Over the past six months, the Financial Services Council’s Empower Women campaign took an important first step in addressing one of the most persistent equity challenges facing our sector. With financial services continuing to record one of the highest gender pay gaps in Aotearoa, establishing a clear and shared understanding of the industry’s position is a critical priority.
Why Understanding the Gap Is Essential
The gender pay gap is more than a single metric, it reflects structural barriers, unconscious bias and unequal access to leadership opportunities. For women in financial services, these disparities can compound over a lifetime, affecting earnings, retirement savings and overall financial wellbeing.
Recognising this, FSC’s Empower Women Working Group are focusing on building a strong evidence base to support future action.
Building an Industry Baseline
As part of this work, FSC members were invited to calculate their organisational gender pay gap using the Ministry for Women’s Gender Pay Gap Toolkit and submit their results by 31 March 2026.
You can watch the video from the event held in October last year with the Minster for Women and her team who outlined the measurement process, with examples from members who are already measuring their gap.
FSC has committed to producing an aggregated, industry benchmark once the data we have received has been analysed and any remaining data collected.
The initiative was endorsed by the FSC Board and strongly supported by sector leaders, reinforcing that gender pay gap reporting is not only a diversity issue, but a governance and leadership one.
From Measurement to Momentum
On completion of the reporting phase will establish a clear baseline for the financial services sector will be established.
The insights will create opportunities to better understand the drivers of the gender pay gap across the industry including representation at senior levels, occupational segregation and progression pathways and to track meaningful progress over time.
Planning the Next Steps
Once the baseline data has been received, FSC and the Empower Women Working Group, will focus on the next phase of work. This includes:
- Reviewing the aggregated industry results and key themes, and confirming any missing data
- Identifying priority areas for action across the sector
- Supporting members with practical tools and shared learnings
- Exploring how progress can be tracked and supported over time
Addressing the gender pay gap will require sustained effort, leadership accountability and continued collaboration.
Continuing the Commitment
The Empower Women campaign has demonstrated the power of collective action. By coming together to understand the scale of the challenge, FSC members have taken an important collective first step toward reducing the gender pay gap and strengthening trust in the financial services sector.
Watch this space as we develop the next phase of the programme.
