Pervasive disability pay gap continues to burden one of our largest minority groups

New Zealand still has a long way to go in resolving the pay gap which affects the earning potential of disabled people, says an advocate for disabled people.

According to Statistics New Zealand, there were no significant increases to the hourly or weekly median earnings for disabled wage and salary earners in the year up to the June 2022 quarter.

The median weekly income of disabled people is listed as $960, compared to $1200 for non-disabled people.

Disabled Persons Assembly chief executive Prudence Walker describes the gap as “a really important example of the inequities that exist for disabled people in Aotearoa.”

Walker says that the issue is ‘quite complex’ but some of the significant factors contributing to the disability pay gap include negative perceptions of disabled people, workplace discrimination, perceived lack of skills, less growth opportunities, and inaccessible places of employment.

Workbridge chief executive Jonathan Mosen says that a lot of employers think that disabled people are a ‘‘risk to health and safety’’ or that they “may not be as productive as a non-disabled employee.”

Although data collection about disability is limited, a gender pay gap within the disabled community has also been identified.

A report from YWCA New Zealand found that 48 percent of disabled women earn less than $30,000 per year, compared to 28 percent of disabled men.

Walker says that it’s ‘not surprising’ that the pay gap will be even wider for disabled women and those who are multiply marginalized – either by their ethnicity, if they are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, or another intersectional factor.

Having fewer financial resources affects your life significantly and leads to the further marginalization of disabled people, says Walker.

Another complicated factor of the disability pay gap is that the assistance one might be entitled to depends on the nature of their impairment. Generally, people who are disabled as the result of a genetic or medical condition tend to receive less than those who receive ACC care following an accident.

“It is a tricky one to navigate because it is a very complex system that we have here,” Mosen says.

Walker says that addressing the disability pay gap will require a “very sustained and collaborative effort” from the government, employers, disability organisations, and the general public.

She says that this will include strengthening anti-discrimination laws, promoting inclusive recruitment practices, providing reasonable accommodations, increasing public education, and improving benefits for disabled people.

Walker also says that although we have some good allies and positive work cultures that are being created, it’s important to set up accountability measures in legislation.

She says that while supportive and accommodating workplaces exist for disabled people, if that expectation is “not captured in policy, then that can change really quickly [to the detriment of disabled employees].”

Both Walker and Mosen emphasised that disabled people need to be engaged at every step of decision-making to ensure that their needs and experiences are being met.

Mosen also advocates for disabled people to be paid the same as their non-disabled colleagues. He added that Workbridge won’t place clients in social enterprises which take advantage of the minimum wage exemption law and pay their employees less.

Mosen says that he is keen to have a comprehensive nationwide campaign which tackles some of the negative misconceptions and challenge people to think differently about disability.

“There’s a chasm and the lack of education is really holding us back.”

In a statement provided to TWN by the Disability Issues minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan, she says that the government is committed to supporting pay equity.

Both the Women’s Employment Action Plan and Working Matters – Disability Employment Action Plan have immediate and medium-term measures in place to support disabled employees.

The statement finishes with an acknowledgement that there are prevalent attitudes and behaviours present throughout society that need to change so that disabled people can better access employment and equitable outcomes.

“It’s not fair to cause someone to have less discretionary spending just because they’re disabled,” says Mosen, “we need to give serious consideration to how you compensate for that in a fair society.”