Matrix > Toolkit: Recruitment and Promotion > Setting Targets and Understanding Baselines
Setting Targets and Understanding Baselines
Making progress on representation and progression for Māori and Pasifika, and for other underrepresented groups, requires strong data collection processes, and analysis of ethnic representation and pay gaps.
Contents
Creating an action plan: An Overview
Kia Toipoto has a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to set targets and create an action plan to improve workforce representation and leadership representation of Māori and Pasifika, that is just as applicable to the private sector as the public sector. Read the full Kia Toipoto guidance here on putting a plan together (page 9-15).
Click here for Doing Data Right, the Toolkit’s landing page for all data advice.
Steps to create a plan to improve representation
Source: Page 10 of Kia Toipoto: Closing Gender, Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Pay Gaps - Guidance on improving workforce and leadership representation.
What should be the ideal goal? Māori and Pasifika working-age population rates, nationally and regionally
Representation targets should ideally reflect at least the Māori and Pasifika rates of Working-Age Population (aged 15-65), in an organisation’s relevant geographic area. These tables can be used to see whether an organisation’s workforce or managerial tier reflects the local community or the country at large, and what current and future targets could look like.
Table 1. 2023 Census and ‘medium’ scenario future population projection of Māori and Pasifika in the Working-Age Population (aged 15-64) of Aotearoa New Zealand.
2018 Census
15.9%
7.8%
2023 Census
17.4%
8.7%
2028 Projection
18.0%
9.2%
2033 Projection
19.0%
9.7%
2038 Projection
20.0%
10.4%
2043 Projection
21.0%
11.0%
Māori
Pasifika
Source:
Stats NZ Dataset: Subnational ethnic population projections, by age and sex, 2018 (base)-2043. Click here to download and explore these population projection figures by region.
Stats NZ Dataset: Ethnic group (grouped total responses – level 1) by age (five-year groups to 90 years and over), for the census usually resident population count, 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses. Click here to see 2023 Census population counts.
First establish baselines
As per Kia Toipoto guidance, GEM recommends that ethnic data on employees be collected in a way that allows for multiple ethnic options to be selected. This kind of data can then be analysed and reported on in different ways for different purposes. For more on how to do this, see our Data Collection Basics.
Click here for more on how this might work when calculating pay gaps.
Download Māori and Pasifika workforce and population stats
Download our easy-to-use spreadsheet on Māori and Pasifika workforce and population stats that can be filtered for geographic areas and industries (to be updated after October 2023). It includes data on:
Regional and national Māori and Pasifika rates of industry workforce representation in the 2018 Census (to be updated with 2023 Census rates after October 2024).
Regional and national working-age population projections 2018-2043 for Māori, Pasifika, Asian and NZ European (total ethnic group).
Regional and national working-age population rates for combined Māori and Pasifika in the 2018 census (the data in Table 2, to be updated with 2023 Census rates after October 2024).
Setting targets for different types of workplaces
If Māori and Pasifika employees are typically underrepresented in an industry, workplace, team or profession, representation targets should reflect Māori and Pasifika local population rates. Click here to download population data that includes all the regional population rates.
In workplaces with higher rates of Māori and Pasifika than in the local population, establish where in the organisation these workers are concentrated. If it is the frontline (as in most organisations), set targets for progressing frontline staff into more senior tiers to reflect at least local population rates.
If we consider multiple ethnic groups (see Table 2 below), the combined rate of Māori and Pasifika in the working-age population in 2018 was 22.2%. We cannot currently provide Stats NZ projections for the exact combined future Māori and Pasifika working-age population – but see below for more advice on how to approach this for longer-term targets.
Things to be aware of when setting longer-term targets using population projections
Caveats: The Stats NZ medium population projections are just projections and are based on past trends. There are also low and high growth projections which present a very different picture.
Can we add the Māori and Pasifika population projections to have a combined Māori and Pasifika figure for future targets?
No, as this double-counts people with multiple ethnic groups. 2018 Census data that accounts for this overlap shows that the combined Māori and Pasifika working-age population is 1% lower nationally, compared to simply adding Māori and Pasifika figures together. This would need to be accounted for if setting combined Māori and Pasifika targets using regional data (see Table 2).
Māori-Pasifika multi-ethnic ‘overlap’ will likely increase over time. 2023 Census data will be released over the next few years, providing more up to date data on the Māori-Pasifika ‘overlap’.
Table 2 has the different rates of Māori-Pasifika 'overlap’ for the working-age population across regions as of 2018 as a guide to potential future trends.
The Māori-Pasifika multi-ethnic ‘overlap’ is higher in the North Island, especially areas with the largest Māori populations, and urban centres.
Although the ‘overlap’ figures are small, they have big meaning to small communities. For example, according to Table 2, 1% of the national working-age population in 2018 was both Māori and Pasifika. This means that 13% of Pasifika of working-age had Māori identity too in 2018 (1% divided by 7.6%). In Northland, where there is a high rate of Māori and few Pasifika, 42% of Pasifika of working-age also had Māori identity in 2018 (1.5% divided by 3.6%).
Table 2. Prioritised Māori and Pasifika Working-Age Population rate, and prioritised combined rate based on detailed single and combined ethnic group, 2018 Census
22.2%
15.6%
7.6%
1.0%
Māori & Pasifika multi-ethnic ‘overlap’ as rate of WAP
Māori and Pasifika Combined (prioritised)
Māori (Prioritised)
Pasifika (Prioritised)
Total New Zealand 2018
Northland Region
26.1%
23.2%
4.1%
1.1%
31.2%
29.1%
3.2%
1.0%
1.5%
38.2%
36.1%
3.6%
Auckland Region
10.7%
23.4%
14.1%
1.3%
Waikato Region
Bay of Plenty Region
Gisborne Region
55.4%
52.9%
3.9%
1.4%
Hawke’s Bay Region
31.1%
26.7%
5.5%
1.0%
Taranaki Region
20.4%
19.1%
1.9%
0.6%
Manawatu-Wanganui Region
25.4%
22.4%
3.8%
0.8%
Wellington Region
20.3%
13.6%
7.7%
1.1%
Tasman Region
10.0%
8.6%
1.7%
0.2%
Nelson Region
12.3%
10.5%
2.2%
0.3%
Marlborough Region
15.9%
13.2%
3.1%
0.3%
West Coast Region
12.7%
11.4%
1.5%
0.3%
Canterbury Region
11.5%
8.9%
2.9%
0.3%
Otago Region
10.5%
8.2%
2.6%
0.3%
Southland Region
16.0%
14.0%
2.4%
0.4%
Source: Stats NZ Dataset: Ethnic group (detailed single and combination) by age and sex, for the census usually resident population count, 2013 and 2018 Censuses (RC, TA, SA2, DHB).
This is a detailed 2018 Census count of ethnic groups, including specific multi-ethnic categories like ‘Māori/Pacific’ and more. This means we can count the actual number of people who have any Māori or Pasifika ethnic group in the ‘combined’ column, without double-counting those with both. Differences between the 2018 rates in Table 1 and Table 2 is likely due to the different methods, and data suppression of small categories in original data for Table 2.
See the glossary for more on the difference between ‘prioritised’ and ‘total’ ethnic group.