The Gender-inclusive Job Evaluation Standard (P8007/2006) provides information and recommendations on procedures to support and promote gender equity in job evaluation. The Standard has been formally approved by the Standards Council and can be purchased from Standards New Zealand.

The Standard is set out in four sections:

• Section one defines job evaluation processes and sets out the objectives and parameters of the Standard
• Section two outlines issues that may undermine the gender-inclusiveness of job evaluation processes
• Section three sets out the requirements, as well as optional guidance, for planning for and preparing job evaluation projects
• Section four sets out the requirements as well as optional guidance for the evaluation of jobs and subsequent review of evaluation outcomes.

The Department of Labour has produced A Guide to the Gender-inclusive Job Evaluation Standard, which sets out how the Standard can be met, and Dorfox Meets the Standard: A Case Study which provides an example of documentation of meeting the requirements of the Gender-inclusive Job Evaluation Standard. A collection of resources compiled by the Department includes extracts from New Zealand and international publications, case law, research, and guidelines on how gender bias can occur in job evaluation, and how it can be minimised.

How does it work?

The Standard is used with job evaluation projects to demonstrate best practice job evaluation which eliminates gender bias. It assists with the design and implementation of fair and transparent job evaluation projects, as well as in auditing existing projects for gender inclusiveness. In order to comply with the Standard actions to demonstrate meeting the requirements are required for each particular job evaluation project as the Standard covers both scheme design and implementation of job evaluation.

Eliminating gender bias in job evaluation

Gender bias is less likely to occur when:

• participants are trained in job evaluation
• there is transparency when designing and planning job evaluation projects
• there is good communication throughout the project
• the job evaluation system measures the characteristics of all the jobs
• processes and results are carefully documented, and
• there is ongoing monitoring and evaluation of outcomes by gender.

The main users of the Standard are likely to be people responsible for job evaluation projects in conjunction with the job evaluation system providers.

How was it developed?

Job evaluation providers, equity advisors, the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand and employer and union representatives contributed to and agreed on this Standard. Public consultation on the draft Standard also contributed to its development. It is an international first. 

Why is a Standard needed?

Statistics New Zealand’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) June 2009 shows that women’s average hourly earnings were 87.8% of men’s, and women’s average weekly full-time earnings were 81% of men’s. One factor contributing to the gender pay gap is the ways women’s jobs are valued.
Gender bias in human resources and management processes is often unintentional and can occur in any of the processes in describing, analysing and evaluating jobs. The main reason gender bias occurs is that job evaluations are affected by assumptions about the nature and value of work in occupations that are mainly done by women or mainly by men. Monitoring job evaluation projects for gender-inclusiveness will help identify and eliminate any gender bias that may affect the equitable treatment of people in employment.

Meeting the Standard

The Standard provides that ‘while this is a voluntary standard, those claiming to meet the Standard will need to provide evidence of compliance’. 

The Standard is very much about how each and every job evaluation project is carried out. A job evaluation project could be job evaluation of a specified group of jobs (for example, a benchmarking exercise), evaluation of a few jobs, or an ongoing job evaluation process (for example establishing a job evaluation committee). Evidence of compliance needs to demonstrate:

• how each of the Standard’s requirements will be met in each project, and
• that all the actions identified in the requirements clauses are completed.

Typically the person responsible for the job evaluation project would need to see:

• an initial proposal on how the Standard’s requirements will be met for the project
• periodic progress reporting during the project
• a report at the conclusion of the project on how the Standard’s requirements actually were met.

It would not be possible to sustain a claim that any job evaluation system or job evaluation project or process automatically and always meets the Standard.

Evidence of meeting the Standard

The evidence would need to cover how each element of the Standard is met in the specific job evaluation project, in relation to:

• planning, communication and documentation
• the job evaluation process including committees and groups used
• how the job evaluation scheme meets the requirements of gender inclusiveness
• how appropriate training is to be provided.

A Guide to the Gender-inclusive Job Evaluation Standard

This Department of Labour guide can be used:

• as evidence that the job evaluation scheme and the particular job evaluation project comply with the Standard
• as part of the request for proposal when purchasing/contracting a job evaluation scheme
• when auditing a current job evaluation project
• when assessing and planning the steps that are needed to move towards meeting the Standard’s requirements, and/or
• to identify who is responsible for ensuring the actions to demonstrate requirement are completed.

The Guide provides examples of the types of materials and concepts that can be relevant and is not prescriptive. It was developed in consultation with the committee that developed the Standard. Use of the guide can contribute to a clear and common understanding of what the Standard requires and to consistency in its application.

Gender Bias in Job Evaluation: A Resource Collection

This Department of Labour resource includes extracts from New Zealand and international publications, case law, research, and guidelines on how gender bias can occur in job evaluation, and how it can be minimised.

Dorfox Meets the Standard: A Case Study

This resource provides examples of documentation that might be used in demonstrating how the requirements of each part of the Standard are met. There are examples of project plans and reports, and of statements by project leaders and consultants.