Industry-wide reporting push aims to close gender and retirement gaps
New Zealand’s financial services sector is being urged to confront a gender pay gap more than four times the national average, in a move with direct implications for banks, insurers and mortgage brokerages.
Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women data shows a 23% pay gap across financial services in 2025, compared with a national gap of about 5%, highlighting structural inequality that can flow through to women’s KiwiSaver and retirement outcomes.
The Financial Services Council’s Empower Women Working Group has secured board backing for a sector-wide reporting initiative designed to quantify and then reduce the gap.
FSC calls for voluntary reporting by March 2026
The FSC Board has endorsed a proposal encouraging members to voluntarily report their organisation’s gender pay gap by 31 March, using the Ministry for Women’s Gender Pay Gap Toolkit.
Individual results will be aggregated to create an anonymised industry benchmark, updated year on year to track progress and promote transparency without singling out firms.
FSC Board member and Southern Cross Health Society CEO Nick Astwick said transparency is central to rebuilding trust.
“Gender pay gap reporting is foundational to continuing to strengthen trust in the financial services sector. Transparency builds credibility - with our people, our customers, and the communities we serve,” Astwick said.
He emphasised that “reporting isn’t about blame but is about accountability and progress.”
FSC says it will monitor and report on the benchmark over time and publicly recognise organisations that participate, while the Pay Gap Insights Hub will provide a platform for firms that choose to publish their individual data.
Smaller members with fewer than 20 employees are encouraged to calculate their gap and use it internally, even if they do not publish results, in line with Ministry guidance on protecting privacy.
Why the gender pay gap matters
The council argues that measuring and reporting on pay gaps supports more gender‑equal workplaces, stronger productivity, and morale, and a better public image as an employer that recruits and promotes without bias. It also links directly to the gender retirement and KiwiSaver gap, as lower lifetime earnings translate into smaller balances for women in later life.
Astwick said openness is a prerequisite for real change.
“When organisations are open about where they stand, it creates the conditions for meaningful change and a more sustainable, trusted sector,” he said. “At Southern Cross, we are committed to gender pay gap reporting. This is part of how we demonstrate fairness, transparency, and doing the right thing for our people.”
For more information, visit the FSC website.
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