WELLINGTON, New Zealand — In honor of International Women’s Day on Sunday, AdultToyMegaStore (ATMS) will offer a discount of 9.2 percent, highlighting the gender pay gap in New Zealand.
Head of Customer Satisfaction Sophie McGrath said that while ATMS has pay equality amongst the genders, many places in New Zealand still do not. The special sale is meant to draw attention to the issue.
"We’re lucky to work in an environment where we have pay equity but we are well aware that other places don’t have that," she said. "Despite legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in employment, the gender pay gap for New Zealand was 9.2 percent in 2018."
“The pay gap is even worse for Maori, Pasifika and migrant women. They’re the lowest-paid workers in New Zealand, as well as being the most likely to be in casual, part time and non-secure work.”
In 2011, the Human Rights Commission found that while the difference between the median hourly wage of a European male and European female was 12.4 percent, between a European male and a Pacific woman it was 24.4 percent.
"There is also a pay gap for women with disabilities," McGrath pointed out. "With 48 percent of women with disabilities earning less than $30,000 [NZD] per year, compared with 28 percent of male workers with disabilities."
"In Australia, despite 'equal pay for equal work' being introduced in 1969 and legislation around anti-discrimination on the basis of sex in 1984 — there's still around 13.9 percent."
In November 2019, women’s average weekly ordinary full-time earnings across all industries and occupations was $1,508.50 compared to men’s average weekly ordinary full-time earnings of $1,751.40, according to Australia's Gender Pay Gap Statistics.
Further, according to the Westpac Money and Kids Report, "even little boys get $3 more pocket money a week than little girls!"
Honoring the International Women's Day celebration, ATMS has chosen to use New Zealand's wage gap as a benchmark to highlight an important issue women face globally.
"We’re based in Wellington, New Zealand," McGrath explained, "[but] we deliver worldwide, so we hope our message will spread. We might just be an adult toy company but we’re going to use the platform we have in any way we can — because that sits well with our values as a team of women wanting to improve the lives of other women."
To take advantage of the promo, use the code "EACHFOREQUAL" to receive 9.2 percent off all products on the ATMS website. Follow the company on Twitter.
