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Status of Women in new zealand
New Zealand's 6th CEDAW report to the United Nations
Indicators for Change
Tracking the progress of New Zealand women
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
October 2008
Click HERE for a PDF [926kB]
Indicators for Change: Tracking progress of New Zealand women is a Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ report that uses high-level monitoring indicators to provide an overall picture of how New Zealand women are doing in a range of areas including health, education, labour force participation, and leadership.
Indicators for Change provides a ‘snapshot’ on how women are doing against the three goals of the 2004 Action Plan for New Zealand Women: well-being, economic sustainability, and work-life balance, and it will inform the review of the Action Plan in late-2009.
The purpose of Indicators for Change is to bring together in one place a range of reliable, easy-to-use data on the status of women for the use of policy-makers, government agencies, non-government organisations, and members of the public. It will be used to set a baseline for future monitoring, and identify areas where more work may be needed. It is not a static report, but rather an evolving one. The indicators will be updated as new information becomes available and new indicators may be added.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 1: Highlights
– How are women doing overall?
– How are Māori and Pacific women doing?
Section 2: A Profile of New Zealand Women
– Ethnicity
– Age and life expectancy
– Fertility
– Marital status
– Employment
– Disability
Section 3: Well-being Indicators
– Health expectancy
– Self-reported health status
– Access to health services
– Workplace injuries
– Criminal victimisation and reporting
– Concern about crime
– Representation of women in leadership and governance positions
Section 4: Economic Sustainability Indicators
– Educational attainment
– Participation in tertiary education
– Joblessness
– Median hourly earnings
– Weekly incomes
Section 5: Work-life Balance Indicators
– Total work time
– Access to early childhood education
Section 6: Technical Details
Endnotes
Introduction
The last forty years have seen enormous changes in women’s roles in society. Women have entered new areas of education and paid work and more women are now participating in the workforce than ever before. Attitudes towards women and families have changed, and women now have many more options for how they live their lives than in the past. In some areas, women have made a large amount of progress. For example, the gap between men’s and women’s earnings has decreased significantly since the 1970s.
While progress has been made, the obstacles to achieving gender equity that remain are often those that are most difficult to address. These challenges include how to value the significant contribution that women make through their unpaid work, address the potential under-valuing of female-dominated occupations, eliminate violence against women, and ensure women have access to equal opportunities in those areas of the workforce where they are still poorly represented. These goals by their nature may take some time to achieve.
While it may take many years to reach these goals, monitoring of progress allows us to identify areas which may require a stronger focus and adjust our efforts accordingly.
The purpose of this report
Indicators for Change: Tracking the progress of New Zealand women (Indicators for Change) uses indicators to provide information on the current social and economic status of women.
The purpose of the report is to provide government policy makers and planners with a way to track progress towards achieving the high-level outcomes through the Action Plan for New Zealand Women (the Action Plan), and identify areas where more work may be needed. The report sets a baseline against which progress can be measured in the future.
While the indicators are intended to track progress towards achieving the Action Plan’s goals, they are also expected to have a life beyond the current Action Plan, which has a timeframe of five years. It is envisaged that additional indicators will be added in the future as new data sources become available.
The role of the indicators
Indicators help monitor progress towards desired outcomes across a system. They can measure outcomes at the level of society, a system, a particular government service, or for a particular issue.
The indicators featured in this report have been selected to measure a range of areas that contribute to the major goals of the Action Plan. These are to:
- improve the economic independence of women (economic sustainability)
- achieve greater work-life balance for families (work-life balance)
- improve the quality of life of New Zealand women (well-being).
The purpose of these indicators is not to measure performance in relation to accountabilities. The indicators are designed to measure outcomes at a high level, for the purpose of understanding how well women are doing overall.
There are many possible areas where outcomes for women could be tracked. As with most indicator sets, the approach taken in Indicators for Change is to provide a set of indicators that act as a ‘dashboard’. The indicators are not intended to cover all areas where monitoring is possible. Rather, they provide us with particular parts of the picture, which need to be understood in context. The selected indicators are intended to:
- give an overall snapshot of how women, or particular groups of women, are doing
- focus on some areas where women are not doing so well
- include some areas that are significant for women, but are not a focus of other monitoring reports
- provide a ‘gender angle’ that complements and expands on monitoring from other reports, such as The Social Report (www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/).
Of course, measurement alone will not lead to improvement in outcomes. It is hoped, however, that the report will provide policy makers with a clearer understanding of the areas where changes may be necessary for improvements in outcomes to occur.
The Action Plan for New Zealand Women and the monitoring indicators
The Action Plan for New Zealand Women
Launched in 2004, the Action Plan is a whole-of-government plan to improve the circumstances of women in New Zealand.
Women make up just over half of our population, and a wide variety of factors impact on how well women are doing. As a result, no one government agency is responsible for women’s outcomes. The Action Plan provides a means of co ordinating the efforts of a range of agencies in relation to different areas, such as health, education, employment, and safety.
How do the indicators link with the Action Plan?
Each indicator is linked to at least one of the three goals of the Action Plan. In order to select the indicators, we identified a number of intermediate outcomes that would need to occur in order for the three high-level goals of the Action Plan (noted above) to be achieved. We then identified available data measures that could illustrate aspects of these intermediate outcomes.
The table below outlines the outcomes sought in each area of the Action Plan and the related indicators.
Table 1: Linking the indicators with the Action Plan goals
|
Action Plan goals |
Indicators |
|
Well-being |
|
|
New Zealand women enjoy a quality of life that allows them to achieve desired well-being |
|
|
Economic sustainability |
|
|
New Zealand women can attain economic independence |
|
|
Work-life balance |
|
|
Women can attain their preferred work-life balance |
|
A number of criteria were also used in selecting the indicators. These were that the indicators should be:
- measurable
- interpretable
- based on statistically-robust data
- from a data source that is expected to be repeated at regular intervals
- able to be disaggregated to smaller groups of women.
Disaggregation
As well as tracking how outcomes for women compare with outcomes for men and change over time, it is also important to track whether some sub-populations of women are experiencing poorer outcomes than others. In many cases, the average for women can disguise wide variation in how well women are doing. In order to improve outcomes for all women, it is important to identify whether there is wide variation, and for which groups of women the outcomes are poorer.
Wherever possible, the indicators in this report have been disaggregated by ethnicity and age, as well as gender. For some indicators, data is broken down by other factors related to variation in outcomes. For example, disaggregating health indicators by socio-economic status reveals wide variation in the health of women.
Unfortunately, for most indicators the data sources do not enable us to report on outcomes for disabled women or women from smaller ethnic groups, either because this data is not collected or because sample sizes for surveys are not large enough to provide robust data on smaller groups.
Updating the indicators
It is intended that the indicators used in this report will be updated as new information becomes available. Information is drawn from a number of sources that vary in how often new data is collected. For some indicators, such as those that draw on data from the Household Labour Force Survey, new data will be available each year. For others, such as the Time Use Survey or indicators sourced from the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings, new data will only be available every five to ten years.
Areas for future indicators and gaps
There are some areas of women's well-being where no sufficiently robust data source currently exists that could be used as the basis of an indicator. For some of these areas, data will become available over the next few years as new data sources become available.
Some of the areas where indicators may be added in the future include:
- social connectedness (for example, feelings of isolation and barriers to social contact)
- satisfaction with work-life balance and leisure time
- access to Out of School Services.
Structure of the report
This report is divided into three sections. The first section, Highlights, provides a summary of how women are doing across all the indicators.
The second section, a Profile of Women in New Zealand, provides demographic and contextual information on the size and composition of the population of women in New Zealand. This information compares women with men, as well as showing differences between groups of women.
The third section provides more comprehensive information on each indicator, and is divided into the three areas of the Action Plan: well-being, economic sustainability, and work-life balance.
Section 1:
Highlights
How are women doing overall?
Well-being
Women experience better overall health outcomes than men on average. Women can expect to live in good health for longer than men (69.2 years compared with 67.5 years for men) and more women than men report that they consider their health to be very good or excellent. Both genders have seen improvements in mortality and disability over the last ten years.
Women are more likely than men to be unable to access a GP due to cost, lack of transport or lack of childcare. These barriers are, however, becoming less common.
Women and men now have similar qualification levels overall. Over the last ten years there has been a significant increase in women’s participation in tertiary education, and younger women are now more likely to hold a tertiary qualification than young men.
Figure 1: Participation in tertiary education, by gender, 1999-2007
Source: Ministry of Education
Although women now make up almost half of the workforce, women remain under-represented in leadership and governance positions.
Women’s representation in leadership positions is relatively high on district health boards (44 percent female) and state sector boards (42 percent female) and is lower in parliament (33 percent female) and the judiciary (26 percent). Women’s representation in leadership positions is particularly low in the private sector, where women make up 8.7 percent of board members of New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSX) top 100 companies.
While women as a group are enjoying better than average health outcomes and improved education outcomes, violence continues to impact on the lives of women.
Overall, women and men are equally likely to be victims of a crime. Women are, however, more likely to be victims of partner and sexual offences, while men are more likely to be victims of confrontational offences committed by strangers.
While the proportion of women who were victims of a partner offence in 2005 was only slightly higher than that of men (7 percent compared with 6 percent), the number of partner offences as a percentage of the population was considerably higher for women (26 percent compared with 18 percent for men). This means that those women who are victims are victimised more often than men.
More women than men are victims of family-violence related murders. During the period 2000 to 2004 (inclusive), 54 women were murdered by a man with whom they had a domestic relationship. Three men were murdered by a woman with whom they had a domestic relationship.
Concern about crime has a greater impact on the lives of women than men. In 2005, 45 percent of women reported that fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life, compared with 34 percent of men. Women are particularly concerned about inter personal violence, and especially sexual violence. Over 25 percent of women are very worried about being a victim of sexual violence.
Figure 2: People ‘very worried’ about victimisation, by gender, 2005
Source: Ministry of Justice
Women are less likely than men to have an accident at work. This reflects differences in the industries where women and men work. Men are more likely to work in those industries where workplace injuries are most common.
Economic sustainability
Over the long-term, economic outcomes for women have improved considerably. This can be attributed partly to the increase in women’s participation in higher education seen since the 1980s. There are more women in the paid labour force than ever before, and jobless rates are low by historical standards.
Women continue, however, to experience poorer economic outcomes than men, on average. The median weekly total income of women was 42 percent lower than that of men in 2007, and women are much less likely to receive high incomes. This reflects the combination of women being less likely to be in paid work, more likely to work part time, and earning less per hour worked.
Figure 3: Median weekly total incomes, by gender, 1997-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
In retirement, however, women and men have similar total incomes, reflecting the large proportion of retirement income provided by New Zealand Superannuation.
The differences in women’s and men’s employment patterns and total incomes reflect the larger share of unpaid work, and in particular caring work, done by women. Women and men spend a similar amount of time working, but 70 percent of women’s work is unpaid, compared with 40 percent of men’s.
The contribution women make to New Zealand through their greater role in caring is highly significant. In 2001 the value of unpaid work in New Zealand was estimated at $40 billion, with women contributing 64 percent of the total value.[1]
There continues to be a ‘pay gap’ between men and women of around 12 percent. That is, women on average earn 12 percent less per hour worked than men.
While the pay gap has narrowed over the long-term, it has remained more or less stable at around 12 percent since 2001. The gap between men’s and women’s incomes also narrowed by only 2 percentage points between 1997 and 2007.
Work-life balance
Results from the 1998/99 Time Use Survey shed some light on whether women are carrying a ‘double burden’. The Time Use Survey found that women and men spent a similar amount of time working, but women spent more time on unpaid work and men spent more time on paid work. Women spent considerably more time working when both primary and simultaneous work activities are counted.
Figure 4: Average hours per day spent on work, primary activities only, by gender, 1998/99
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Women and men in full-time paid employment spent a very similar amount of time working in total. They spent significantly more time on work in total than people who were in part-time employment or people who were not in paid work.
Amongst people who were employed part-time or were not in paid employment, women spent more time working than men, as they undertook more unpaid work.
There has been a substantial improvement recently in the affordability of ECE for three- and four-year-old children, following the introduction of 20 hours of free ECE in teacher-led services for this age group.
Information on waiting times indicates that long waiting times are becoming more common, particularly for one- and two year-old children.
Different women will have different preferences for the balance between work and other parts of their life that they consider works best for them. To understand whether women are satisfied with their work-life balance, subjective measures are also needed. Future editions of this report will draw on new sources of information to report on women’s overall satisfaction with their work-life balance.
How are Māori and Pacific women doing?
The following table outlines how Māori and Pacific women compare with European women on some key indicators.
Table 2: Comparing Māori, Pacific and European women against key indicators, 2007
|
|
Māori women |
Pacific women |
European women |
|
% with at least an upper secondary qualification |
60.0% |
55.6% |
71.0% |
|
% participating in tertiary education |
23.5% |
17.0% |
11.5% |
|
% who were victims of a crime (2005) |
51% |
¾ |
36% |
|
% victimised by partner violence (2005) |
18% |
¾ |
6% |
|
Jobless rate |
10.3% |
8.2% |
3.7% |
|
Median Hourly earnings |
$14.80 |
$15.00 |
$17.22 |
The hourly earnings of both Māori and Pacific women have increased over the last decade, in line with overall increases in hourly earnings. Rates of joblessness have also decreased considerably since 1992. Overall, however, the gap between Māori and Pacific women and other women does not yet appear to be narrowing for most economic sustainability indicators.
There has been considerable improvement in education outcomes for Māori and Pacific women in recent years.
While they are still less likely to have a tertiary qualification than European women, both Māori and Pacific women are significantly more likely than European women to be participating in tertiary education. The proportion of Māori and Pacific women with a tertiary qualification increased by 14.5 and 14.4 percentage points between 1996 and 2007 respectively, compared with 9.8 percentage points for European women.
Māori and Pacific women experience poorer overall health outcomes than European women. Māori and Pacific women are less likely than European women to rate their health as being very good or excellent, and are also more likely to be unable to access a GP due to cost, lack of transport or lack of childcare.
Over the last ten years, however, the gap between Māori and non-Māori women in the number of years a person can expect to live in good health has narrowed, from nine years in 1996 to six years in 2006.
Māori women are the most likely of the main gender and ethnic groups to be victims of crime. In 2005, 51 percent of Māori women were victims of a crime at least once, compared with 39 percent for the population overall. Māori women were two and a half times more likely than women overall to report being a victim of partner violence in 2005 (18 percent compared with 7 percent of women overall).
Pacific people are more likely than people of other ethnicities to report that they are very worried about being a victim of crime. Pacific people are particularly concerned about sexual violence and assault by strangers.
Workplace injury claim information indicates that Māori and Pacific women are more likely to experience a workplace injury than European women. They are significantly less likely to experience a workplace injury than men of any ethnicity.
Section 2:
A Profile of New Zealand Women
Just over half of the New Zealand population (51 percent) are women. While there are fewer girls born each year, women have a lower mortality rate and tend to live longer than men.
Ethnicity
In 2006, nearly two-thirds (65.7 percent) of women in New Zealand identified themselves as European. This compares with more that 80 percent of women who identified themselves as European in 1991.[2] Within this period, the proportion of women identifying themselves as Māori has increased from 12.9 percent to 14.1 percent.
Figure 5: Ethnicity of women in New Zealand, 2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Women in New Zealand are increasingly likely to have been born overseas. In 2006, nearly one in four (23.0 percent) women in New Zealand were born overseas, compared with less than one in six (15.6 percent) in 1991.
Age and life expectancy
The female population in New Zealand is getting older. In 2007, the median age of women was 37.0 years, compared with 34.1 years in 1997. The median age of women remains greater than that of men (35.4 years), which reflects the higher life expectancy of women, shown in the table below.
Table 3: Life expectancy, by gender
|
|
1985-87 |
2005-07 |
Change |
|
Women |
77.1 |
82.2 |
+5.1 |
|
Men |
71.1 |
78.1 |
+7.0 |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Māori women have a shorter life expectancy than non-Māori women. In 2000-2002,[3] life expectancy for Māori women was 73.2 years, compared with 81.9 years for non Māori women. Māori women’s life expectancy has also been increasing at a slower rate than that of non-Māori women. Between the periods 1985-1987 and 2000 2002, life expectancy for Māori women increased by 0.9 years, compared with 4.5 years for non-Māori women.
Fertility
New Zealand’s birth rate has increased over the last five years, with the number of births per woman now comparable to that of the baby ‘blip’ in the late 1980s to early 1990s. There was an average of 2.17 births per woman in 2007 – the highest rate since 1990. This compares to a birth rate of 2.01 births per woman in 2006. As shown in the graph below, the birth rate has been trending upwards since 2002.
Figure 6: Number of births per woman, 1987-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Despite the recent increase in the birth rate, the number of women who do not have children has remained relatively stable in the past decade. According to the 2006 Census, 31.2 percent of women aged 15 years and over have had no children. This is similar to 1996, when 31.6 percent of women aged 15 years and over had no children.
The median age of New Zealand women giving birth in 2007 was 30.1 years, compared with a median age of 29.1 years in 1997 and 27.0 years in 1987.
The total birth rate for Māori women in 2007 was 2.9 births per woman, up from 2.7 in 2006. This is significantly higher than the birth rate of all women. Māori women also tend to give birth at a younger age than non-Māori women, with a median age of 25.8 years in 2007.
Marital status
Although almost half (46.9 percent) of all women in New Zealand aged 15 years or older are married, fewer women are getting married each year. In 2007, the marriage rate was 14 per 1,000 unmarried people aged 16 years and over. This is significantly lower than the rate two decades earlier of 25 per 1,000 (in 1987).
Figure 7: Legal marital status of women, 2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Women are marrying at a later age than in the past. The median age at first marriage for women in 2007 was 28.1 years. In comparison, the median age at first marriage was 20.8 years in 1971, when 36 percent of all first-time brides were teenagers, compared with just 3 percent in 2007.
A growing proportion of women in New Zealand are living with their partners without legally formalising their partnership. In 1996, around one in four people aged 15-44 years who were living together in a partnership were not legally married; by 2006, this figure had increased to approximately two in five.
In 2006, there were 7,000 women living with their same-sex partner. Since the Civil Union Act 2004 came into force on 26 April 2005, 496 female same-sex couples have registered a civil union. This compares to 399 male same-sex couples and 204 opposite-sex couples.
Employment
Women’s participation in the labour force[4] has been steadily increasing over time. In the last ten years it has increased from 57.6 percent to 61.5 percent. Although women’s participation in the labour force still remains lower than men’s, the gap has closed from 17.1 percentage points in 1997 to 14.1 percentage points in 2007.
Figure 8: Labour force participation rate, by gender, 1993-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Women have had a slightly higher rate of unemployment than men since 2002. In 2007, 4.0 percent of women in the labour force were unemployed, compared with 3.5 percent of men.
Women are more likely than men to be working part-time. More than one-third (34.7 percent) of employed women worked part-time in 2007, compared with 10.7 percent of men. Nearly three-quarters (73.4 percent) of part-time employees in 2007 were women.
Figure 9: Type of employment, by gender, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Disability
An estimated 332,600 women had a disability in 2006. This equates to 16.2 percent of the female population, compared with 16.9 percent of men. Women have a lower rate of disability than men in all age groups under 65 years, but a higher rate in the age group 65 years and over.
Section 3:
Well-being Indicators
Well-being ‘Well-being’ is a holistic concept that takes into account the overall effect of a number of different factors on women’s quality of life. Well-being involves objective aspects of well being, such as physical and material well-being, as well as psychological and subjective aspects, such as resilience, positive relationships with others, and overall life satisfaction. Economic sustainability and work-life balance are important contributors to overall well-being. For the purposes of this report, however, well-being refers to the aspects of well-being that are not covered in the economic sustainability and work life balance domains. Well-being involves women being:
Aspects of well-being covered in this report include health, education, safety, and women’s ability to contribute to society through leadership roles. Indicators:
|
Health expectancy
Definition
The number of years a person could expect to live independently (i.e. live without any functional limitation requiring the assistance of another person or complex assistive device) if current mortality and disability rates persist.
Relevance
Health expectancy is a measure of health that captures both the ‘quantity’ and the ‘quality’ of life dimensions of physical and mental health. Health expectancy is a positive measure, capturing expectations of a life free from functional limitation that requires assistance. Improvements in health expectancy reflect changes in social and economic conditions, lifestyle changes, medical advances and better access to health services.
Health expectancy is an important measure of women’s health. Women live longer on average than men, but may experience health problems in old age that affect their quality of life. This means it is important to consider the ‘quality’ of women’s health as well as the ‘quantity’.
Current level and trends
Women have a longer health expectancy than men (69.2 years compared with 67.5 years). Improvements in health expectancy have been greatest for men: between 2001 and 2006 men’s health expectancy increased by 4.2 percent, compared with an increase of 1.0 percent for women.
While the gender difference in 1996 was 2.8 years (67.5 years for women and 64.7 years for men), in 2006 the difference was only 1.7 years.
Figure 10: Health expectancy, by gender, 1996-2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
Over the past ten years the gap between Māori and non Māori women’s health expectancy has lessened. Māori women had six fewer years of health expectancy than non Māori women in 2006 (64.7 years compared with 70.8 years), down from a difference of around nine years in 1996 (59.0 years compared with 67.7 years).
In 2006, Māori women’s health expectancy was 1.8 years longer than Māori men’s. This gender difference was similar to that for non-Māori in 2006 (1.9 years).
Figure 11: Health expectancy for women, by ethnicity, 1996-2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Self-reported health status
Definition
An individual’s own perception of their health status and functioning based on a five point scale of excellent, very good, good, fair or poor (New Zealand Health Survey).
Relevance
By taking into account how individuals view their own health, self-reported health measures place more emphasis on how health affects quality of life and well-being than other more objective measures of health.
Current level and trends
Overall, women are significantly more likely than men to report excellent or very good self-reported health.
Figure 12: Self reported health status, by gender (age-standardised), 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Ethnic differences
Women of European/Other ethnicity were more likely to report excellent or very good self-reported health than women of other ethnic groups. Pacific women were the least likely to report excellent or very good self-reported health.
While women overall are more likely than men to report their health as excellent or very good, the gender gap varies considerably between ethnic groups. Women with Pacific ethnicity are less likely than Pacific men to rate their health as excellent or very good (49.7 percent versus 50.8 percent).
Figure 13: Proportion of people with a self-reported health status of excellent or very good, by gender and ethnicity (age-standardised), 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Age differences
In general, self reported health status for women peaks around 35 44 years and then begins to decrease. Some aspects of health, however, do not follow this trend. Mental health, for instance, continues to improve with age up to 65 74 years, and only drops slightly after that age.
Figure 14: Proportion of people with a self-reported health status of excellent or very good, by gender and age, 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Socio-economic differences
Women who live in areas with low levels of deprivation are more likely to report their health as excellent or very good. Likewise, women who live in areas with high levels of deprivation are less likely to report their health as excellent or very good.
Figure 15: Proportion of people with a self-reported health status of excellent or very good, by gender and level of socio-economic deprivation (age-standardised), 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Access to health services
Definition
The proportion of the population that was unable to see a General Practitioner (GP) when they needed to in the past 12 months because of cost, lack of transport, or lack of childcare (New Zealand Health Survey).
Relevance
In order to maintain good health and minimise preventable health problems, women and their families need to have access to primary health care services, such as those available from a GP. Primary health care provides an entry point to the health system, delivers core medical and preventative care and helps patients co-ordinate and integrate their care.
Current level and trends
The proportion of women unable to see a GP due to cost, lack of transport or lack of childcare in the past twelve months, is notably higher than for men (2.8 percent for women compared with 1.5 percent for men in 2006/07). This is an improvement, however, as the proportion of women not able to access a GP due to these reasons decreased from 7.9 percent in 2002/03.
Figure 16: Proportion of the population unable to see a GP in the past 12 months due to cost, transport or childcare barriers, by gender (age-standardised)
Source: Ministry of Health
Ethnic differences
Māori and Pacific women were more likely to be unable to access a GP for the above reasons than women from other ethnic groups, with rates of 7.0 percent and 5.0 percent respectively. Asian women (2.4 percent) and European/Other women (2.1 percent) were less likely to experience difficulty accessing a GP for these reasons.
Figure 17: Proportion of women unable to see a GP in the past 12 months due to cost, transport or childcare barriers, by ethnicity (unstandardised), 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Age differences
Women aged 25-44 years are most likely to have difficulty accessing a GP due to cost, lack of transport or lack of childcare.
While overall, women have more access issues than men, for those aged 15 24 years there is no difference between the genders. The greatest difference between the genders is at ages 25 54, where women are considerably more likely than men to experience access issues.
Figure 18: Proportion of the population unable to see a GP in the past 12 months due to cost, transport or childcare, by gender and age, 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Socio-economic differences
Women who live in areas with high levels of deprivation are significantly more likely to be unable to see a GP because of cost, lack of transport, or lack of childcare.
Socio-economic status appears to have less of an impact on access to GPs for men than women.
Figure 19: Proportion of the population unable to see a GP in the past 12 months due to cost, transport or childcare, by gender and level of socio-economic deprivation (age-standardised), 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health
Workplace injuries
Definition
The number of workplace accident insurance claims reported to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), excluding those employees who received accident and emergency treatment only.
Relevance
Freedom from accidents and injuries is an important contributor to well-being. The risk of work-related accidents or illness is one component of quality of work. The best currently available measure of the incidence of injuries requiring ongoing treatment comes from the database of claims made to the ACC.
Current level and trends
Men are around twice as likely as women to experience a workplace injury involving a claim to ACC. The provisional injury rate for men in 2006 was 159 injuries per 1,000 FTEs, compared with 80 per 1,000 FTEs for women.
The overall incidence of workplace injuries has decreased since 2002. This is the case for both men and women. The incidence of workplace injury claims for women decreased from 88 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 to 80 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2006.
Figure 20: Estimated ACC claim rate per 1,000 FTEs, by gender, 2002-2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand. 2006 data are provisional only
Occupation differences
The lower rate of workplace injury claims for women reflects differences in the occupations where women and men work. Men dominate the occupational groupings with the highest number of workplace injury claims. For example, the plant and machine operators and assemblers occupation group, which reported the highest number of workplace injury claims in 2006 (42,126), was 82 percent male.
Table 4: Gender makeup and incidence of workplace injury claims in different occupations, 2006
|
Occupation |
Total claims |
Incidence rate (per 1,000 FTEs) |
% employees women |
|
Plant and machine operators and assemblers |
42,126 |
243 |
18% |
|
Trades workers |
41,435 |
199 |
6% |
|
Agriculture and fishery workers |
33,540 |
259 |
31% |
|
Elementary occupations |
27,994 |
277 |
38% |
|
Service and sales workers |
24,986 |
105 |
67% |
|
Professionals |
16,476 |
53 |
53% |
|
Technicians and associate professionals |
16,327 |
71 |
52% |
|
Legislators, administrators and managers |
12,955 |
51 |
37% |
|
Clerks |
9,797 |
44 |
79% |
|
Total |
235,202 |
126 |
46% |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
While Māori and Pacific women are more likely to experience a workplace injury than European women, they are still significantly less likely to be injured than men.
Table 5: Incidence of workplace injury claims per 1,000 FTEs, by gender and ethnicity, 2006 (provisional)
|
|
Women |
Men |
||
|
Number of claims |
Incidence rate |
Number of claims |
Incidence rate |
|
|
European |
43,873 |
53 |
118,989 |
144 |
|
Māori |
8,138 |
85 |
21,256 |
221 |
|
Pacific peoples |
3,009 |
62 |
9,869 |
202 |
|
Other |
7,366 |
53 |
17,142 |
110 |
|
Total |
63,946 |
80 |
171,256 |
159 |
Age differences
Differences in workplace injury claim rates between age groups are not pronounced for women. Men aged 65 and over have the highest incidence rate of workplace injury claims, followed by men aged 15-24.
Criminal victimisation and reporting
Definition
Victimisation
The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who had been a victim of one or more incidents of criminal offending as measured by the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006 (NZCASS).[5] The NZCASS estimated the prevalence and incidence of victimisations that occurred in 2005.
In the NZCASS, prevalence rates refer to the percentage of those over 15 who experienced criminal victimisation at least once. Incidence rates take into account multiple victimisations, and indicate how many times victimisations have occurred per 100 people in the general population.
Reporting to police
The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who reported a criminal victimisation to Police in 2005, as measured by the NZCASS 2006.
Relevance
The criminal victimisation rate is an indicator of women’s personal safety and well being. Victimisation surveys provide a broader measure of criminal victimisation than police data as not all victimisations are reported.
Reporting of criminal victimisation to Police is also an important indicator of the safety and well-being of women. Victimisations may not come to the attention of Police for a number of reasons, such as that people feel that type of victimisation is not a crime, that Police will not or are not responding favourably to that crime, that people are embarrassed or ashamed, or that they believe the matter is private.
Current level and trends
Victimisation
In 2005, men and women had the same prevalence rates for victimisation overall (39 percent). This is a similar level to that experienced by men and women in 2000. [6,7] There are, however, gender differences in prevalence rates when particular types of victimisations are considered.
Women are more likely than men to be victims of sexual offences[8] (4 percent compared with 2 percent for men). Men are more likely than women to be victims of confrontational offences committed by people not known to them (9 percent compared with 6 percent for women).
When both prevalence and incidence are considered, women are more likely to be victims of confrontational offences[9] by partners. In 2005, 7 percent of women and 6 percent of men were victims of a partner offence at least once. Women had a higher incidence rate than men for confrontational offences committed by partners (26 incidents per 100 people compared with 18 incidents). This means that women were more likely to be repeat victims of confrontational offences by partners than men.
More women than men are victims of family-violence related murders. During the period 2000 to 2004 (inclusive), 54 women were murdered by a man with whom they had a domestic relationship. Three men were murdered by a woman with whom they had a domestic relationship. Ninety-four percent of family violence related murders of adults were committed by men.
Reporting levels
Of all the offences disclosed in the NZCASS, 32 percent were reported as having become known to the Police, either through victims’ direct reports or because the Police found out some other way. There were no gender differences in the reporting rates for victimisations overall. In 2005, thefts of vehicles were most likely to be reported to the Police (84 percent of offences disclosed were reported) and sexual offences were the least (9 percent).[10]
Reasons for not reporting offences included that the crime was too trivial, that what happened was a private matter, not wanting to get the offender into trouble, the embarrassment of reporting, and fear of some form of reprisal.[11]
Ethnic differences
Victimisation
Māori women had the highest rates of victimisation across all offences, compared with other ethnicity and gender groups. Fifty one percent of Māori women were victimised at least once in 2005, compared with 39 percent of both men and women overall.
Māori women also had significantly higher rates of prevalence of victimisation for confrontational offences than both Māori men and European men and women, as shown in the table below. Data for other ethnicities is too unreliable to draw conclusions from.
Table 6: Prevalence of victimisation for confrontational offences, by gender and ethnicity, 2005
|
|
Māori |
European |
||
|
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
|
|
Committed by partners |
18% |
8% |
6% |
6% |
|
Committed by people well-known |
13% |
8% |
4% |
4% |
|
Committed by others |
10% |
5% |
5% |
8% |
Source: Ministry of Justice
Reporting levels
There are no significant differences in reporting to police according to ethnicity.[12]
Victimisation
[13]In 2005, people aged 15-24 had higher prevalence of victimisation across all offences than other age groups. There was no difference for this group by gender for victimisation by confrontational offences by partners and by those well-known.
Women aged 15-24 were more at risk than other women of all types of confrontational offences. In 2005, women aged 15-24 years had three times the average prevalence of victimisation for sexual offences.
Figure 21: Victimisation rates, by gender and age, 2005
Source: Ministry of Justice
Concern about crime
Definition
The proportion of the population aged 15 and over who are concerned about being a victim of crime, and the reported impact of crime on quality of life, as measured by the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006 (NZCASS).[14]
Relevance
Feeling safe is important in order to fully participate in one’s community. Although information about the level of victimisation is important, people’s concerns about crime may provide a broader understanding of the impact of crime.
Women are more likely to be very worried about victimisation than men.
Worry about being a victim of crime
In 2005, women were more likely than men to be worried about victimisation. The starkest differences between men and women were worries about being a victim of confrontational offences.[15] More women than men were ‘very worried’ about being a victim of inter-personal violence, as shown by the graph below.
Figure 22: People ‘very worried’ about victimisation, by gender, 2005
Source: Ministry of Justice
Impact of fear of crime on quality of life
When asked to rate the extent to which their quality of life is affected by fear of crime, women were more likely to report a high or moderate impact (45 percent) than men (34 percent). Overall, few people reported a high impact on their quality of life (7 percent), and there was little difference between genders at this level.
Ethnic differences
Worry about being a victim of crime
Ethnicity has a significant impact on the level of concern felt regarding victimisation. Pacific people in particular were more likely to report that they were very worried about victimisation than people of other ethnicities. There is no gender breakdown available.[16]
Figure 23: People ‘very worried’ about victimisation, by ethnicity, 2005
Source: Ministry of Justice
Impact of fear of crime on quality of life
Women classified in the ‘other’ ethnic category (which includes both Pacific and Asian women) were most likely to report that fear of crime had a high impact on their quality of life (18 percent), followed by Māori women (12 percent). European women were least likely to indicate that fear of crime had a high impact on their quality of life.
Age differences
Worry about being a victim of crime
People aged 15-24 were more worried about victimisation than other age groups and women were more concerned than men across all age groups for all kinds of crime surveyed. As shown in the graph below, a similar proportion of women reported being very worried about ‘sexual assault/rape’ and ‘assault by strangers’ for each age group, and the proportion of women expressing this level of concern decreased with age for both these victimisation categories.
‘Assault by people known’ created notably less concern among women of all ages than the other forms of crime, particularly among those in the 60+ age group.
Figure 24: Women ‘very worried’ about victimisation, by age, 2005
Source: Ministry of Justice
Impact of fear of crime on quality of life
In all age groups, larger proportions of women than men reported that fear of crime had a high or moderate impact on their quality of life. Women aged 25-39 were most likely to report a high or moderate impact on their quality of life (54 percent), followed by those in the 15-24 age group (47 percent). Notably, women in the 60+ age group were the group of women least likely to report that fear of crime had a high or moderate impact on their quality of life (37 percent).
Representation of women in leadership and governance positions
Definition
The proportion of elected Members of Parliament (MPs), and local government bodies; members of state sector boards, district health boards (DHBs), and school boards of trustees; and judges who are women.
Relevance
Representative political and governance institutions engage a wide range of communities in the political and governance process. These institutions draw on the talents and skills of the broadest group of people, and provide checks and balances on the use of political power.
The representation of women in government, public and community sector boards and committees, and the judiciary can be seen as an indicator of political representation more generally. It also provides an indication of whether women are fully participating in the community.
Current level and trends
While the level of women’s political representation has been slowly improving over time, women remain under-represented in leadership positions.
Representation in parliament is an indicator of women’s participation at the highest level. Women were first eligible to stand for election in 1919, and a woman first won a seat in 1933. Since that time, 95 women have held a seat in parliament[17] – 39 of whom are current serving MPs. As shown below, the proportion of MPs that are women has been steadily increasing since 1981.
Figure 25: The proportion of New Zealand MPs that are women, 1972-2008
Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage; Inter-Parliamentary Union
Women currently hold 32 percent of the 121 seats[18] in parliament. As of 5 November 2007, seven of the twenty Cabinet ministers were women (35 percent) and there were a further two female ministers outside of Cabinet.[19]
Women’s representation in other areas of leadership and governance is outlined in the table below.
Table 7: Women’s representation in governance roles, 2007
|
|
Number of positions held by women |
Total positions |
% held by women |
|
Judiciary |
51 |
198 |
26% |
|
State sector boards and committees – Ministerial appointees (as at December 2007) |
1128 |
2716 |
42% |
|
Directorships of the top-100 NZSX Companies |
54 |
624 |
9% |
|
Directorships of Crown companies |
77 |
226 |
34% |
|
District Health Boards |
95 |
219 |
43% |
|
Chief Executives of Public Service Departments |
8 |
35 |
23% |
|
Local Government:
|
280 13 |
921 73 |
30% 18% |
|
School Boards of Trustees |
9,634 |
18,573 |
52% |
Source: Human Rights Commission
Women have higher representation in areas where they have traditionally had a role, such as education (on School Boards of Trustees) and health (on DHBs). On the other hand, women still have low representation in the judiciary and on private sector boards of directors.
Ethnic differences
Following the 2005 election, there were 21 Māori MPs elected to parliament (7 electorate MPs and 14 list MPs). Māori accounted for 17 percent of all MPs. There were also three Pacific MPs (2.5 percent of all MPs), including one Pacific woman MP, and two Asian MPs (1.6 percent of all MPs), one of whom was a woman.[20]
Māori women were relatively well represented on Māori Authorities at the board level in 2007, holding 42 percent of seats. Māori women, however, held only 27 percent of management positions in Māori Authorities at this time.
Section 4:
Economic Sustainability Indicators
Educational attainment
Definition
As measured by the Household Labour Force Survey, the proportion of people aged 15-64 years with qualification at:
- at least upper secondary school level
- tertiary level (i.e. any tertiary qualification).
Relevance
Educational attainment is an indicator of the extent to which women have skills and qualifications that equip them to participate in the workforce and in society more generally.
Current level and trends
Men were slightly more likely than women to hold at least an upper secondary qualification in 2007 (71.0 percent compared with 68.8 percent). This gap has been steadily closing.
Gender differences are more prominent at the tertiary level. A higher proportion of men than women held a tertiary qualification in 2007 (52.9 percent compared with 47.9 percent). The gap in tertiary qualification attainment has been closing slowly over time, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 26: Tertiary qualification attainment, by gender 1996-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
European women were more likely than Māori and Pacific women to hold at least an upper secondary qualification in 2007, as shown in the table below.
Table 8: Population with at least an upper secondary qualification, by gender and ethnicity, 2007
|
|
Māori |
Pacific |
European |
|
Women |
60.0% |
55.6% |
71.0% |
|
Men |
55.5% |
52.3% |
73.7% |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Note: The difference between Pacific men and women is not statistically significant
The proportion of women with at least an upper secondary qualification improved for all ethnic groups between 1996 and 2007.
Pacific women had the highest increase (13.8 percentage points), followed by Māori women (12.1 percentage points) and European women (6.2 percentage points).
The proportion of the population with a tertiary qualification also varies by ethnicity. European women are more likely than Māori or Pacific women to have a tertiary qualification, as shown in the table below.
Table 9: Tertiary qualification attainment by gender and ethnicity, 2007
|
|
Māori |
Pacific |
European |
|
Women |
39.6% |
34.7% |
48.8% |
|
Men |
36.8% |
34.0% |
54.8% |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Note: The differences between Māori men and women, and Pacific men and women are not statistically significant.
The proportion of both Māori and Pacific women with tertiary qualifications increased significantly between 1996 and 2007, by 14.5 and 14.4 percentage points respectively. This compares with an increase of 9.8 percentage points for European women.
Age differences
Young women aged 15-24 are more likely to hold at least an upper secondary qualification than young men (70.9 percent compared with 65.4 percent). Rates of attainment are higher for men over 45 years of age than women in those age groups.
Figure 27: Population with at least an upper secondary qualification, by gender, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
While men are more likely to have a tertiary qualification overall, the number of women completing tertiary qualifications has increased significantly, to the point where young women are now more likely to have a tertiary qualification than young men.
Figure 28: Tertiary qualification attainment, by gender, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Participation in tertiary education
Definition
The proportion of people aged 15-64 years who are enrolled in tertiary education, as measured by the Ministry of Education.
Relevance
Participation in tertiary education is an indicator of the extent to which women are currently acquiring the skills and qualifications that equip them to participate in the workforce and society more generally.
Current level and trends
In 2007, women were slightly more likely than men to be enrolled in a tertiary qualification (14.2 percent compared with 12.3 percent).
While the proportion of both men and women enrolled in a tertiary qualification has increased steadily between 1999 and 2005, it has decreased slightly since 2005. Women have consistently had a higher rate of enrolment than men over this period, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 29: Age-standardised participation in tertiary education, by gender, 1999 2007
Source: Ministry of Education
Men are slightly more likely than women to be enrolled in a lower level qualification, while women are more likely than men to be enrolled in qualifications between levels five and nine.
Figure 30: Age-standardised participation in tertiary education, by gender and level of qualification, 2007
Source: Ministry of Education
Ethnic differences
The proportion of people participating in tertiary education in 2007 varied significantly by ethnicity. Māori women had the highest levels of participation overall, followed by Māori men and Pacific women, as shown in the table below.
Table 10: Age-standardised participation in tertiary education (all levels), by gender and ethnicity, 2007
|
|
Māori |
Pacific |
European |
|
Women |
21.0% |
13.8% |
12.6% |
|
Men |
14.4% |
10.0% |
11.6% |
Source: Ministry of Education
Women’s participation levels also vary by the level of qualification they are undertaking. Māori women in particular have very high levels of participation in sub-degree level qualifications; however European women are slightly more likely than Māori and Pacific women to study at bachelor degree level.
Figure 31: Women’s age-standardised participation in tertiary education, by ethnicity and level of qualification, 2007
Source: Ministry of Education
Age differences
Participation in tertiary education varies by age, and the trends are similar for both men and women. Women are more likely than men to be participating in tertiary education at all age groups above 18 years of age, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 32: Participation in tertiary education, by gender and age, 2007
Source: Ministry of Education
Joblessness
Definition
The jobless are defined as those people who are officially unemployed (available for and actively seeking work) plus those people who were without employment and either: available, but not actively seeking work; or actively seeking, but not available for work.
The Jobless Rate used here is the number of jobless people expressed as a percentage of the working age population, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey.
Relevance
Jobless rates measure the proportion of people who do not have a paid job and would like one, and provide an indication of the extent to which job opportunities are available. Jobless rates provide a better indication than unemployment rates of the extent to which appropriate job opportunities are available to women.
This is because unlike unemployment rates, jobless rates include those who would like a job but are not actively looking for one, or are not available to work right now. There are many reasons why a person who would like paid work may not be actively looking for it, or available to work right now. These include having trouble finding the right kind of work in their locality, or work that fits around other responsibilities such as caring for family members.
Current level and trends
The overall jobless rate in 2007 was 4.6 percent. Women were slightly more likely to be jobless than men with a rate of 4.8 percent, compared with 4.4 percent for men. The jobless rate in 2007 was relatively low compared with the rates experienced over much of the last two decades, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 33: Jobless rate, by gender, 1987-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
Māori and Pacific women consistently experience much higher jobless rates than European women, as shown below. Both Māori and Pacific women, however, have been experiencing a significant reduction in jobless rates since 1991. This has narrowed the gap between these groups and European women, whose jobless rate tends to be much more stable.
Figure 34: Female jobless rate, by ethnicity, 1987-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
In 2007, Māori women had the highest jobless rate of all ethnic and gender groupings, while European men and women had the lowest rates, as shown in the table below.
Table 11: Jobless rate, by gender and ethnicity, 2007
|
|
Māori |
Pacific |
European |
|
Women |
10.3% |
8.2% |
3.7% |
|
Men |
8.8% |
7.0% |
3.6% |
|
Total |
9.6% |
7.6% |
3.7% |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Note: The differences between the genders for European and Pacific people were not statistically significant in 2007.
Age differences
Age has an impact on the jobless rate. The jobless rate for both men and women is highest among 15 24 year olds, and declines for each consecutive age group.
Jobless rates are similar for the youngest and oldest age groups of men and women, however women have a significantly higher rate in the 25-44 year old age group. This corresponds with the ages when child-rearing typically takes place.
Figure 35: Jobless rate, by gender and age, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Median hourly earnings
Definition
Median hourly earnings from all wages and salaries for employees earning income from wage and salary jobs, as measured by the New Zealand Income Survey.
Relevance
Median hourly earnings provide an indicator of the financial return from paid employment, independent of the number of hours worked. The difference between median hourly earnings for women and men, as a percentage of men’s median hourly earnings, provides a key indicator of the gender pay gap.
Current level and trends
On average, men continue to earn significantly more per hour than women. In 2007, women’s median hourly earnings were $16.78, compared with $19.11 for men. This equates to a difference of 12.2 percent of men’s wages, or $2.33 per hour.
As shown in the graph below, men’s and women’s hourly earnings have both increased over time. As both men’s and women’s median hourly earnings have been increasing by similar amounts since 2001, there has been very little downward movement in the pay gap over this time.
Figure 36: Median hourly earnings, by gender, 1997-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
Median hourly earnings vary significantly according to ethnicity. In 2007, European women earned more ($17.22) than both Māori and Pacific women ($14.80 and $15.00 respectively). The difference between the median hourly earnings of Māori and Pacific women was not statistically notable.
There were also differences between genders for two ethnicities. European men earned more than European women in 2007 ($20.00 compared with $17.22), and Māori men earned more than Māori women ($16.00 compared with $14.80). There was no difference between Pacific men’s and women’s median hourly earnings, with both genders earning $15.00 per hour.
Figure 37: Median hourly earnings, by gender and ethnicity, 1997-2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Between 1997 and 2007, European men experienced the largest dollar increase to their median hourly earnings; however Pacific women’s median hourly earnings increased the most in percentage point terms over this period, as shown in the table below.
Table 12: Increase in median hourly earnings, by gender and ethnicity,1997-2007
|
|
Māori |
Pacific |
European |
|||
|
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
|
|
Percent |
42.9% |
35.0% |
50.0% |
33.3% |
43.6% |
39.9% |
|
Dollar value |
$4.44 |
$3.75 |
$5.00 |
$4.15 |
$5.23 |
$5.70 |
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Age differences
Men’s and women’s median hourly earnings vary significantly by age. Between the ages of 35 and 64, there is a statistically notable difference, with men earning more than women. The start of this gap corresponds with the ages when women are most likely to be raising children. In 2007, women’s median hourly earnings were highest for the 30-34 age group at $20.23, while men’s hourly earnings were highest in the 50-54 age group at $22.92.
Figure 38: Median hourly earnings, by gender and age, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Weekly incomes
Definition
Median personal weekly income from all sources and weekly income by quintiles, New Zealand Income Survey.
Relevance
Income is an important indicator of a person’s ability to provide for themselves, have a good quality of life, and participate in their community. For many women, household, rather than personal, income is the key determinant of their current standard of living, as financial resources are often shared within couples.
It is also important, however, to consider personal incomes. A person’s ability to provide for themselves in retirement and during times when they may not have a partner, or their partner is not able to work, is a factor in their long-term economic well-being. If women have lower incomes than men on average, they may be more vulnerable to financial hardship at certain times in their lives.
Current level and trends
In 2007, women had a median weekly income of $392.00 compared with $675.00 for men. This is a difference of 42 percent of men’s incomes. This represents a small improvement since 1997, when the gender income gap was 44.3 percent.
The distribution of incomes differs between genders. In 2007, 28 percent of men earned more than $987 per week (the highest 20 percent of incomes), compared with just 12 percent of women. Men made up 69 percent of those in this income quintile. Women were on average more likely than men to have low incomes. In 2007, 23 percent of women earned less than $190 per week (the lowest income quintile), compared with 16 percent of men. Of those who earned the lowest 20 percent of weekly incomes, 63 percent were women. There has been no notable change in the distribution of women’s weekly incomes over the past ten years.
Figure 39: Weekly income distribution in quintiles, by gender, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Ethnic differences
There was no statistically notable difference between the median weekly incomes of women of different ethnicities in 2007. Ethnicity was, however, a factor in the weekly incomes of men over this period, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 40: Median weekly income, by gender and ethnicity, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
There was no statistically notable difference in the distribution of weekly incomes between Māori men and women, or Pacific men and women in 2007. European women, however, were less likely than European men to be in the highest income quintile, and more likely to be in the lower two income quintiles.
There was no statistically notable difference in income distribution between women of different ethnicities in 2007, or in the income distribution of women of any ethnic group between 1997 and 2007.
Age differences
Women’s median weekly incomes are significantly lower than men’s for all age groups except 15-19 year olds and those over 65 years of age. The differences in income between men and women are larger for those age groups when childrearing typically takes place.
The income gap created by this difference does not close in the working-age groups. Only in the 65+ age bracket do men’s and women’s weekly incomes converge. This reflects the provision of universal superannuation.
Figure 41: Median weekly income, by gender and age, 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Section 5:
Work-life Balance Indicators
Work-life balanceGoal: Greater work-life balance will be achieved in New Zealand. Work-life balance refers to women’s ability to attain their preferred work-life balance. This means that women are able to:
There is no ‘right’ work-life balance. What constitutes a good work-life balance will differ for different people, depending on their personal preferences and values, and their stage of life. As more women enter the workforce, there is a risk that women may experience more time pressure and have difficulty balancing paid work with other responsibilities, particularly if women continue to take greater responsibility for unpaid work. Indicators:
|
Total work time
Definition
The average time per day spent in paid and unpaid work, counting primary activities only, as measured by the New Zealand Time Use Survey. Unpaid work includes household work, caregiving for household members, purchasing goods and services, and unpaid work outside the home.
Relevance
Total work time provides an indicator of how time-rich or time poor people are. As women on average do a significant amount of unpaid work, it is important that both paid and unpaid work is taken into account.
To date, New Zealand has carried out one Time Use Survey, in 1998/99. This means that it is not yet possible to consider trends over time in the total time spent working. The Time Use Survey will be repeated in 2009/10. This indicator will be updated to show trends once data from this survey is available.
Current level and trends
In 1998/99, the average number of hours per day spent on paid and unpaid work combined was 7.0 hours for both men and women.
There were significant differences in the kinds of work men and women did. On average, women spent 4.8 hours per day on unpaid work and 2.2 hours on paid work. Men spent 2.8 hours on unpaid work and 4.2 hours on paid work.
Figure 42: Average hours per day spent on paid and unpaid work, by gender, primary activities only, 1998/99
Source: Statistics New Zealand
The Time Use Survey measured time spent on primary activities and simultaneous activities. Women spent considerably more time working when both primary and simultaneous work activities are counted. Women spent 7 hours per day on average on simultaneous work activities (such as being responsible for the care of children while doing another activity), compared with 4 hours for men.
Ethnic differences
On average, Māori women and non-Māori women spent similar amounts of time on unpaid work (4.7 and 4.8 hours respectively). Māori women spent less time (1.8 hours) on paid work than non-Māori women (2.3 hours) and Māori men (3.4 hours). However, Māori women spent more time caring for household members (1.0 hours per day) than non-Māori women (0.7 hours) and men (0.3 hours).
Age differences
Total work time was highest for women and men aged 35-44 years, with total work reaching a high of 8.8 hours per day for women and 9.0 hours per day for men within this age group.
The proportion of time that women on average spent on unpaid work was significantly higher in the age groups over 25 years, reflecting the unpaid work associated with raising families. While the time spent on paid work is much smaller for those over 65 years of age, this age group continues to spend a significant amount of time on unpaid work.
Figure 43: Average hours per day spent on paid and unpaid work, by gender and age, 1998/99
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Labour force status
Women and men employed full time had the longest total work hours, and spent a very similar amount of time working in total. Women who were employed part-time, unemployed, or not in the labour force spent more time working in total than men in these groups. While men spent considerably less time on unpaid work if they were employed (either full time or part-time), women employed part-time spent almost the same amount of time on unpaid work as women who were not in the labour force. The amount of time women spent on unpaid work reduced only once women were employed full-time.
Figure 44: Average hours per day spent on paid and unpaid work, by gender and labour force status, 1998/99
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Access to early childhood education
Definition
This indicator measures the following aspects of accessibility.
- Affordability: the index of early childhood education (ECE) fees, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
- Availability: the proportion of licensed ECE services with enrolment waiting times of at least six months.
- Proximity: the proportion of the population under the age of five with at least one licensed ECE service within 10 kilometres of their home.
Relevance
If women are not able to access early childhood education services, this can act as a barrier to them participating in the workforce if they wish to do.
Current level and trends
Affordability
For ECE to be accessible, fees need to be affordable. Overall, ECE fees have reduced substantially since June 2007 after the introduction of 20 hours of free ECE for three- and four-year-olds. An increase in average hourly earnings over this period has also made fees more affordable. On average, ECE fees decreased by 32 percent between June 2005 and March 2008. When the increase in average hourly earnings is taken into account, ECE fees have become 40 percent more affordable during this period.
Figure 45: Index of ECE fees, adjusted by income, June 2005 – March 2008
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Availability
For ECE to be accessible, enough places need to be available to meet demand. Waiting times for enrolment provide an indication of whether enough places are available. The proportion of licensed ECE services with enrolment waiting times of at least six months has increased, particularly for one- and two-year-old children. In 2006, 17 percent of licensed ECE services had a waiting time of at least six months for one- and two-year-old children. For three- and four-year-old children, 14 percent of licensed ECE services had waiting times of at least six months.
Figure 46: Percentage of licensed ECE services with a waiting time of at least six months, by age of child, 2002-2006
Source: Ministry of Education
Despite more ECE services having waiting times of at least six months, overall participation in ECE continues to increase. In 2007, 65 percent of children aged under five years were enrolled in ECE, compared with 60 percent in 2002.[21]
Proximity
To have access, ECE services need to be available within a reasonable proximity from the child’s home. Around 98 percent of the population under the age of five have at least one licensed ECE service within 10 kilometres of their home. Three-quarters of children living in urban areas live within 2.8 kilometres of the licensed ECE service they attend. Three-quarters of children living in rural areas live within 13 kilometres of the licensed ECE service they attend.
Section 6:
Technical Details
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Indicator |
Definitions and technical notes |
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Ethnicity Source: Dates: 2006 |
Ethnicity: calculated as total ethnicity. This means that those with multiple ethnicities are included multiple times, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. For the 2006 Census, 'Middle Eastern/Latin American/African' (MELAA) has been separated from ‘Other’; and ‘New Zealander’ has been included in 'Other', rather than being included in the ‘European’ category as it was in 2001. |
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Life
expectancy Source: Dates: 1985-87, 2002-2003, 2005‑07 |
Life expectancy: the average length of life of a newborn baby assuming they experience the age-specific mortality rates of a given period throughout their life. Ethnicity: calculated as total ethnicity. This means that those with multiple ethnicities are included multiple times, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. |
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Fertility Source: Dates: Year ended December 1987-2007 |
Births per woman: based on the total fertility rate concept, which is the average number of live births that a woman would have during her life if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates of a given period (usually a year). It excludes the effect of mortality. Ethnicity: calculated as total ethnicity. This means that those with multiple ethnicities are included multiple times, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. |
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Marital status Source: Dates: 2006 |
Legal marital status: a person’s status with respect to registered marriage or civil union. |
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Employment Source: Dates: Year ended March 1993‑2007 |
Labour force participation: the proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who regularly work for one or more hours per week for financial gain, or work without pay in a family business, or are unemployed and actively seeking part-time or full-time work. Full-time: those who usually work 30 hours or more per week. Part-time: those who usually work fewer than 30 hours per week. |
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Disability Source: Dates: 2006 |
Disability: any self-perceived limitation in activity resulting from a long-term condition or health problem; lasting or expected to last six months or more and not completely eliminated by an assistive device. |
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Health expectancy
Source:
Dates:
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Health expectancy: the number of years, on average, that a person can expect to live independently – that is, free of functional limitation needing assistance (whether intermittently or on a daily basis). Ethnicity: presented in terms of Māori and non-Māori, based on a prioritised ethnicity classification. Māori: all people who indicated New Zealand Māori as one of their ethnic groups, regardless of whether any other ethnic group was also specified. Non-Māori: people who did not indicate New Zealand Māori as one of their ethnic groups. Health expectancy is calculated, in part, by using data from Statistics New Zealand’s Disability Survey. In 2006, this survey reported a significantly lower rate of disability than previous surveys in 1996 and 2001. The apparent decline in the disability rate is likely to be due to a combination of factors relating to the way the 2006 survey was conducted, people's perceptions of disability, as well as possible real world change. Statistics New Zealand cautions users about making strong inferences from apparent trends between 2001 and 2006. As such, comparisons in health expectancy between 2006 and previous surveys should also be made with caution. |
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Self-reported health status
Source:
Dates: |
Ethnicity: the 2006/07 survey used a total ethnicity methodology, whereby a person can be classified to more than one ethnic group. For the 2002/03 survey, ethnicity was prioritised when the respondent identified with two or more ethnicities. In such cases, a single ethnic group was assigned using the following priority rules: • if Māori is one of the groups reported, assigned to ‘Māori’ • if any Pacific ethnic group is reported, assigned to ‘Pacific’ • if any Asian ethnic group is reported, assigned to ‘Asian’ • all other respondents are assigned to ‘European/Other’. Deprivation Quintiles: The New Zealand Deprivation Index 2001 (NZDep2001) is used as the key indicator of socio-economic status. It is an area-based index of deprivation based on Census 2001 variables (e.g. income, house ownership and qualifications). NZDep2001 Census Area Units (CAUs) were divided into five quintiles, where quintile 1 is the least deprived and quintile 5 the most deprived. |
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Access to health services
Source:
Dates: |
Ethnicity: the 2006/07 survey used a total ethnicity methodology, whereby a person can be classified to more than one ethnic group. For the 2002/03 survey, ethnicity was prioritised when the respondent identified with two or more ethnicities. In such cases, a single ethnic group was assigned using the following priority rules: • if Māori is one of the groups reported, assigned to ‘Māori’ • if any Pacific ethnic group is reported, assigned to ‘Pacific’ • if any Asian ethnic group is reported, assigned to ‘Asian’ • all other respondents are assigned to ‘European/Other’. Unable to see a GP: those in the population that were unable to see a GP when they needed to in the past 12 months because of cost, lack of transport or lack of childcare. Other reasons for not seeing a GP when a person needed to were also collected in the New Zealand Health Survey but were not included in this indicator. Deprivation Quintiles: The New Zealand Deprivation Index 2001 (NZDep2001) is used as the key indicator of socio-economic status. It is an area-based index of deprivation based on Census 2001 variables (e.g. income, house ownership and qualifications). NZDep2001 Census Area Units (CAUs) were divided into five quintiles, where quintile 1 is the least deprived and quintile 5 the most deprived. |
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Workplace injury claims
Source:
Dates:
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Workplace injury rates are calculated using data on full-time equivalent employees from Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS). Data relates to claims made for the calendar year. Data for 2006 is provisional and includes claims that had been reported up to 31 March 2007. Workplace injury rate: the number of workplace accident insurance claims per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees, excluding those employees who received accident and emergency treatment only. Ethnicity: respondents in the HLFS may specify that they belong to more than one ethnic group. This is reported using a prioritisation framework. However, ACC claims data allow for only one ethnic group to be coded. This means that in the calculation of incidence rates, the numerator and denominator are measured in different ways. |
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Criminal victimisation and reporting
Source:
Dates: 2005
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The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS) provides a count of household and personal victimisation in New Zealand. It does not cover commercial crimes, ‘victimless crimes’ (such as drug or alcohol abuse) or crimes against people under 15 years of age. All victimisations from 1 January 2005 to the date of the interview were included. Interviews were undertaken from 9 February 2006 to 25 June 2006. Victimisations that occured after the end of 2005 were not included in the 2005 vicitmisation estimate, but participants were invited to talk about them if they wanted. This was so participants would avoid giving a 2005 date for a 2006 incident. Note that due to methodological differences between the NZCASS 2006 and past victimisation surveys, comparisons between surveys and any inferences about trends in victimisation should be approached with caution. Participants filled in a self-completion victim form for personal crimes. Where a participant reported more than three incidents of victimisation, the victim form was completed for three randomly selected victimisations. Survey population: total usually resident, non-institutionalised, civilian population of New Zealand aged 15 years and over. As such it excludes long-term residents of old peoples’ homes, hospitals and psychiatric institutions; inmates of penal institutions; those members of the New Zealand armed forces who live in institutional settings; non-New Zealand diplomats and their non-New Zealand staff; members of non-New Zealand armed forces stationed in New Zealand; overseas visitors stationed in New Zealand for less than 12 months; and residents of offshore islands, except Waiheke. Prevalence rate: percentage of those over 15 years of age who experienced criminal victimisation at least once. Incidence rate: number of victimisations experienced per one hundred of the population. This rate counts multiple victimisations. Ethnicity: where respondents identified themselves as belonging to more than one ethnic group, each was used in analysis. Partner: includes any and all partners in 2005 (heterosexual and same‑sex). |
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Concern about crime Source: Dates: 2005 |
The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS) provides information on New Zealanders’ concerns about crime. The NZCASS asks participants how their quality of life was affected by their fear of crime on a scale of 0 (no effect) to 10 (total effect). The NZCASS also asks participants about their concerns of particular types of victimisation. Interviews were undertaken from 9 February 2006 to 25 June 2006. Survey population and Ethnicity: refer to notes for Criminal Victimisation and Reporting indicator above. |
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Representation of women in leadership and governance positions Source:
Dates:
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Sources: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2007) Ministerial List: As at 5 November 2007. http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet/ministers/ministerial-list.html. Electoral Commission (5 April 2006) Māori. Pacific and Asian MPs 1990-2005. http://www.elections.org.nz/democracy/electorates/ethnicity-mps.html#gen0. Electoral Commission (9 May 2006) Women in Parliament 1933-2005. http://www.elections.org.nz/files/women_in_parliament.xls. Human Rights Commission (2008) New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2008. Wellington: Human Rights Commission. Inter-Parliamentary Union (30 June 2008) Women in National Parliaments. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif300608.htm. Ministry for Culture and Heritage (6 November 2007) Female MPs 1993-2002 (graph). http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/women-mps-in-parliament. Parliamentary Library (no date) Members of Parliament: Current MPs. http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/MPs/. The table on women’s representation provides the proportion of women in certain positions in 2007 (unless otherwise specified). The specific points in time these figures relate to are outlined below:
Local government councillors: includes City, District, and Regional Councillors. |
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Educational attainment Source: Dates: |
Note that many people in the 15 to 24 age group may still be studying for both upper-secondary and tertiary qualifications, resulting in this age group being less likely to hold qualifications than older age groups. Ethnicity: Ethnicity is calculated as total ethnicity (rather than prioritised). This means that those with multiple ethnicities are included multiple times, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. Tertiary qualification: Any formally recognised qualification undertaken at a recognised tertiary institution. At least upper secondary qualification: Any formally recognised qualification at NCEA level 3 and above from a recognised provider. Includes tertiary qualifications.
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Participation in tertiary education Source:
Dates:
|
Data relates to domestic students only, enrolled at any time during the year with a tertiary education provider in a formal qualification of greater than 0.03 EFTS. Data excludes all non-formal learning and on-job industry training, and those Private Training Establishments and Other Tertiary Education Providers that neither received tuition subsidies nor were approved for student loans or allowances. Ethnicity: Ethnicity is calculated as total ethnicity (rather than prioritised). This means that those with multiple ethnicities are included multiple times, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. Participation in tertiary qualification: Proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who were enrolled in a tertiary qualification at any time during the year. Tertiary qualification: Any formally recognised qualification undertaken at a recognised tertiary institution. |
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Jobless rate Source: Dates: |
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is calculated as total ethnicity (rather than prioritised). This means that those with multiple ethnicities are counted in each ethnic category identified, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. Jobless: the jobless are defined as the officially unemployed plus those people who during their reference week were without employment and either: available, but not actively seeking work; or actively seeking, but not available for work. Jobless rate: the jobless rate is the number of jobless people expressed as a percentage of the working age population. The jobless rate in this publication is calculated differently to the way Statistics New Zealand normally publishes it – where the rate is expressed as a percentage of jobless people plus employed people. This means that the jobless rate reported in this publication is lower than that published elsewhere by Statistics New Zealand. |
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Median hourly earnings Source:
Dates: |
Hourly earnings: relates to the number of hours usually worked and the usual income, rather than the hours actually paid for and actual hours worked during the survey period. Ethnicity: Ethnicity is calculated as total ethnicity (rather than prioritised). This means that those with multiple ethnicities are counted in each ethnic category identified, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent.
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Weekly income Source: Dates: |
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is calculated as total ethnicity (rather than prioritised). This means that those with multiple ethnicities are counted in each ethnic category identified, causing the total to equal more than 100 percent. Income Quintiles: The weekly incomes of a population is ranked from highest to lowest and is then divided into 5 equal groups. The upper quintile will therefore contain the top 20% of incomes, while the lowest will contain the bottom 20% of incomes etc. |
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Total work time Source:
Dates:
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The Time Use Survey recorded the amount of time spent on different activities including paid work, unpaid work and leisure. The survey was undertaken between July 1998 and June 1999 and involved respondents recording their time use over a 48-hour period. The survey population was individuals aged 12 and over living in private households. Average minutes per day: The average time spent on an activity on days on which people reported doing that activity. Unpaid work: Unpaid work includes household work, caregiving for household members, purchasing goods and services, and unpaid work outside the home. Paid work: Time spent on ‘labour force activities’, including working for pay or profit, travel associated with paid work, education or training in paid work time, and job search activities. Total work time: Time spent on paid work and unpaid work combined. Primary activities: The activity which respondents listed in the first column of their time use diaries, which was headed ‘What were you doing?’ Simultaneous activities: Activities that respondents listed in the second column of their time use diaries, which was headed ‘what else were you doing at the same time?’ Ethnicity: presented in terms of Māori and non-Māori, based on a prioritised ethnicity classification. Māori: All people who
indicated New Zealand Māori as one of their ethnic groups, regardless of
whether any other ethnic group was also specified. |
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Access to early childhood education (ECE) Source: Dates: 2002-2006
Source: Dates: |
Licensed ECE services: premises used regularly for the education or care of three or more children under the age of six must be licensed, except if it has been specifically exempted by the Minister of Education. Licensed ECE services include education and care centres, kindergartens, playcentres, home-based services, and correspondence schools. This information is sourced from the Ministry of Education. Affordability: the index of ECE fees, relative to income. The index of fees paid for ECE is measured by the Consumer Price Index. When this index is adjusted by average hourly earnings from the Quarterly Employment Survey, it gives an indication of whether ECE fees have become more or less affordable. This is the same method used by the Ministry of Education in developing their ECE affordability indicator. Availability: the proportion of licensed ECE services with enrolment waiting times of at least six months. This information is sourced from the Ministry of Education. Proximity: the proportion of the population under the age of five with at least one licensed ECE service within ten kilometres of their home. This information is sourced from the Ministry of Education. |
BACK TO TOP
Endnotes
1. Statistics New Zealand (2001) ‘Gender and Unpaid Work: Findings from the Time Use Survey’. Key Statistics July 2001, 9–12.
2. The reduction in the proportion of women identifying with the European ethnicity is partly due to the inclusion of New Zealander as part of the Other category in the 2006 Census. Previously, New Zealander was included within the European category.
3. The 2000-2002 life tables provide the most recent breakdown of life expectancy by ethnicity.
4. Labour force includes all people aged 15 years and over who regularly work for one or more hours per week for financial gain, or work without pay in a family business, or are unemployed and actively seeking part-time or full-time work.
5. Mayhew, Pat and Reilly, James (2007) New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006: Key Findings. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
6. There are a number of methodological differences between the New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 2001 and the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006. Due to these differences, inferences about trends in victimisation are not included.
7. Morris, Alison, Reilly, James, Berry, Shiela and Ransom, Robin (2003) New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 2001. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
8. ‘sexual offences’ refer to forced sexual intercourse, attempted forced sexual intercourse, distressing sexual touching, and other offences of sexual violence.
9. ‘confrontational offences’ refer to assaults and threats (to a person, or personal property).
10. Mayhew, Pat and Reilly, James (2007) New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006: Key Findings. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
11. ibid.
12. ibid.
13. The data for those aged 60 and above are too unreliable to draw any conclusions. In general, however, it appears that in 2005 those aged 60 and above are at lower risk than others of being victimised.
14. Mayhew, Pat and Reilly, James (2007) Community Safety: Findings from the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
15. ‘confrontational offences’ refer to assaults and threats (to a person, or personal property).
16. Mayhew, Pat and Reilly, James (2007) Community Safety: Findings from the New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
17. Electoral Commission (9 May 2006) Women in Parliament 1933-2005. http://www.elections.org.nz/files/women_in_parliament.xls.
18. While there are 120 seats in the New Zealand parliament, the current parliament is in ‘overhang’ with 121 seats. This occurs when a party wins more electorate seats than the total share of seats it would otherwise be allocated based on its share of party votes. The overhang seats (the number above the party vote entitlement) are added to the usual 120 seats until the following general election.
19. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2007) Ministerial List: As at 5 November 2007. http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet/ministers/ministerial-list.html.
20. Electoral Commission (5 April 2006) Māori. Pacific and Asian MPs 1990-2005. http://www.elections.org.nz/democracy/electorates/ethnicity-mps.html#gen0.
21. The participation rate used here is calculated using the total number of children enrolled in early childhood education divided by the total population. Because children can enrol at more than one early childhood education service, double counting of some children does occur.
Published in October 2008
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
PO Box 10 049
Wellington 6143
New Zealand
Ph: 04 915 7112
Fax: 04 916 1604
mwa@mwa.govt.nz
www.mwa.govt.nz
ISBN 978-0-478-25237-8 – print
ISBN 978-0-478-25238-5 – digital
