A newly released report says men are paid almost 6 percent more than women in New Zealand.
The report from financial services firm PwC looked at median wages for full-time workers in 33 countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The gender pay gap of 5.6 percent in New Zealand compares to 15.3 percent across the OECD.
The figure for New Zealand's gender pay gap is smaller than previous estimates. Between 2000 and 2008 the gap was estimated to be between 12 and 14 percent, while the Ministry for Women put the wage gap at 9 percent in a 2014 survey and at 12 percent last year.
The PwC report says that more women are in work than ever before across the OECD and that unemployment rates have gradually declined since the 2008 global financial crisis.
"However, the gender pay gap remains unacceptably wide - women are still paid $83 for every $100 her male counterpart earns on average across the OECD," the report stated.
The report ranks New Zealand fourth overall for female economic empowerment.
The survey looked at factors like equality of earnings, the proportion of women in work, the female unemployment rate and the proportion of women in full-time employment.
New Zealand placed behind three European nations - Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The number-four ranking is the same as two years ago, but is an improvement from eighth place in 2000.
In contrast, Australia has fallen to number 20 from 15th in 2000.
The report says that New Zealand could boost its economy by $16 billion, or 7 percent, by matching Sweden's employment rate for women.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the firm Grant Thornton has found that 42 percent of New Zealand businesses have no women in leadership roles. That is up from 37 percent last year.
The report surveyed 5520 businesses in 36 economies.
It says the average across Asia Pacific is 33 percent.
Newshub.
