INTOUCH : Pay Equi-Tea – where is it?

Why, 116 years after women in New Zealand gained parity at the ballot box, do they still not have pay equity with men?
That was the question being asked last month by the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition which was launched on Suffrage Day with special tea party and list of goals aimed at gaining women full share of the pay-equi-tea cake.
The coalition goals include:
• achieving equal value and recognition of women’s work;
• keeping pressure on Government and employers to address pay and employment equity;
• supporting groups of workers fighting for pay and employment equity;
• looking at industrial, social, legal and political solutions;
• keeping pay and employment equity on the public agenda; and
• educating the public about pay and employment equity to build support for the coalition.
Coalition members range from the Public Services Association and NZ nurses to dairy workers, rural workers, The NZ Federation of Business & Professional Women and Finsec.