Small and medium-sized law firms wishing to measure the gender pay gap and take action, now have access to a tailored, practical resource specifically designed for their needs. 

Earlier this year, the Ministry for Women launched new and updated tools within the Gender Pay Gap Toolkit to better support businesses to measure and address pay gaps. 

These included a guide for small and medium-sized businesses, listing five steps to take with a set of templates to save time and support a more inclusive and welcoming workplace. 

Other additions to the toolkit include: 

• A resource to support confident conversations about pay. 
• A new calculator and guidance to support measurement of gender–ethnicity and gender–disability pay gaps. 

The Ministry first launched the toolkit in 2024 to help people teams to understand, measure, and take action on gender pay gaps in a practical and consistent way. These new tools have been informed by a benchmarking survey of businesses which showed the need for further practical tools and resources. 

Firms and organisations wishing to find out more about the toolkit and how to use it effectively, are encouraged to attend the webinar, Closing the Gender Pay Gap is Good for Business, on 16 September from 1pm-2pm. Hosted by the New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa with the Ministry for Women, this will be an opportunity to find out why it’s worth closing the gender pay gap, walk through the toolkit, and have your questions answered. 

Registrations for the Closing the Gender Pay Gap is Good for Business webinar open early August – visit lawsociety.org.nz.

What do we know about the gender pay gap in the legal profession? 

Our 2025 Snapshot of the Profession shows women continue to make up an increasing proportion of the profession (56.8%), with this rising to 64.5% in the 0-7 years since admission (PQE) cohort. 

Our 2025 Survey of Gender Equality Charter Signatories found: 

• 63% of Charter law firms had completed a gender pay audit in the last two years – down from 72% in 2023 – compared to 100% of in-house legal teams. 
• Of the 55 law firms that conducted a gender pay audit for salaried lawyers: 
  • 33% had a pay gap that favoured men  
  • 10% had insufficient or unavailable data.  
  • 57% indicated no gap or that it was favourable to women 
  • 30% had used the Ministry for Women’s Gender Pay Gap Toolkit.