This week, Property Council New Zealand’s Inclusion Alliance released the findings of our industry-wide gender pay gap research — one of the most detailed studies of its kind ever carried out in the New Zealand property sector.
The headline number: a median gender pay gap of 24.9%, favouring men, across 30 participating organisations and more than 11,600 employees.
The useful news is that the data tells us clearly what’s driving the gap: it’s not primarily about being paid less for the same job. It’s about where women sit in our industry — underrepresented in senior roles, and concentrated in different, and often lower-paid, parts of the business.
That’s a solvable problem, if the industry chooses to solve it together. Alongside this research, the Alliance have committed to:
- Make this data public and report on it honestly, including the parts that are uncomfortable.
- Track our progress every two years, with our first full follow-up due in 2028.
- Develop a targeted action plan to help talented women in property move into senior roles faster, focused on three career paths where the gap is most pronounced: asset management, property and portfolio management, and development management.
- Hold ourselves accountable, individually and as an industry, for closing this gap.
This is not a problem any one organisation can solve alone. It is a sector-wide issue, and it requires a sector-wide response. We are committed to leading that response.
Why this matters
A more diverse and inclusive property industry is stronger, more innovative and better positioned to meet New Zealand’s future needs. Addressing the gender pay gap isn’t just the right thing to do – it helps us attract and retain top talent, improve performance and create lasting positive change.