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    Discrimination or diversity? A balanced score card review of perceptions of gender quotas : prepared in partial fulfilment of a Master of Business Studies, Massey University (Albany)
    (Massey University, 2019) Burrell, Erin Kathleen
    Creating an economy where gender equality is at the forefront could be claimed to be beneficial to most, if not all, citizens and countries. Recent mandates of gender reporting at the Director and Officer levels have created a dichotomous environment in New Zealand. Taking learnings from other countries experiences with quotas, with a particular focus on Norway, adds insight into what could happen if implementation were to occur. Using qualitative interviews across a diverse group of participants, this study investigates current perspectives and implications of gender quotas. Understanding the role of the board to govern and design organisational strategy, the Balanced Score Card was selected as a clear instrument for analysis and recommendations. This exploration showcases the complexity of equity strategy as a component of board construction and the realisation that gender alone will not deliver a diverse board of directors. Empowered by the BSC structure, this effort delivers a recommendation for driving organisational change through diversity programming and contributes to academic discourse through a business outcome focused approach to qualitative research. Findings display that social policy does have a place in the boardroom, but that efforts must be measured and documented consistently over time, a process that is lacking in many NZ firms. Further, outcomes from the study show that quotas are not preferred as a tool for gender equity with just 27.78% of participants supporting the concept. This study makes a three-fold contribution: first, it investigates a broader range of participants than does existing NZ work, second, it leverages the Balanced Score Card for analysis to support real-time application of findings by practitioners outside of the academic sphere, and third, it introduces gender diversity as an element of gender quotas.
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    Being lesbian : a barrier in employment in New Zealand secondary school? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Bartlett, Carol
    This thesis investigates the perceptions of secondary school teachers who are lesbian, specifically their perceptions of how sexual orientation affects their appointment to positions and also affects their promotion within New Zealand schools. A postal questionnaire was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from 67 self-selected participants. Their responses form the basis for the research findings. These responses are considered using various perspectives but mainly those of lesbian feminism. The research reveals that, even when it is illegal to discriminate in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation, many participants perceive that there are barriers to their appointment and promotion based on sexual orientation. This is particularly so in schools which serve small urban and rural areas. It is also so in schools of special (religious) character, which are exempt from the legislation. The study also highlights the many ways that teachers who are lesbian manage their sexual identities within their workplaces Based on these findings, recommendations for using this study, and for change, form the final section of this thesis.
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    Changing the master of mastering the change?: women secondary principals and occupational closure : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Bedford, Rob
    This thesis examines causes of, and reaction to, the under-representation of women as Principals in the secondary teaching service in New Zealand in the 1990's. The model of occupational closure developed by Witz (1992) is used as a theoretical base to describe the sexual division of labour and the vertical and horizontal segregation of women in the paid labour force. The concepts of exclusion, inclusion and change are used to analyse work history data derived from interviews with the research participants. It is argued that marked changes in societal and individual attitudes and in workplace practices are contributing to alterations in gender relations. Of particular importance, in contemporary inclusionary processes, is women's awareness of, and the value they attach to, the positive contribution that women can, and do, make to workplace relations. The thesis concludes that, despite the gains that some professional women appear to have made, access to positions of real power and equality in the workplace has not yet been achieved.
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    Perceived gender discrimination among academic women : psychological effects and coping : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Baird, Christina Margaret
    Previous research has shown that women academics often suffer from gender discrimination in their workplace. The effects that gender discrimination has on the women who experience it have rarely been studied, the research that has been carried out, is by clinicians involved with counselling women suffering from discrimination. The present study examines academic women's perceptions and experiences of gender discrimination, and the effects that gender discrimination has on women's well-being at work. The coping strategies that academic women use to deal with discrimination are also studied. The subjects were forty-seven randomly chosen female academics from Massey University. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase one consisted of a semi-structured interview. Phase two consisted of the administration of the following scales. The Work Locus of Control Scale (Spector, 1988), Warr's Well-Being and Mental Health Measures (Warr, 1990), Self-Efficacy (Wells-Parker, Miller and Topping, 1990), the Dimensions of Stress Scale (Vitaliano, Russo, Weber and Celum, 1993) and the Cybernetic Coping Scale (Edwards and Baglioni, 1993). The majority (71%) of women in the university had experienced gender discrimination against them at some stage of their careers. The gender discrimination was of two types, individual and structural. The majority of women had experienced individual discrimination against them and structural discrimination in their favour. Academic women did not feel included in the male dominated informal networks of the university, although they were involved in their own female dominated networks. The perceived discrimination had an effect on the women personally and emotionally, on their work life, their relationships and their future aspirations. The psychometric scale data showed that the women who were familiar with discrimination were anxious and had high negative carry over from work to other situations. Women with high aspiration and/or an external locus of control had experienced the most discrimination. Women with an external locus of control were anxious and depressed. Depression and anxiety were associated with low aspiration, low competence and low self-efficacy. The majority of women coped with discrimination by trying to change the situation. There were relationships between the coping strategies, the use of devaluation as a coping strategy was associated with the use of accommodation, symptom reduction and avoidance. The use of coping strategies was also related to mental health. Women with low competence, low aspiration and who were depressed used avoidance, and women who were anxious had low competence, low aspiration and were depressed used devaluation. This study shows that academic women are experiencing gender discrimination and that although this has an impact on their well-being at work, they do cope with discrimination.
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    The gender wage gap in New Zealand : theory and evidence : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Master of Business Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Summers, Stephen Michael
    This thesis focuses on the issue of the gender wage gap in New Zealand that has been a prevalent topic in most countries and in a variety of academic circles over recent decades. Those who conclude that females are still being discriminated against in the labour market point to the use of a combination of policies, such as affirmative action and comparable worth, as a possible solution. Opponents to this view contend that there are many reasons that, combined, explain why females often earn less than their male counterparts. This thesis, encompassing a variety of statistics, illustrates that females have made, and continue to make, strong progress in all facets of the labour market. Thus, in conclusion, legislation to introduce new policies to narrow any gap is a road fraught with too many dangers and one that we do not need to go down.
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    The impact of institutional-political factors of employment equity : a comparative study of the policy framework in New Zealand and Australia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Fordham, Annabel Mary
    This study addresses the question: to what extent does the development of employment equity for women rely upon direct government intervention in the labour market? Particular attention is given to how institutional arrangements and structural factors in New Zealand and Australia affect the achievement of employment equity. These factors include: the system of wage-fixing and negotiation of conditions; the human rights, equal pay and equal employment opportunity legislation; and the agencies that administer these policies. This research takes a comparative public policy approach, using official statistics and documentary analysis. The extent of employment equity is measured in terms of equal female and male labour force participation; the elimination of the earnings gap; and the reduction of occupational and industrial segregation. By making a comparison with the Australian situation, this research examines the proposition that the movement towards a deregulated labour market in New Zealand has inhibited the achievement of employment equity for women. The period covered is 1980-94. The study found that labour force participation rates increased for Australian women over the period 1987-94, while the labour force participation rate for New Zealand women fluctuated during this same period. Depending on the measure used, the earnings gap in New Zealand has slightly widened, or at the most, remained static since 1987. In Australia, male and female earnings continue to slowly converge. Ordinary time weekly earnings for Australian women and men are 6-8 percent closer together than is the case for their New Zealand counterparts. The total weekly earnings of Australian women and men are also approximately 6 percent closer than between New Zealand women and men. In Australia, any improvements have occurred under a centralised bargaining system, reflecting a greater level of government intervention in the labour market. In New Zealand, however, women's position in the labour market has slightly deteriorated over the period of deregulation and lack of employment equity policies. Women's position in the labour market is discussed critically in the light of the institutional and statutory differences of the two countries.
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    Career break or broken career? : mothers' experiences of returning to paid work : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2007) Ang, Ee Kheng
    Servicemen returning from two World Wars were granted assistance in finding work, retraining and other benefits in recognition of the sacrifices they had made. Yet mothers' returning to work after time out bearing and raising children are reliant on a booming economy to obtain even limited entry to the labour market, and the work obtained is very often inferior to the jobs held by women before becoming mothers. Currently due to lower fertility rates and the ageing populations of the world's richer nations, a shortage of working-age people is predicted to continue into at least the middle of the twenty-first century. To overcome this shortfall, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advises its member states to assist mothers to return to paid work sooner. Most OECD nations are complying, with varying degrees of success. Some policy frameworks make this goal more easily attainable than others. Mothers in liberal welfare states often return to paid work later than they might otherwise prefer. Many returners are overqualified for the work they are doing. While there appears to be relatively few barriers to re-entry, the choice of re-entry occupations are limited and returners are predominantly offered low status jobs with no career opportunities at the back of the job queue and gender queue. Mothers who interrupt their careers by taking a career break for childbearing and rearing generally face downward occupational mobility and loss of lifetime incomes. This thesis assesses the experiences of mothers who return to employment in one liberal nation, New Zealand. It applies Esping-Andersen's three models of welfare states and Reskin and Roos' gender queues model to the situation of returners. The study investigates the precise nature of the obstacles and processes encountered by a number of mothers attempting to resume a career. It argues that social policies matter: returners in countries where state intervention is more widespread and where there is universal, extensive and generous social provision and support for working mothers are economically better off. The research methods include in-depth interviews and a focus group with mothers, a mail questionnaire and interviews with employers, and a study of recent and current New Zealand and overseas government policies to assist working parents. The findings of this thesis are that regardless of skill levels, New Zealand returners are consigned to low status occupations where they are not fully integrated into the 'normal' full-time workforce with career opportunities. These mothers generally suffer more than one episode of returning to the back of the queue. They also earn less (weekly and annually) than mothers who do not take career breaks. The study identifies social policy frameworks and employers' policies and practices as factors contributing to the processes whereby returners are relegated to the back of the queue. Although New Zealand has recently brought in policies to assist mothers to return to paid work these initiatives have not addressed the processes that currently confine returners in low status, part-time employment. Policies similar to those created to specifically target the needs of ex-servicemen would go a long toward assisting mothers to access higher status and better-paid jobs at the head of the queue. The thesis concludes with policy recommendations to facilitate mothers' integration into such jobs.