C OV E R STO RY
J U N E 2022 F Y I
Diversity, equity, and inclusion The 21st Century cornerstones for long-term business success In 1972, New Zealand’s Equal Pay Act passed into law, making it unlawful to pay women and men differently for doing the same job. And yet, fifty years later, disparity remains with a gender pay gap of more than 9 per cent. Essentially, from 29 November, Kiwi women are working the rest of the year for free. The stats are worse for Māori and Pasifika women, whose “work for free” dates are 10 November and 18 October, respectively. GENDERTICK OFFERS ORGANISATIONS independent assurance around gender policies and practices to increase the attraction and retention of women employees. Claire Stuart is the YWCA’s GenderTick manager. “Most of the businesses that contact us are excited and passionate about this initiative,” she says. “Often we find it’s people in HR or development roles who are driving this change, and occasionally it can be a struggle to get sign-off from top tier management.” Claire believes this is down to mindset – senior managers who’ve worked a certain way for years (maybe decades) and haven’t broadened their thinking as external working
Claire Stuart YWCA GenderTick Manager
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practices have evolved. “Traditional work processes were established in the 1900s for a predominantly white, male, Christian workforce. The landscape has changed immensely, and some organisations haven’t kept up. There can be an attitude: ‘We’re already successful. Our system isn’t broken; why fix it?’ “However, others really grasp the importance of a diverse team, not least for improved productivity and creativity from different kinds of brilliant minds to an improved bottom line.” To achieve GenderTick accreditation, an organisation must fulfil five criteria 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Gender Inclusive Culture Safe Workplace Flexible Work & Leave Leadership Representation Equal Pay
GenderTick demonstrates a business’ commitment to gender equity to its employees, customers, and stake-
Yellow® CEO Tracey Taylor
holders. Membership organisations, including Xero, Genesis Energy, and AIA Insurance, also verify that workplace culture is enhanced. Here’s what Yellow® told FYI: The programme has helped us stretch ourselves…as we continue to push the boundaries and make courageous decisions to shift systems and cultures that suppress minorities. Our CEO, Tracey Taylor, leads with love, and this has enabled everyone at Yellow to advocate for change in a vulnerable and courageous way. Our people are really proud of our commitment to gender equity, and it has been one of the driving factors behind our cultural transformation. It has also given us an advantage when recruiting as we know ever more people are choosing their prospective employers based on an alignment of values. Being GenderTick accredited has also inspired
