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Kia Toipoto: Closing gender, Māori, Pacific and ethnic pay gaps | Pinea ngā āputa utu ā-ira, ā-Māori, ā-Pasifika...

19 Dec 2023

This action plan is taken from the full document published December 2023 by Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission, PO Box 25496, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, 6146.

Available online at https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/resources/resource-library/kia-toipoto-closing-gender-maori-pacific-and-ethnic-pay-gaps-kia-toipoto-pinea-nga-aputa-utu-a-ira-a-maori-a-pasifika

Enquiries to: info@hqsc.govt.nz


Contents | Ngā ihirangi


Te pono | Transparency 

Entities will publish annual action plans based on gender and ethnicity data and union/employee feedback.

Current state

We include job bands on position descriptions and adverts, but we do not disclose the range of the band.

If an employee asks for their band and position in the band we give it to them, but this information is not openly accessible to them.

Remuneration policy is available to employees as part of the human resource policy manual but is focused on the annual remuneration review process. 

We report on gender pay gaps in our annual report, but at a high level and without detailed analysis.

Future state

We will disclose the range of salary bands on all job adverts​.

When providing an offer of employment, we will inform people of their position in the salary range.

We will publish our Kia Toipoto action plan on our website and share it with all staff.

All action plans will include specific actions relating to equitable remuneration outcomes for Māori and other groups experiencing inequity.

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will strengthen the transparency of our human resource policies to include detailed information. This will include how remuneration is calculated, job bands, how to progress through bands and any changes to bands. Employees will be informed when this information is available.

People leaders will be supported to actively have conversations with their employees about remuneration.

Employees will have the opportunity to meet with the People, Culture and Capability group to discuss how their own remuneration is calculated.

All action plans will be developed with employees based on data and feedback. There will be an intentional focus on engaging with Māori employees. 

How will we measure success

Employees know where to find detailed information on remuneration within the organisation and how to apply it to their own remuneration.

Employees have a clear understanding of how their remuneration is determined, and the process for it to be reviewed.


Ngā hua tōkeke mō te utu | Equitable pay outcomes

By the end of 2022, agencies and entities have starting salaries and salaries for the same and similar roles that are not influenced by bias.

Current state

There has been no overall evaluation of existing position descriptions since Te Tāhū Hauora was first established in 2010, although remuneration experts Korn Ferry  has provided updated salary band information in previous years. However, previous evaluations are unlikely to represent current market value. 

Future state

We will regularly review internal relativities  based on tenure, knowledge, skills and position in range.
 
We will carry out an external review of position descriptions every 3–4 years in accordance with human resources good practice. 

We will continue to have an intentional focus on equitable pay for Māori. 

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will review position descriptions and have them re-evaluated by an external remuneration specialist to ensure market relativity by the end of quarter 3 2023/24.

We will benchmark job ‘families’ (ie, similar roles paid on the same band) by the end of quarter 3 2023/24 to ensure internal relativity.

People leaders will have guidance on pay bands and how to determine where to place new employees on a band.

While all employees are expected to embed Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles into their work in pursuit of improved Māori health outcomes, we will explore a remuneration framework that recognises specialised skills beyond those set out in job descriptions, such as strong knowledge in tikanga, te ao Māori, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  

How will we measure success

Employees have a clear understanding of how their starting salary was determined and what their position in the salary range is (eg, lower end, mid-point or higher end of the pay band) and why. 

Employees understand how they can progress through their pay band and into higher pay bands, such as career progression.

Salaries are consistent and equitable, with most employees paid around 100 percent of the pay band. 

Employees in positions where they have been evaluated to have more specialist skills are generally employed at around 100 percent of the pay band, but positions are increasingly being paid higher in the salary scale.


Te whai kanohi i ngā taumata katoa | Leadership and representation

By the end of April 2023, agencies and entities have plans and targets to improve gender and ethnic representation in leadership.

Current state

Most people leaders at Te Tāhū Hauora are female and identify as New Zealand European. 

Few people leaders identify as Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian.

Future state

In 2 years, we aim to have a people leadership group that includes Māori, Pacific and Asian leaders who are influential at all levels of the organisation, reflecting our enduring priorities.

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will develop a learning and development strategy that prioritises leadership capability, internal capability-building and cultural competencies.

All new and existing people leaders will have access to appropriate leadership support, coaching and development to succeed in their role, including but not limited to training in having courageous conversations.

We will make safe spaces available for continuous development and learning in tikanga, te ao Māori, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Employees will be expected to engage with this learning, regardless of their existing knowledge.

We will support employees to ensure workload and time constraints are not a barrier to development and learning.

We will have a safe learning environment for Māori employees to develop their own knowledge and skills in tikanga, te ao Māori, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

How we will measure success

Ethnic representation is measurable across our workforce.

Māori and Pacific employees are represented at all levels of the organisation.

Pay gaps reduce across genders, ethnicities and ages.


Te whakawhanaketanga i te aramahi | Effective career and leadership development

By mid-2023, agencies and entities have career pathways and equitable progression opportunities that support women, Māori, Pacific and ethnic employees to achieve their career aspirations.

Current state

The current policy on professional development is neither consistently applied across the organisation nor accessible to all positions and teams.

 We actively advertise on recruitment websites such as Kumara Vine  to attract Māori as well as using Māori-owned recruitment agencies such as Niche Recruitment.  

All Māori job applicants who have the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience for the role for which they are applying are interviewed.

Future state

We will have a professional development policy with clear and consistent guidelines that are can be consistently applied throughout the organisation. It will also contain a learning and development workplan that enables supports equitable growth for Māori, Pacific, ethnic, women, disabled and rainbow employees.

People leaders will support and encourage development of Māori, Pacific, ethnic, women, disabled and rainbow employees so they can achieve their career aspirations. 

People leaders and employees will discuss potential development opportunities throughout the year in performance conversations.

People leaders will ensure that workload is not a barrier to employee participation in development opportunities.

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will build the leadership capability of employees not in leadership roles with a specific focus on Māori and Pacific employees. 

We will support those in senior leadership roles to move into executive roles, where possible.

We will explore opportunities to create career pathways within the organisation.

We will develop a clear ‘attraction plan’ and employee value proposition that will attract diverse talent, with a particular focus on attracting Māori and Pacific employees.

When leadership roles become vacant, we will first look to internal talent, but where this is not feasible, we will include Māori and Pacific recruitment agencies and websites as part of our recruitment approach.

We will explore non-traditional methods of advertising, such as using Māori and Pacific networks through existing employees, while adhering to fair and good employer practices. 

We will develop a rainbow strategy plan so we can accurately portray an organisational culture likely to attract the rainbow community.

How will we measure success

Employee engagement surveys occur annually. 

Quarterly and annual reporting measures the diversity of those in leadership roles. 

People leaders continue to support employees in their professional development and growth, and this is reflected through clear annual progression by employees within salary bands.


Te whakakore i te katoa o ngā momo whakatoihara, haukume anō hoki | Eliminating all forms of bias and discrimination

By the end of 2023, agencies and entities will have remuneration and human resource systems, policies and practices designed to remove all forms of bias and discrimination.

Current state

Some processes are in place to attempt to remove discrimination (eg, Māori representation on interview panels).

Māori and Pacific employees are currently mostly recruited into specialist roles, rather than general roles.

Employees in their 20s and those who identify as Asian are more likely to be paid less than the mid-point of the pay band, compared with those of other groups. 

Future state

Our human resource policies and practices include proactive steps to remove bias in decision-making.

Processes for decisions related to people, culture and capability will be transparent​.

We will continue to enhance the data we collect from our employees to identify areas where we can strengthen policies, systems and practices.

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will carry out a full review of human resource policies with a focus on removing bias and discrimination, and engage Māori and Māori expertise during these reviews.

Revised human resource policies will be accessible to all employees.

Human resource policies will outline the process for annual salary reviews and out-of-cycle salary reviews, including the difference between them.

We will investigate why many employees who identify as Asian are paid below the mid-point of the pay band compared with those of other ethnicities and consider how to address this.

We will increase diversity across all levels of the organisation​. This includes an increase in the number of Māori employees and their distribution across the organisation.

We will roll out an anonymised recruitment tool.

We will explore options to efficiently monitor recruitment choices to ensure there is no age, gender or ethnic discrimination.

How will we measure success

Employees feel confident that Te Tāhū Hauora has human resource policies, systems and practices in place to remove bias and discrimination.

Recruitment choices show no age, gender or ethnic discrimination.

Employee engagement survey scores increase across all areas.


Te taunoa o te mahi pīngore | Flexible-work-by-default

By the end of 2024, agencies and entities offer equitable access to flexible-by-default working and ensure it does not undermine career progression or pay.

Current state

Te Tāhū Hauora supports flexible work arrangements for all employees in accordance with the Employment Relations Act 2000.

Flexible work arrangements may include changes to hours of work, part-time work and working from home.

Future state

Our position descriptions will include specific areas where employees can negotiate flexible working arrangements (eg, hours of work, working patterns and location of work).

Our policies, practices and employment documentation will reflect a flexible-work-by-default approach.

Our employees will be aware of our flexible-work-by-default approach and be able to negotiate this with their people leader without fear it may affect their career progression and pay.

Activities over the next 12–18 months

We will include flexible working options and negotiations on all position descriptions.

Job adverts will be updated and developed to include specific information about flexible working and the opportunities for this that specific positions may present.

Employees will be encouraged to discuss flexible working options with their people leader as their situation changes.

People leaders will be supported to enable their employees to work flexibly.

How will we measure success

The number of employees adopting flexible working arrangements will increase over time. 


To read the full Kia Toipoto document, click here.


Published: 19 Dec 2023 Modified: 19 Dec 2023