Panui June 2010

Click HERE for a PDF [370 kB] version of Pānui

Table of Contents

Flexible work works
Fewer hours = more productive
MWA welcomes new Chief Executive
It’s what we do
MWA farewells Kaihautū
New MWA leader for violence work
Different degrees
The Graduate Income Study
Negotiating tips
Women on the Move
International matters
Eliminating discrimination
Women on Boards
Kirsten Bryant
In brief
Te Mahi Kai – the language of food
Support for victims of sexual violence
Standing Together
Matariki
Homeopathy for livestock wins award
Parental leave payments increase
YWCA celebrates
Mums

Flexible work works

The benefits of flexible working practices include greater productivity; higher profits; improved customer satisfaction; cost savings and increased efficiency; and the ability to recruit and retain top staff.

For industries that face serious skills and demographic challenges, like the accounting sector, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs believes adopting flexible work practices could be the answer.

A paper by the Ministry, Workplace Flexibility in the Accounting Sector, launched by Hon Pansy Wong, Minister of Women’s Affairs earlier this month, outlines the findings of case study research we undertook into flexible work practices in the New Zealand accounting sector, which is experiencing skills shortages.

A key finding is that the majority of accountancy staff from graduates to senior managers are women, while the majority of partners and associates are men, and many qualified and experienced women leave long before making the step up to partnership.  Also, the concept of working long hours is the norm in the sector and regarded as fundamental to career progression and to business profitability.

In her address at the launch, the Minister spoke of how women and men are increasingly making work-life choices that may cause them to leave the workforce for a time, for example, raising children or taking part in extracurricular activities such as sport or community involvement.

‘So what happens when these women and men leave the sector to take on other responsibilities? When they leave, even for short periods, there is an impact. And it is significant.  Their skills, talents and experience disappear from the sector. 

‘And some of them don’t come back.  Others would, if they could, but they don’t always get the chance.  If they do return to work, they often get put into lower paid jobs, at levels below their actual experience and expertise.’

The answer, the Minister said, may be flexible work.

‘Workplace flexibility includes arrangements that can cover when, where, and how much one works.  It includes options such as flexible arrival, departure and lunch times, reduced hours or part-time work, telecommuting, and job sharing.

‘Workplace flexibility is a tool that, if used strategically, improves both business and profitability.  Lost profitability for individual firms means lost profitability for the New Zealand economy.  We cannot afford to be wasting our talent in this way.’

Accounting firm BDO Taranaki’s managing partner Steve Waite, told the audience how the company had adopted a flexible working structure and it is now the fastest growing of all BDO offices in New Zealand.

The Ministry was assisted with the study by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust.

Fewer hours = more productive

MWA surveyed twelve public practice accountancy firms which we knew were using flexibility to some degree. The firms ranged in size from four staff, to more than nine hundred.

The study found that the concept of working long hours persists within the accountancy sector and still appears to be a cornerstone of its culture.  One firm the Ministry spoke to, however, capped the number of hours that staff could work at 45 per week and found that staff were more productive and made fewer mistakes.

The full research report is available on the Ministry’s website at www.mwa.govt.nz/news-and-pubs/publications/accounting-research

MWA welcomes new Chief Executive

Introducing the new chief executive

MWA’s new Chief Executive Rowena Phair will not need a tour of the Ministry’s offices when she starts work on 13 July, she already knows her way around.

Rowena was Policy Manager at the Ministry from 2004 to 2007 before going to work at Treasury.  Her roles there have included Manager, Children and their Families, State Sector Performance Group; Acting Assistant Secretary/Deputy Secretary State Sector Performance Group; and her current role as Manager, Tax Strategy.

Rowena said she is ‘incredibly pleased to be re-joining the Ministry’.

‘I’m looking forward to being updated on the Ministry’s current strategies and work programme, as well as meeting with key women’s organisations and other stakeholders on their priorities and strategies.’

MWA’s departing Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner, said it was great to be handing over to Rowena.

‘The success of the Ministry has depended upon its staff.  Along with other employees, past and present, Rowena was such an important part of establishing the Ministry’s reputation as a quality policy agency.’

Between 18 June, when Shenagh leaves, and 13 July, the Ministry’s Nominations Service Director, Pamela Cohen, will be Acting Chief Executive.

It’s what we do

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ role is three-fold: nominating women to state sector boards; policy advice and interventions on issues that impact on women; and management of New Zealand’s international obligations in relation to the status of women.

What we do, and whom we influence, creates positive change for New Zealand women.  Our work makes an impact (often indirectly through other agencies) that improves real choices for women and enables them to use their strengths to maximise social and economic success.

The Ministry’s Statement of Intent for 2010-2013, which sets out our priorities for the next three years, is now available on our website.  The SOI shows how our priorities are constant but our approach is changing, and how we strive to continually improve and learn from our measures of effectiveness.

To read the SOI, please go to www.mwa.govt.nz/news-and-pubs/publications/soi-general

MWA farewells Kaihautū

After seven years at the Ministry, Kaihautū Sonya Rimene left in May to take up the role of General Manager, Māori Health Services, Plunket NZ.

Sonya, Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu and Te Arawa, came to MWA from the Department of Corrections in 2003.  As Kaihautū, Sonya worked alongside managers to assist the Ministry to implement initiatives to improve responsiveness to Māori.  She also helped identify, establish, and maintain key relationships with iwi, Māori and Māori individuals to provide input into key policy areas.

MWA Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner said Sonya had been at the heart of the Ministry.

‘Sonya’s connections with Māori women have enriched all of us.  Her generosity and persistence have been admired by everyone.’

Sonya said one of the highlights for her over the years has been the Ministry’s largest annual event, Mana Wahine/He Wahine Pumanawa, which celebrates the leadership and achievements of Māori women as tangata whenua and their contribution to the New Zealand economy. 

‘During my time at MWA, we have celebrated many Māori women across all sectors, including in governance, in the community, in business, and in arts and culture.  It has been very rewarding to be involved in a significant event that is dedicated to honouring Māori women.’

On a more personal level, Sonya said while looking forward to her new role, she felt sad to be leaving the Ministry.

‘It has been a great place to work, with great people.  It also has a whānau-friendly environment which was important to me.  My kids have grown up here.’

Tania Simpson is the Ministry’s Acting Kaihautū from May to September 2010.

Tania has a background in Māori development with senior roles at the Housing Corporation, Te Puni Kōkiri, and the Office of Treaty Settlements.  She is the Chief Executive of Kowhai Consulting; a member of the Waitangi Tribunal; and a director of Mighty River Power and Landcare Research.  Tania is also an accredited member of the Institute of Directors and a Harvard-trained negotiator.

New MWA leader for violence work

In April MWA welcomed back Dr Denise Lievore as senior policy analyst leading our work on domestic and sexual violence.

Denise left the Ministry in December last year after managing our two-year research project on sexual violence.  She says she is ‘thrilled to be back’ and that building on the sexual violence research will be a priority area.

‘The overall focus of our work programme will be to ensure that services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence are evidence based, good practice, and deliver optimal outcomes in a timely manner.

‘Through our work we will provide a victim-centred perspective that aims to reduce the impact of violence against women. We will be taking the research results wider and considering what the next steps are.

‘In collaboration with the Office of Ethnic Affairs, we have also recently done some work on intimate partner violence in ethnic communities and we will be building on that work.’

Denise initially came to MWA from the Crime and Justice Centre at Victoria University where she was a Senior Research Fellow working on a range of applied projects in the justice area, including some on family and domestic violence. Other experience includes field work in Kiribati, in the Cook Islands, and three years at the Australian Institute of Criminology conducting research on criminal justice responses to adult sexual assault.

The reports from the two-year research project on sexual violence can be seen at http://www.mwa.govt.nz/our-work/svrproject/index

Different degrees

A bachelor’s degree held by a woman should be worth the same in the marketplace as one held by a man, but a recent study by the Ministry has discovered a significant difference in average income between men and women with a degree after just one year in paid employment.

Analysis of the Integrated Student Loans dataset  showed differences in income between male and female graduates one and five years after entering employment following completion of a bachelor's degree or higher qualification by looking at income data from Inland Revenue. There was an income difference of up to six percent.

MWA principal policy analyst Caroline Boyd said there were a number of key findings from the graduate income study, with the most fundamental being a clear difference in income between men and women who graduated within the same fields of study after five years.  This varied from just one percent for graduates in creative arts fields to 20 percent for graduates in management and commerce.

‘Another  finding was that five years after entering employment the average income gap between men and women with a bachelor’s qualification or above increased to 17 percent.’

‘Obviously this is high level data which is subject to wide variability but it is a significant gap, and one that warrants further examination. As a small policy agency, a big part of our role is to raise awareness, to gather the evidence and tell people what’s going on so that they feel moved to take action.’

Women’s Affairs Minister Pansy Wong raised the findings from the study in an address she gave recently to a gathering of Wellington lawyers saying, in some fields, the reasons for the pay gap seemed evident.

‘The income gap for males and females with a health qualification averaged more than 20 percent within a year.  This is likely to be partly explained by the high level of occupational segregation in the sector.  Lower paid nursing jobs are dominated by women, while the highest paid jobs, such as surgeons, are dominated by men.

‘However, when it comes to a field such as law, the reasons for the pay gap are less clear.’

A recent visitor to New Zealand, Professor Marjorie Corman Aaron, believes part of the answer lies in women’s and men’s different negotiating styles.  The Minister told the audience of research carried out by Professor Corman Aaron who teaches negotiation and mediation to law students at Cincinnati University College of Law. 

‘Professor Corman Aaron says that studies of law school negotiation students show that there is no statistically significant correlation between gender and negotiation performance. In other words, women are just as good at negotiating as men.

‘However, where gender does become a factor is the difference in the way men and women experience the situation.  Men on average tend to be more confident, whereas women are more likely to express doubt.  Men may ask to take on more and new things.  Women, on average, may not.’

‘But, and here’s where unconscious bias creeps in, hiring executives and managers, both male and female, are more likely to prefer an assertive man, and therefore hire him, than an assertive woman.  This may be partly because that is how we are socially conditioned.  It’s subtle, but women need to be aware that these unconscious biases do exist.’

Professor Aaron said the answer to women doing better in negotiation situations is not just about individuals learning more skills and doing things differently, it is also about structural change that, for example, minimises bias in pay setting processes and alters the stereotypes that others hold.

The Graduate Income Study

The study was carried out as part of MWA’s gender pay gap work. This first phase of research involved an analysis of the incomes of male and female graduates who left university between 2001 and 2006 using the Integrated Student Loans data set which matches student loans data with income data from Inland Revenue. The data on fields of study was at a broad level, for example, health, education, management and commerce.

The graduate income study also found that:

• Women continue to graduate in increasing numbers and 62 percent of all bachelors’ graduates in 2006 were women.
• While women remained dominant in the fields of teaching and nursing they also outnumbered men in business and management, sales and marketing, and law.
• The least preferred fields of study for women were engineering and related technologies, where women were outnumbered by men five to one, and information technology, four to one.

The next phase of this work will involve the Ministry partnering with universities to recruit 5000-6000 students intending to graduate next year as part of a longitudinal study.  The study will track these graduates over the following 10 years and provide insights we have not had before in terms of their employment outcomes.

The complete report is available on our website: http://www.mwa.govt.nz/news-and-pubs/publications/graduate-income-data

Negotiating tips

MWA and The Leadership Development Centre hosted Professor Corman Aaron during her recent visit to New Zealand.  Professor Corman Aaron’s top ten negotiating tips are:

1. Ignore gender stereotypes about what women and men are and are not good at.
2. Do your homework – the less ambiguous the situation is, the better.
3. Decide on your ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) and BETNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement).
4. Act as if you were your own agent; if it helps, remember you are doing this for the greater good.
5. Be in an emotionally positive state.
6. Ask for what you want (men do!).
7. Don’t assume the first offer is the best offer.
8. Don’t always take what you are offered. Negotiate.
9. Practise authoritative body language.
10. Balance being socially ‘likeable’ and standing – and advancing – your ground.

Women on the Move

Paula Rebstock is chair of the Welfare Working Group, set up by the government to examine causes of and solutions to long term welfare dependence.

Career diplomat Rosemary Banks is New Zealand’s next Ambassador to France and takes up her assignment in September.

Miriam Dean QC is a member of the newly-formed Electricity Authority Establishment Board.  The board’s job is to set up the Electricity Authority, which will replace the Electricity Commission by 1 October.

Kirsten Bryant and Anne Munro have been elected to the Meat and Wool Board.

Dianne Kidd has been appointed to the board of AsureQuality Ltd.

Joanna Mary Gordon Perry and Rukumoana Schaafhausen have been appointed to the board of Genesis Power Ltd.

Traci Houpapa has been appointed to the board of Landcorp Farming Ltd.

Mary Devine has been appointed to the board of Meridian Energy Ltd.

Prue Flacks has been appointed to the board of Mighty River Power.

Victoria University’s new Pro-Chancellor for 2010 is Helen Sutch.

Hanne Andersen is a new member on the Small Business Advisory Group.

A new member on the board of Te Taua Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, is Evelyn Tobin, MNZM, JP.

Donna Gardiner is a new member on the board of the Māori Television Service.

Dame Anne Salmond has been appointed to the Archives Council.

Rotorua lawyer Alayne Wills has been appointed a District Court Judge with a Family Court warrant.

Dr Helen Anderson has been appointed to the board of Dairy NZ.

International matters

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs convenes a caucus on international women’s issues twice a year. The caucus consists of representatives from government agencies, non-government organisations, the Human Rights Commission and other individuals with an interest in international gender issues.  Its first meeting was on 28 October 2004.

The caucus provides a forum for collaboration, and to develop New Zealand’s capacity to participate in international forums (arising from the institutions and instruments of the United Nations relevant to the interests of women) by sharing information; co-ordinating participation in international forums; and co-ordinating dissemination of relevant information domestically.
 
MWA Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner said the caucus was established with an open and inclusive membership to serve primarily as a forum for information exchange between government agencies and NGOs.

‘The Ministry has found the knowledge and insights of the NGOs and the Human Rights Commission most useful.

‘At the last meeting on 29 April, there was the usual high attendance, and good interchanges on a variety of topics including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.’

It was the last caucus meeting for the Ministry’s Chief Executive, Shenagh Gleisner, and Kaihautū, Sonya Rimene. The caucus thanked Shenagh in particular for her leadershop and contribution to the progress of women in New Zealand.

Eliminating discrimination

Work is well underway on preparing New Zealand’s seventh periodic report on our obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 

CEDAW sets out an agenda for countries to end discrimination against women and every four years signatories report on progress.  New Zealand’s seventh report on CEDAW is intended to update the previous report, detailing significant developments that have occurred between March 2006 and March 2010.  The report is due to be submitted to the United Nations in September and will then be available on MWA’s website.

Community groups are encouraged to submit independent reports setting out their views on the way their Government is meeting its obligations under CEDAW. Independent reports can be submitted prior to or when the New Zealand Government presents the seventh periodic report.  This is likely to be in late 2011 or early 2012. 

The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCW) is co-ordinating a process to develop an independent report for New Zealand.  Information about contributing to that report is available on NCW’s website: www.ncwnz.org.nz.  Further information about NGO participation at CEDAW sessions can be found at: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/ngo/cedawngo.  

Women on Boards

Kirsten Bryant

Elected to New Zealand Meat Board and board of Meat and Wool New Zealand: 2010
Meat and Fibre Chairperson, Ruapehu Federated Farmers Executive: 2008 – present
Chairperson, School Board of Trustees
King Country Farmer of the Year (with husband Paul): 1998

Woman on board first for Meat and Wool

Farmer Kirsten Bryant is one of two women who are the first ever to be elected to the board of Meat and Wool New Zealand. 

Kirsten and husband Paul moved from Kirikau near Taumarunui late last year to a 485 hectare finishing property at Fordell near Wanganui.  Here, Kirsten says, they want to ‘realise our long-term goal of having more control over the finishing and marketing of our lambs and beef, whilst giving our children more options for schooling in the future’.  Together with two other properties the couple own, they run 23,000 sheep and beef stock units.  They have three children aged 9, 7, and 5.

Kirsten says she has always been interested in the ‘bigger picture’ issues and is one hundred percent convinced of the value of the ‘fantastic meat, dairy and wool that New Zealand farmers grow’.

Q:    How does it feel to be one of the first women elected to the Meat and Wool Board?
A:    It is exciting to be one of the first two elected and I am looking forward to being an effective part of the team on the New Zealand Meat Board and board of Meat and Wool New Zealand (to be known as Beef and Lamb New Zealand from 1 July 2010).

Q    Why did you decide to run for the board?
The decision to run was one born from frustration – frustration in that while sheep and beef farmers are really skilled at what we do on the farm, our world leading, cutting edge production methods are not delivering us sustainable profits.  In many cases farmers are financially going backwards because of factors largely out of our control.

I believe that Meat and Wool New Zealand is the best means to support farmers into more sustainable profits through investment in research and technology transfer; market access and in-market work; focus on providing leadership and skills into our sector, and through credible information and analysis to support better decision-making. I want to be a part of that.

Q:    You won the election with a big majority.   What sort of message do you think this means?
A:    The referendum of 2009 signaled that farmers wanted change. I think the farmers in my Western North Island Electorate looked at my background as a successful agribusiness woman and hands-on farmer with an authentic perspective and believed that I could represent, communicate and work effectively on their behalf. My platform was centered on the message that I believed that Meat and Wool is the best vehicle for us to move forward as an industry.

Q:     What will you bring to the board?
A:    Commonsense, focus, an authentic perspective and the ability to ask questions!

Q:    What would you say to other women in the rural sector about your appointment?
A:    There are many, many women in our sector with a complex and diverse range of skills. These skills develop because of our unique role within the context of our business, family, and wider community and the expectations that come with these roles. Rural women have a huge amount to contribute and the skills to govern both inside and outside our sector.

Q:`    You are a very busy woman, what do you do to relax and wind down?
A:    I have three young children so my ‘wind down’ is mostly centred on their activities. As a family we love skiing and spending time with good friends. In my quiet moments I love to read.
 
 

In brief

Te Mahi Kai – the language of food

Food is the theme for this year’s Māori Language Week running from 26 July to 1 August.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) is encouraging a liberal interpretation of the theme because ‘te mahi kai’ means not just partaking of a meal, but includes all the activity undertaken to create that meal, including hunting, diving, fishing, and shopping through to food preparation.  For more information go to www.koreromaori.co.nz

Support for victims of sexual violence

Justice Minister Simon Power recently announced the reprioritisation of $1 million of Ministry of Justice funding over the next two years for sexual violence prevention education programmes, as well as ongoing funding for the survivor advocate role.  The Minister also announced that the Minister and Associate Minister of Social Development would be joining him in leading the government’s response to the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett will focus primarily on the operational and service delivery aspects of the government’s sexual violence work.  Associate Minister Tariana Turia will focus on linking sexual violence with work she is already doing in the areas of family violence and Whānau Ora.

Standing Together

A new steering group will oversee the development of a relationship agreement between the community, voluntary sector, and the government.

The Kia Tutahi Standing Together Steering Group includes seven community and voluntary sector members and seven state sector members. The Steering Group met for the first time in April to begin leading the development of a community-government relationship agreement.  Consultation on this agreement begins in July.

For more information go to www.ocvs@msd.govt.nz

Matariki

June heralds Matariki, the Māori New Year.

Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster and its appearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky in late May/early June marks the start of a new phase of life.
Although there are tribal differences regarding the timing, celebrations most often begin at the next new moon after Matariki has risen. This year the date will be 14 June.

Homeopathy for livestock wins award

The 2010 Enterprising Rural Women Award was won by Tineke Verkade who runs Waikato-based business Homeopathic Farm Support Ltd.

Tineke set up in private practice in 1991 treating people, and then began using homeopathy with her own animals.  Other farmers in the Waikato approached her for assistance in treating symptoms in their livestock, and the seeds of her new farm-focused business were planted.  She now has a national and international distribution network, supplying more than 200 organic-certified products to farmers.

The Rural Women New Zealand Award recognises an outstanding rural businesswoman running her own enterprise and celebrates the success of all rural women entrepreneurs.

Parental leave payments increase

On 1 July, the maximum parental leave payment will increase from $429.74 per week to $441.62 per week.  The minimum payment for self-employed parents will increase from $125.00 to $127.50 per week.

YWCA celebrates

The Auckland YWCA is 125 this year and has events planned through 2010 to celebrate.

For more information go to www.akywca.org.nz/news-and-events/events.aspx

Mums

In the year ended March 2010, the median age of women giving birth was 30 years.  Figures released by Statistics New Zealand in May show Gisborne had the youngest median age at 28 years and the oldest at 31 years were in Auckland, Otago, Tasman, Canterbury, and Wellington.  In the early 1980s, a generation earlier, the median age was around 26 years.

Pānui is published quarterly. If you would like to receive Pānui via email or post, send your details to mwa@mwa.govt.nz with your preference.

Pānui is published by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, New Zealand. We welcome your feedback and ideas. Send them to The Editor, Pānui, Ministry of Women's Affairs, PO Box 10049, Wellington 6143, New Zealand, or to email: mwa@mwa.govt.nz.

The viewpoints expressed in Pānui do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Women's Affairs.