Quick facts

Population

In 2006, 15 percent (290,500) of women in New Zealand identified as belonging to the Māori ethnic group. While the total New Zealand female population increased by 21 percent between 1991 and 2006, the number of Māori women in New Zealand increased by 32 percent.

The Māori population is more youthful than the national population. Thirty-three percent of the Māori female population was aged under 15 years, compared with 21 percent of all women. Four percent of Māori women were aged 65 years and over, compared with 13 percent of women overall. The median age of Māori women in 2006 was 24.1 years, compared with 36.7 years for the total female population. The median age of Māori women was greater than that of Māori men (21.3 years), which reflects Māori women’s longer life expectancy.

Language

In 2006, nearly one quarter (24 percent) of Māori women could speak te reo Māori, compared with 23 percent of Māori men. Speakers of te reo Māori are more prevalent among older age groups, with 48 percent of Māori women aged 65 years and over stating that they could hold a conversation in te reo Māori in 2006.

Paid work

Māori women are less likely to be in the labour force than Māori men. In 2006, 64 percent of Māori women and 75 percent of Māori men were in the labour force. Of those, 13 percent of Māori women were unemployed, compared with 9 percent of Māori men.

Māori women are also more likely to be working part-time than Māori men. In 2006, 32 percent of Māori women who were employed were working part-time, compared with 13 percent of Māori men who were employed.

Compared with the total female population, Māori women were slightly more likely to be in the labour force (64 percent versus 63 percent), but more likely to be unemployed (13 percent versus 6 percent) in 2006. Of those who were employed in 2006, a slightly larger proportion of Māori women were employed full-time than the total female population (68 percent versus 65 percent).

Income

Māori women’s incomes tend to be less than that of both Māori men and women overall.

In 2006, the median annual income for Māori women was $17,800, compared with $25,900 for Māori men, and $19,100 for the total female population.

Education

Māori women are more likely to have an educational qualification than Māori men. In 2006, 63 percent of Māori women had some form of educational qualification, compared with 56 percent of Māori men. However, Māori women were less likely to have an educational qualification than women overall, with 75 percent of the total female population having an educational qualification in 2006.

Māori women are also more likely to have a post school qualification than Māori men. In 2006, 29 percent of Māori women aged 5 years and over had a post school qualification, compared with 26 percent of Māori men aged 15 years and over. Māori women were considerably less likely to have a post school qualification than women overall, with 40 percent of the total female population aged 15 years and over having a post school qualification in 2006.

Health

The health status of Māori women differs from that of Māori men and women overall.

Hazardous drinking is a significant health issue among Māori women. While Māori women are just as likely to be non-drinkers as women overall (20 percent in 2006/07), those who do drink are more likely to have a hazardous drinking pattern. In 2006/07, 30 percent of Māori women who did drink had a hazardous drinking pattern, compared with 13 percent of women drinkers overall.

In 2006/07, 42 percent of Māori women were obese. This compared with 41 percent of Māori men and 27 percent of the total female population.

Māori women are significantly more likely to have been diagnosed as having a mood disorder than Māori men. In 2006/07, 13 percent of Māori women reported to have ever been diagnosed with a mood disorder, compared with 6 percent of Māori men. The prevalence of mood disorders among Māori women is comparable to that of the total female population.

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Last updated April 2009