Womenomics

Women 'still held back in workplace'

If you're a woman in New Zealand chances are you'll have a good education, but that won't neccessarily bring you better job opportunities. "Women are gaining qualifications at a greater rate than men but their skills are not being translated into greater opportunities," the report said.

"Division of labour still sees women doing the majority of unpaid domestic work, and in paid employment you've got gender diversion hierarchically across industries. The normal way that work is organised is a way that's set up fro men, not for women."

Educated women found it difficult to move up the career ladder when they were still expected to play a traditional role at home, Massey University management expert Dr Suze Wilson explained.

It was "trending down slowly," according to the report, with women getting a median of $21.23 to a man's $24.07.

"Blind recruiting" was an example of a method that could be used, Women's Minister Louise Upston said. "You imagine looking at CVs that don't have names, don't have ages, don't have 'married with three children' and applications stacked up by your skills and abilities, [the application] becomes free of bias."

Source: The Press