jobs” gender pay gap comparison. The Ministry continues to focus
on maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce, supported by comprehensive
recruitment, management and remuneration practices that continue ensure gender pay
gaps do not occur between staff in the same roles.
Does the Ministry look to have gender balance within all its business units and does it
actively pursue and monitor this?
The Ministry’s recruitment process is designed to focus on hiring talented people into the
organisation. As part of our recruitment process, we are commit ed to the principles and
actions in the Public Service Gender Pay Action Plan of addressing equal pay, flexible by
default, removing bias or discrimination from remuneration systems and human resource
practices, gender-balanced leadership, and supporting the implementation of Kia Toipoto
the Public Service Pay Gap Action Plan 2021-24.
MW-OIA 21-22 0018 D-248522
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What percentage of the senior leadership of the Ministry are men?
On 30 June 2021, the Ministry had one male on its Senior Leadership team.
Does the Ministry ever envision a male CEO of the Ministry?
The Chief Executive and Secretary for Women is appointed by the Public Service
Commissioner.
Does the Ministry support transwomen as real women and include them in female statistics?
The Ministry supports the rights and interests of all women, including transgender
women, and recognises the right of all people to self-identify.
The Ministry does not independently collect any statistics aside from maintaining our
Nominations database for women appointed to public sector boards and commit ees, but
gathers publicly available data from agencies such as Stats NZ. Stats NZ collected data
about gender identity and sexuality for the first time in the Household Economic Survey
for the year ending June 2020.
Does the Ministry support transwomen in women's sports?
The Ministry supports all women and girls participating in sport, including transgender
women. Sporting organisations play a key role in challenging gender stereotypes and
combating gender-based discrimination and violence in New Zealand and help New
Zealand to promote diversity and inclusion within the international sporting community.
Official Information Act responses
Please note that this response, with your personal details redacted, may be published on the
Ministry’s website. If you have any concerns or comments related to this, please let us know
by emaili
ng [email address], within two weeks of the date of this letter.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Kellie Coombes
Secretary for Women
MW-OIA 21-22 0018 D-248522
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