GLASS CEILINGS IN NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITIES: Inequities in Māori and Pacific promotions and earnings

Abstract

Māori and Pacific academics make up less than 4% and 1% respectively of New Zealand professors. We investigated ethnic inequities in promotions and earnings in New Zealand universities. Using New Zealand’s Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) data (2003, 2012, 2018) we found that Māori and Pacific men and also women academics, compared with non-Māori non-Pacific men academics, had significantly lower odds of being an associate professor or professor (professoriate) or of being promoted, and had lower earnings. These inequities were not explained by research performance (measured by PBRF scores), age or field, and remained over time, particularly for women. Māori and Pacific women academics earned on average $7,713 less in 2018 than non-Māori non-Pacific men academics and had 65% lower odds of being promoted into the professoriate from 2003 to 2018. Our findings suggest that current inequities for Māori and Pacific academics will persist without systemic change in New Zealand universities.