Annual Report 2007/08
Equal Employment Opportunities Report
The equal employment opportunities (EEO) focus to 2010 is to ensure the Department's staff profile closely reflects the proportion of EEO groups in the labour force. The Department asks new appointees to voluntarily provide EEO information, and 88.5 per cent of staff have responded.
The Department’s ethnic distribution is illustrated in the following chart.
Figure 1: Ethnic Composition Department of Labour - 30 June 2008
Women
Currently, 60.6 per cent of staff are women, which represents a steady increase since 2001, when women made up 55.1 per cent of staff.
47 per cent of women work in customer contact/field roles. 45.2 per cent of managers are women, a slight decrease from 47 per cent last year. Women hold 60 per cent of the technical/professional roles within the Department and represent 83.9 per cent of the support roles.
The median salary for women in the Department is 89.2 per cent of the male median salary. The difference is because of the occupational distribution of women in jobs where the female median salary is below the Department's median salary. The current figure shows a decrease on that for last year, which was 91.7 per cent.
MAori
The EEO focus to 2010 is to ensure Maori will increasingly comprise a critical mass in the Department, in order to build Public Service capability. This critical mass is seen to be about 15 per cent of staff.
Currently, with Maori representing 7.0 per cent of onshore staff, or 6.4 per cent of all staff, the Department is below the target and is developing a Maori Strategy to address the imbalance. Maori staff work predominantly in the Workforce and Workplace Groups. 69.8 per cent of Maori staff at the Department are women.
Maori staff work in three main roles – customer contact/field roles (61.2 per cent), technical/professional (13 per cent) and support (10.8 per cent). 20 Maori staff are managers, representing 6.1 per cent of managers. The under-representation of Maori in policy roles (0.8 per cent of policy staff) continues to be a matter of concern.
Pacific people
The EEO focus to 2010 is to ensure the proportion of Pacific staff more closely reflects the proportion of Pacific people in the labour force. The Department estimates this to be about 7.0 per cent.
Currently, 8.3 per cent of all Department staff, or 7.6 per cent of onshore staff, are Pacific people, a decrease from 9.4 per cent in 2001. The Workforce Group employs almost all the Pacific staff (82.3 per cent). 74.6 per cent of Pacific staff are women.
The majority of Pacific staff (62.4 per cent) are in customer contact/field roles, with a further 18.8 per cent in support roles and 8.3 per cent in technical/professional roles. 16 Pacific people are managers, representing 4.9 per cent of managers. Only 2.3 per cent of policy staff are Pacific people.
Other Ethnic Groups
Currently, 43.2 per cent of the Department's staff are from ethnic groups other than Maori, Pacific or Pakeha/European. The number of Department staff from other ethnic groups has been increasing steadily. The Workforce Group employs over half of staff from other ethnic groups. 64.8 per cent of staff from other ethnic groups are women, 2.4 per cent up on last year.
The largest group of staff from other ethnic groups (47 per cent) is in customer contact/field roles, with a further 22.1 per cent in technical/professional roles. 107 are managers, representing 32.4 per cent of managers. About 43 per cent of policy staff are from other ethnic groups.
People with a Disability
The EEO focus to 2010 is to have the proportion of staff with a disability reflect the proportion of people with a disability in the workforce. The Department estimates this at about 12 per cent.
Currently, 3.4 per cent of staff have indicated they have a disability. This is a smaller percentage than 2001, when the comparable figure was 6.9 per cent. Just over half of those with a recorded disability are men.
79.5 per cent of staff with a disability are aged 40 or over, a slight decrease on last year's 81 per cent. 48 per cent of staff with a disability are in customer contact/field roles, and 20.6 per cent are in technical/professional areas, while 8.2 per cent are in support roles. 17 staff with a disability are managers, representing 5.2 per cent of managers.