Last updated 1 July 2009

An overview of Pacific Women’s participation in the New Zealand labour market

In the 1940s the New Zealand Pacific population was just over 2,000^[1] ; this has been steadily increasing since the 1960s and in 2006 there were roughly 266,000 Pacific peoples in New Zealand, of whom 135,000 were women.

As the Pacific community in New Zealand grows, Pacific peoples are playing an increasingly important role in the New Zealand economy. The age profile of the Pacific population in New Zealand is relatively young. The Pacific population has been growing more quickly than New Zealand’s overall population, and this is projected to continue. Improving the outcomes for Pacific peoples in New Zealand will therefore become progressively more important for the New Zealand economy as a whole.

The purpose of this report is to provide information about Pacific women with a focus on their skills, training and labour market participation. Evidence is needed to support the development of policies and effective interventions that can lift the skill-base of the future Pacific workforce, improve Pacific workforce participation and increase the contribution of Pacific peoples to the New Zealand economy.

Pacific women have a quite different interaction with the labour market than Pacific men. So it is important to develop a specific understanding of where Pacific women currently stand with regard to issues such as labour market participation and earnings, and how their situation is changing.

The report is a collaborative piece of work produced by the Department of Labour and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs with peer review provided by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development. It represents a key milestone in the Pacific Women’s Economic Development Plan.

The report can be viewed on the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs website [external link, pdf file].

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