We are committed to achieving pay equity. The plan on this page demonstrates how we plan to achieve this.
On this page
Kia Toipoto: Pay equity across the public sector
Kia Toipoto is an initiative led by Te Kawa Mataaho (the Public Service Commission). It is a comprehensive set of actions to help close gender, Māori, Pacific and ethnic pay gaps in the public service.
Pharmac's Kia Toipoto plan
Although this is our first formal Kia Toipoto action plan, we have already made progress on all five of the Kia Toipoto focus areas. We have determined our priority areas for 2023-24 based on the feedback we received from our kaimahi. The priority areas will be:
Te pono – Transparency
Ngā hua tōkeke mō te utu – Equitable pay outcomes
and Te whai kanohi i ngā taumata katoa - Leadership and representation
Our pay equity plan is an ongoing commitment. Each year we will review our progress, identify new focus areas for the coming year and publish our updated plan. We also report our progress towards pay equity.
Our goal
We want our processes for people-related decisions to transparent and guided by clear policies.
What we have achieved already towards our goal
We have:
published our full Kia Toipoto Action Plan on our website
started a review of job descriptions to ensure roles are accurately outlined, do not contain bias and the language is inclusive
started a job-sizing project which includes ensuring cultural (Māori) capability has been considered
scoped work to develop a new remuneration framework
ensured our HR policies, including our remuneration policy and salary bands can be easily accessed by our kaimahi (staff)
What we will do to progress our goal for 2023/24
We will publish:
roles and their salary band ranges on our intranet
salary ranges on job advertisements
criteria for remuneration reviews and promotions
Our goal
We want to:
support people leaders to make equitable recruitment and pay decisions
have a fair workplace for all, including disabled people and members of rainbow communities
ensure our starting salaries and salaries for the same or similar roles are not influenced by bias
What we have achieved already towards our goal
We have reviewed salaries across the organisation by pay band, gender, ethnicity and tenure and are making corrections where necessary to ensure we have no unjustified pay gaps.
What we will do to progress our goal for 2023/24
We will:
create a starting salary tool
complete a bi-annual equity remuneration review to monitor starting salaries and salaries for the same or similar roles to ensure gender and ethnic pay gaps decrease
review and update criteria for recruitment and pay decisions.
Our goal
We want to increase:
our gender, ethnic, disabled and rainbow community representation in our workforce and leadership
the representation of Māori in our workforce by 5% and Pacific by 2%, working toward our workforce being in line with ethnic representation in the overall Aotearoa New Zealand population
our representation of Māori leaders by 5%, working toward the % of our Māori leaders mirroring that of the Māori representation in the overall Aotearoa New Zealand population
our representation of Pacific leaders by 3%, working toward the % of our Pacific leaders mirroring that of the Pacific representation in the overall Aotearoa New Zealand population
What we have achieved already towards our goal for 2023/24
57% of our leaders are women
66% of our kaimahi are women
We have:
created new ethnicity fields, gender identity and disability fields for our onboarding and payroll systems
partnered with the Tupa Toa Māori internship program
What we will do to progress our goal
We will:
review our internal culture to ensure it is inclusive
work to be attractive to Māori, Pacific, and other diverse candidates
work to find Māori, Pacific, and other diverse candidates and ensure they are considered during shortlisting
work to eliminate any bias in our recruitment and promotion processes
Our goal
We want to:
build the capability of kaimahi Māori
have career pathways to help our kaimahi achieve their career aspirations
What we will do to progress our goal for 2023/24
We will:
develop our Kaitiakitanga Framework, which supports the attraction, retention, and development of Māori kaimahi
develop career pathways for our kaimahi
Our goal
We want to:
have remuneration and HR systems, policies and practices designed to remove all forms of bias and discrimination
build the Māori capability of our kaimahi
What we have achieved already towards our goal
We have:
updated the terms used during our onboarding data collection of ethnicity and gender to be more inclusive
reviewed our data reporting and collection to ensure it follows the NZ stats and NZ health guidance
published a new code of conduct
provided all kaimahi with the opportunity to participate in the Wall Walk
held anti-racism workshops
provided unconscious bias training
We offer:
mihi whakatau to all new starters
karakia, waiata, and using Te Reo Māori as part of our tikanga
a 2-day Te Tiriti training to all kaimahi
Te Reo lessons for all kaimahi
What we will do to progress our goal for 2023/24
We will:
complete a review of HR systems, policies and processes to ensure not biased
determine our internal Māori capability by starting with a baseline assessment guided by Te Arawhiti
continue to support our kaimahi to participate in the wall walk, anti-racism workshops, and unconscious bias training
Our goal
We want flexible working by default.
What we have achieved already towards our goal
All our kaimahi have access to flexible working, with 2 days each week working from home. Kaimahi can request more days at home when needed.
We have provided kaimahi with technology and home office set-ups to enable remote working.
What we will do to progress our goal for 2023/24
We will:
review our flexible working policy, taking into account the new Te Kawa Mataaho (Public Service Commission) guidance on hybrid working
scope the feasibility of offering more roles at part-time or based remotely
improve systems to capture flexible working arrangements.
What is Kia Toipoto?
Te Kawa Mataaho (Public Service Commission) developed Kia Toipoto in 2021. It aims to achieve pay equity and increased representation in leadership for women, Māori, Pacific, and other underrepresented groups across the public sector. It grew out of earlier work by the Ministry of Woman and the then State Services Commission (SSC) to reduce New Zealand’s gender pay gap.
making substantial progress toward closing gender, Māori, Pacific and ethnic pay gaps
accelerating progress for wāhine Māori, Pacific women and women from ethnic communities
create fairer workplaces for all, including disabled people and members of the rainbow communities.
Kia Toipoto has six focus areas:
Te Pono – Transparency
Ngā Hua Tōkeke mō te Utu – Equitable pay outcomes
Te whai kanohi i ngā taumata katoa – Leadership and representation
Te Whakawhanaketanga i te Aramahi – Effective career and leadership development
Te whakakore i te katoa o ngā momo whakatoihara, haukume anō hoki – Eliminating all forms of bias and discrimination
Te Taunoa o te Mahi Pīngore – Flexible-work-by-default
Understanding our pay data
We shared our pay data through workshops and korero (discussion) with our kaimahi, including our Māori Caucus, our Pacific staff, and Public Services Associate (PSA) delegates.
These discussions were invaluable as to better understanding some of the drivers of our pay gaps. This work would not have been possible without hearing the lived experiences of our kaimahi.
Aligning with the goals of Te Kawa Mataaho (the Public Service Commission), by 2027 we aim to improve diverse representation across Pharmac’s workforce to match the New Zealand (projected) 2027 population more closely, placing emphasis on improving Māori and Pacific representation.
Additional comments
Our target ranges are based on the 2018 Census and the projected 2027 New Zealand population.
