Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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Download a PDF version: 2024 Statement: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (PDF, 1MB)

On this page:

Our Context
Data
Taura Herenga Waka
Our Highlights
Employee-led Networks
Our Plan for 2025
Our Commitment
Appendix

Our Context

Te Tari Taiwhenua is committed to creating a workplace that values diversity, fosters equity, and promotes inclusion. Over recent years, we have worked to embed these principles into our organisational culture through the Taura Herenga Waka 2020–2023 Strategy. This strategy provided a roadmap for addressing gender and ethnic pay gaps, enhancing cultural competency, and developing inclusive leadership. As the programme has come to an end, we are entering an exciting phase of reflection and renewal that will ensure our approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remains effective and impactful.

Our workplace demographics reveal areas of success and room for improvement. Women continue to be strongly represented across Te Tari Taiwhenua, though we acknowledge the persistent gender pay gap driven by their concentration in lower and mid-level positions. Similarly, while our workforce is becoming more ethnically diverse, this diversity is not yet proportionately reflected in senior leadership roles. By leveraging data-driven insights and employee feedback, we are identifying opportunities to strengthen representation and equity across all levels of the organisation.

Looking ahead, our refreshed DEI strategy will build upon the foundations of Taura Herenga Waka, drawing on lessons learned and incorporating new perspectives. Guided by the principles of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, and kotahitanga, we will prioritise inclusive leadership, cultural competency, and the elimination of systemic inequities. This renewed focus will empower all kaimahi to thrive, ensuring that Te Tari Taiwhenua is not only a reflection of the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand but also a champion of equity and inclusion in the public service.

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Data

Gender diversity

Women are strongly represented at Te Tari Taiwhenua, with 60.3% (61.6% in 2023) identifying as female, 36.9% (35.8% in 2023) identifying as male, and 2.8% (2.6% in 2023) as gender diverse or who have not provided information on their gender.

Gender pay gap

At June 2023 the average salary for women was $100,004. The gender pay gap was 7.8 percent. This represents a slight increase of 0.7 percentage points from the previous year and a reduction of 6.1 percentage points over the last five years.

	June 2024	June 2023	June 2022	June 2021	June 2020
Average gap	7.8%	7.1%	8.5%	12.1%	13.9%

 

The primary driver for the gender pay gap continues to be the high proportion of women in lower- and mid-level positions relative to the lower proportion of women in higher-level positions.

Ethnic pay gap

Representation is the primary reason for our ethnic pay gaps. We have significantly greater ethnic diversity in our lower paying jobs compared to our higher paying jobs.

Ethnic pay gaps are calculated as the difference between the average salary for an ethnic group and the average salary of those not in that ethnic group, expressed as a percentage of the average salary of those not in the ethnic group. Kaimahi who disclose an ethnicity are included in every ethnic pay gap calculation. Kaimahi who disclose more than one ethnicity are included in more than one ethnic pay gap calculation. Kaimahi who did not disclose their ethnicity are excluded from the calculation. A negative pay gap is where the average salary for that ethnic group is higher than the average salary of those not in that ethnic group.

Ethnicity	Average salary 2024	Pay gap 2024	Average salary 2023	Pay gap 2023
Asian	$92,201	12.6%	$92,060	14.5%
Māori	$103,566	-0.2%	$111,224	-6.1%
Middle Eastern, Latin American, African	$93,787	9.43%	$89,382	15.6%
New Zealand European	$107,338	-10.2%	$109,751	-10.4%
Other European	$111,917	-9.9%	$117,304	-13.3%
Pasifika	$81,939	22.7%	$81,336	24.9%

Ethnic diversity

The table below compares ethnicity information from 2021 to 2024 and the New Zealand Census of 2018, the most recent at the time of publication. The data for Te Tari Taiwhenua includes the 89.6% percent of kaimahi that have identified with at least one ethnic group. It suggests that Te Tari Taiwhenua is becoming more ethnically diverse over time but has some way to go to be truly representative of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand.

	2024	2023	2022	2021	NZ census 2023
Asian	14.0%	13.2%	13.2%	12.6%	17.3%
European	68.0%	69.2%	72.8%	73.9%	67.8%
MELAA*	1.7%	2.5%	1.7%	1.9%	1.9%
Māori	11.8%	12.7%	13.0%	11.9%	17.8%
Pacific	10.0%	10.3%	10.0%	9.3%	8.9%

MELAA = Middle Eastern, Latin American, African

Note: Te Tari Taiwhenua and the NZ Census allow more than one ethnicity choice, therefore the total may be more than 100%.

Diversity among senior leaders

Senior leaders are defined as Tier 2 and 3 managers. The percentage of women senior leaders at June 2024 was 60.3% and proportionate to the number of women at Te Tari Taiwhenua. We aim to maintain a gender balanced senior leadership cohort of 40:40:20 (40% female, 40% male and a balance of 20% of any gender).

The ethnicity of senior leaders remains disproportionately European, relative to the makeup of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand. Our Māori, Pasifika, Asian and MELAA kaimahi are not progressing to the same levels of senior leadership as European kaimahi, nor are they being hired into these roles. Our aim is to increase diversity in our leadership roles through attracting, recruiting and retaining diverse talent as well as valuing and developing the skills of people from diverse communities.

	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
European	77.4%	75.4%	89.4%	84.5%	84.3%
Māori	18.9%	19.3%	12.8%	12.1%	7.8%
Pasifika	3.8%	3.5%	-	-	7.8%
Asian	1.9%	1.7%	-	8.6%	11.8%

Diversity of people leaders

The number of women leaders is proportionate to the number of women at Te Tari Taiwhenua (60.4%). We aim to improve ethnic representation of our people leaders, maintaining the current representation as a minimum while targeting a year-on-year improvement to reflect communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The table below shows the percentage of people leaders and individual contributors by ethnicity at June 2023.

	People leaders	Individual contributors
Asian	6.2%	15.6%
European	78.1%	64.5%
MELAA*	1.1%	1.8%
Māori	11.4%	11.9%
Pasifika	8.6%	10.3%

MELAA = Middle Eastern, Latin American, African

People leader = a manager or team leader with direct reports

Individual contributor = kaimahi without direct reports

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Taura Herenga Waka

Summary

The Taura Herenga Waka 2020–2023 Strategy focused on fostering an inclusive and high-performing workplace within Te Tari Taiwhenua. Guided by principles such as manaakitanga (support), whanaungatanga (connection), and kotahitanga (unity), the strategy aimed to grow and celebrate diversity across Te Tari Taiwhenua, creating an environment where all kaimahi felt respected, valued, and empowered to perform at their best.

The programme emphasised key outcomes such as increasing representation of Māori, Pasifika, and ethnic kaimahi in leadership roles, addressing pay gaps, promoting inclusive leadership, and enhancing cultural competency across the workforce. Initiatives included bias mitigation training, intercultural leadership development, and measures to increase awareness of systemic inequities and their impact.

The strategy came to an end in 2023 and requires a reset to align with evolving organisational and societal needs. Moving forward, Te Tari Taiwhenua plans to build on the achievements of Taura Herenga Waka by refreshing its DEI framework to ensure a sustainable and impactful approach.

See Appendix A for the strategy.

Work Programme

In implementing the strategy, we developed a high-level work programme. The work programme was:

• Underpinned by DEI pillars, social inclusion, inclusive culture, and inclusive leadership.
• Supported by our obligations under the Public Service Act and Papa Pounamu.
• Linked to our organisational outcome statements, Ā Mātou Mahi.
• Measured against internal and external tools, for example, our employee experience survey (Whakahoki Kōrero) and the Te Taunaki Public Service Census.

See Appendix B for the work programme.

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Our Highlights

We have made progress in key areas of the Papa Pounamu and Kia Toipoto work programmes. Some highlighted outcomes are listed below.

Action area	Highlights
Employee-led networks	We supported an employee-led network for disabled and neurodivergent kaimahi, Accessibility, Neurodiversity & Disability (AND). Outcomes include: AND supported Human Resources with reviewing its recruitment process. Our questions about accommodations were re-written to focus on needs rather than impairments. We began exploring reasonable accommodations guidance and partnered with AND for support. Sessions with our employee-led networks have been added into our induction programme, Te Aka Tipu, to increase visibility and grow their membership(s). We funded a fono led by our Pacific engagement team, Te Ara Vaka, and our employee-led network for Pacific Peoples, Taha Moana. The fono focused on supporting Pacific kaimahi with their wellbeing through change, career development, and explored the future of the Pacific strategy. To improve accessibility, we employed a ‘regional hub’ model and hosted kaimahi in both Auckland and Wellington. We funded the Tāngata Whenua Hui, an initiative for Māori members of the PSA. We have continued to support the Pacific Language Weeks. Leo o te Pasifika, an initiative under Te Ara Vaka, our Pasifika engagement strategy, has run several activities to observe 11 language weeks. Activities included quizzes and newsletters and flag raising ceremonies for Pacific nations.
Cultural competence	We observed Matariki with a series of celebratory activities, including a dawn karakia in partnership with Pou Ārahi. Cohorts for our Māori strategic framework, Te Aka Taiwhenua, also ran series of visibility initiatives for Matariki, including hāngī.   Across Te Tari Taiwhenua, cohorts in each branch convene on their own accord to develop plans to embed the Māori strategic framework, these are known as Te Aka Taiwhenua Cohorts. We offer the Mana Āki intercultural capability programme as standard in our kaimahi onboarding process.
Eliminating bias and discrimination from recruitment policies and practices	We have continued to offer an e-learning module, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, aimed to help staff in identifying and addressing unconscious bias.
Inclusive leadership	We have developed and soft launched a new leadership framework based around our principles, behaviours, and mātāpono. This was developed in co-design with Te Ara Vaka, Pou Ārahi, Te Urungī. The framework supports leaders to understand the expectations at their level, and this includes a focus on inclusive leadership. We launched three new programmes based on the leadership framework. These include a focus on developing inclusive leaders. More than 140 leaders will have completed these programmes by the end of February 2025.
Māori participation in action and monitoring	Our strategic implementation plan, He Waka Eke Noa, has been soft launched, with a capability development and monitoring plan to be fully launched in 2025. He Waka Eke Noa speaks to our commitment to fostering enduring, equitable, and positive relationships between Iwi, Hapū, Māori and the Crown, through meaningful engagement, cultural competence, and partnership. By building our cultural capability in Te Reo Māori, Te Ao Māori, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we will improve our relationships with Iwi, Hapū, and Māori communities, and achieve our strategic outcomes outlined in Ā Mātou Mahi.  In support of He Waka Eke Noa, Māori Capability Uplift dashboards have been produced by our Māori, Strategy and Performance branch, Te Urungī. These dashboards monitor our Te Tiriti Engagements (Te Ao Māori me te Tiriti), as well as our activities against the three Pou that make up He Waka Eke Noa: Te Reo me ōna Tikanga; Te Āo Māori; and Te Tiriti. In support of Māori Capability Development across Te Tari Taiwhenua, we launched a self-assessment tool called Te Whare Kura. Te Whare Kura is anchored to the Te Ara Whiti competencies. Individuals that complete the self-assessment can use the results to identify development activities and to uplift their capability. A suite of online resources has been put in place to support this development.
Agencies celebrate tikanga, kawa and mātauranga Māori, and taonga such as te reo Māori	We observed and celebrated Te Wiki o te Reo Māori through various events and initiatives. Te Aka Taiwhenua cohorts ran Mahuru Māori activities to support kaimahi to speak Te Reo Māori throughout September. The National Library ran a series of events titled ‘E oho!’ These events were run internally and externally and covered a range of topics relating to Te Āo Māori. We contracted Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to deliver te reo Māori courses in November 2023.

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Employee-led Networks

Employee-led networks are groups of like-minded kaimahi who come together with common interests or lived experiences. They help kaimahi to connect, share ideas and support each other in reaching their potential. We have five employee-led networks.

Name	Representative group
AND (Accessibility, Neurodiversity, Disability) Network	Neurodivergent and Disabled peoples
Authentic Self	Rainbow and Takatāpui
DIA Women’s Network	Women
Taha Moana	Pacific Peoples
Tāngata Whenua Rōpū	Māori

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Our Plan for 2025

Taura Herenga Waka

In its current iteration, Taura Herenga Waka has come to an end. Given our context and commitment, there is a need for us to refresh it. It is important that we take the time to get it right. Below is an indicative timeline for this work.

 1. Preparation and Discovery – commencing circa March 2025

• Stakeholder Engagement: Involve leadership, HR, employee-led networks and the PSA to assess the current strategy and collect input.
• Data Collection: Conduct surveys (for example, employee feedback, diversity metrics) and gather data from existing reports (for example, Whakahoki Kōrero) to identify successes, gaps, and areas for improvement​.
• External Benchmarks: Review industry best practices and frameworks to ensure the refreshed strategy is up to date.

2. Strategy Development

• Gap Analysis: Identify what is missing in the current strategy and how it needs to evolve.
• Prioritisation: Determine key focus areas, such as inclusive leadership, talent development, and mental wellbeing.
• Stakeholder Input: Get feedback from key stakeholders on the proposed updates and adjust based on their insights.

3. Implementation Planning

• Action Plan: Develop a detailed work plan with clear goals, timelines, and assigned responsibilities for each DEI initiative.
• Communications: Create an internal communication plan to announce and roll out the refreshed strategy.
• Training and Resources: Prepare any new training modules (for example, unconscious bias training, cultural competence programmes) or tools needed for implementation.

4. Rollout and Execution – commencing early FY 2025

• Approvals and Monitoring: At relevant points throughout, relevant stakeholders will be engaged for feedback and approval.
• Phased Implementation: While the strategy refresh itself might take several months, we anticipate that rolling out initiatives and embedding cultural changes would be an ongoing process spanning the lifetime of the strategy.

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Our Commitment

The Taura Herenga Waka journey has been a vital part of embedding DEI within Te Tari Taiwhenua, reflecting our commitment to creating a workplace where every kaimahi feels valued and empowered. Over the past three years, we have made meaningful progress through initiatives such as bias mitigation training, leadership development, and strengthened cultural competency. These efforts have fostered a more inclusive culture and have positioned us to address critical issues such as pay equity and representation across all levels of the organisation.

As we transition to a refreshed strategy, we recognise the importance of building on these achievements while addressing areas of improvement. We will continue to prioritise inclusive leadership, increasing the representation of Māori, Pasifika, and ethnic kaimahi in senior roles, and further closing gender and ethnic pay gaps. To determine the additional steps we need to take, we will focus on co-designing initiatives alongside our people and leveraging data-driven insights, so that we create a strategy that is both sustainable and reflective of the values of Te Tari Taiwhenua.

Our commitment to DEI remains steadfast, and the refreshed Taura Herenga Waka strategy will continue to be a central part of our organisational identity. By aligning our efforts with public service-wide priorities and integrating the principles of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, and kotahitanga, we aim to foster a workplace where all kaimahi can thrive. This work is essential not only to achieving our internal goals but also to ensuring we deliver equitable and inclusive services for all New Zealanders. Together, we will build a stronger, more inclusive future.

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Appendix

A: Taura Herenga Waka Strategy

Download a PDF version of the Taura Herenga Waka Strategy 2020-2023 (PDF, 896KB)

B: Taura Herenga Waka Work Programme

Download a PDF version of the Taura Herenga Waka Work Programme (PDF, 291KB)

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