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191 THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHAPTER is to review key social and economic
factors which affect women’s lives in New Zealand and which bear on their association with the justice system. All data in this chapter is from Statistics New Zealand’s 1996 Census of Population and Dwellings, unless otherwise stated. The information that follows emphasises the connection between personal circumstances and broader social forces as they affect women’s ability to obtain access to the justice system. Specifically, it is intended to answer questions such as:
• How many women live in New Zealand, where do they live, and what families and communities do they belong to?
• Do women and men have different social, disability and economic status which might impact on their needs or priorities?
• Do women have the same or different levels of education and income as men?
• What caring roles do women have, and how do these affect women’s lives?
• Are all women’s experiences the same, or are there differences for different groups of women?
• Are women’s lives affected by violence and, if so, are they affected in the same or in different ways from men’s lives?
192 Over half of New Zealand’s 3 618 303 resident population are women and girls. Women on average live longer than men and, by the time they are in their eighties, outnumber men by two to one. However, Mäori women have a lower life expectancy than non-Mäori women, and Mäori men have the lowest life expectancy for any group.
A multicultural population
193 The ethnic diversity of our population is steadily increasing. This fact has a significant bearing on the provision of services to all New Zealanders. In the 1996 Census, those identifying with the major ethnic groups were as follows:
• Pakeha, 72 percent (2 594 685 people);
• Mäori, 14.5 percent (523 374 people);
• Pacific Islanders,[7] 4.8 percent (173 181 people);
• Asian,[8] 4.4 percent (160 680 people); and
• “other”[9] ethnic groups, less than 0.5 percent (14 667 people).
194 The age structure of the Pakeha population is different from that of other ethnic groups. There are proportionately fewer Pakeha children and more Pakeha older people than in the rest of the population: 92 percent of those over 60 years are Pakeha, 5 percent are Mäori, 2 percent are Pacific Islands and 1 percent are Asian. Demographers predict a rapid increase in the proportion of older people in other ethnic groups over the next few decades. For example, whereas Mäori women over 60 years of age accounted for only 5 percent of all Mäori women in 1996, in 2031 they are expected to account for 14 percent.
195 The age structure of the Mäori population is the youngest of all ethnic groups. Thirty-eight percent of all Mäori are under the age of 15, and another 19 percent are between the ages of 16 and 24. This means that well over half of all Mäori people are under the age of 25, whereas fewer than a third of Pakeha are in that age group.
196 Different ages usher in different stages in the life cycle. The larger the proportion of women from a particular ethnic group in the child-bearing and child-rearing age group, the more mothers there will be in that ethnic group. One implication of this is that women from ethnic groups with younger age structures and higher fertility rates are proportionately more likely to find themselves in marriage and other relationship breakdowns involving young children than are women from older populations.
The immigrant population
197 Nearly one in five New Zealand residents was born overseas. New Zealand’s immigrant population has grown significantly in the last seven years but the majority of immigrants have lived in New Zealand for more than 16 years. The immigrant population is increasing more than eight times faster than the New Zealand-born population.
198 Pakeha and Pacific Islands immigrants are the longest established in New Zealand (90 percent have been in New Zealand for more than five years). By contrast, about half of the adult immigrants from Asian and “other” ethnic groups have lived in New Zealand for less than five years, and 90 percent have lived in New Zealand for less than 16 years.
199 For a recent snapshot of the people arriving in New Zealand, the following figures and trends have been obtained from the New Zealand Immigration Service.
• In the year 1997/98, a total of 31 274 applicants were granted residency in New Zealand; 16 284 were female and 14 734 were male, and 256 unknown.
• Men, and especially those under the age of 40 years, were more likely to belong to the General Skills category (which depends on factors including qualifications, work experience and age).
• Women were significantly more likely than men to enter New Zealand because of marriage, especially between the ages of 21 and 40.
• Women were also more likely than men to be accepted into New Zealand in the category of being a parent of a New Zealander.
• Of the 1312 applicants in the Humanitarian category (where serious physical or emotional harm can be resolved only by the grant of residency), 710 were female and 587 were male.
Ethnicity and English-language ability
200 With English being the predominant language of the New Zealand justice system, the English language ability of adult New Zealanders is highly relevant to their access to the system. English-language skills vary considerably according to ethnicity and the length of time a person has lived here.
201 Across all immigrant groups, a higher proportion of women than men do not speak English. Even with time in New Zealand, fewer women than men achieve fluency. The Asian immigrant community provides the most pronounced example of this. For new arrivals (fewer than six years in the country), 24 percent of men and 30 percent of women do not speak English. After between six and 15 years in the country, 17 percent of men and 18 percent of women still do not have fluency in English. After more than 16 years, the percentage of male non-English speakers drops to 8 percent but stays reasonably constant for women at 16 percent.
202 Among Pacific Islands people who have lived here for between six and 15 years, 22 percent of the men and 25 percent of the women do not speak English. Among those who have lived here for more than 16 years, some 13 percent of men and women do not speak English.
203 The number of New Zealanders who do not have fluency in English is likely to have significant implications for the medium in which legal information may be needed by different New Zealand women and for the range of languages in which information may be needed in order to ensure their access to the justice system.
Geographic distribution
204 The size of the town or city in or closest to which people live is relevant to their access to services, including legal services.
205 Men and women of the same ethnic group demonstrate very similar patterns of geographic distribution to each other, although women are slightly more likely to favour larger centres than men, who can prefer more rural areas. For example, 17 percent of Pakeha men and 18 percent of Mäori men live in rural areas compared with 15 percent of Pakeha women and 16 percent of Mäori women. During peak child-rearing years, the comparison between men’s and women’s location is the most similar of any age group (other than children themselves). This is consistent for all ethnic groups.
206 Seventy percent of New Zealanders live in a metropolitan area of more than 100 000 people (Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch), or in a main urban area of between 30 000 and 99 999 people. The remaining 30 percent of New Zealanders live in secondary urban centres (10 000–29 999 inhabitants), minor urban areas (1000–9 999 inhabitants) or rural areas (fewer than 1000 inhabitants).
Ethnicity
207 Ethnicity can influence geographic distribution. For example, Pacific Islands and Asian people are considerably more likely to live in a large urban centre than either Pakeha or Mäori.
• Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch are home to nearly four out of five Pacific Islanders (78 percent) and an even higher proportion of Asians (81 percent).
• Less than a half of Pakeha (46 percent) and only a third of all Mäori (35 percent) live in one of these metropolitan centres.
• 30 percent of Mäori and 24 percent of Pakeha live in rural areas of fewer than 1000 people, but only 4 percent of Pacific Islanders and 5 percent of Asians live rurally.
Age
208 Age also has an influence on where people live. Those aged between 15 and 24 are more likely than any other age group to live in a city. Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch are home to 53 percent of Pakeha women, 50 percent of Pakeha men, 40 percent of Mäori women and 38 percent of Mäori men of this age. Age is not such a distinguishing characteristic for Pacific Islanders and Asians, as they are so strongly metropolis dwelling and the numbers in other types of towns are very small at every stage of their life cycle. One of the largest variations based on gender, age and ethnic group is seen in older Pakeha and Mäori women. After the age of 45, Pakeha women start to drift from the large cities and rural areas to main, secondary and minor urban sized areas. The opposite occurs for Mäori women, who increasingly move to rural areas in the later years of their life.
Lawyers’ geographic distribution
209 Information on the geographic distribution of lawyers throughout New Zealand is not directly comparable to data on the distribution of the population generally, as the geographic boundaries of law societies are different from those used in the Census. However, such information as there is shows that lawyers’ geographic distribution is strongly weighted in favour of large urban areas. This fact indicates that women in rural areas are likely to experience barriers to accessing lawyers’ services.
Telephones and cars
210 Other factors may impact on access to services, such as whether there is a telephone in the household or ownership of a private motor vehicle. The 1996 Census shows that 5 percent of New Zealand households do not have a telephone. This proportion increases for households in more rural areas. Nine percent of households in minor urban areas (1000–9 999 inhabitants), and 7 percent of rural dwelling households reported not having a telephone. Another 4 percent did not specify whether they had one.
211 Similarly, 11 percent of households in New Zealand do not have a car, and another 41 percent have only one vehicle. These proportions vary according to the type of centre in which a household is located. For example, 12 percent of households in the three main centres compared with 14 percent in minor urban areas have no car. In rural areas, 6 percent of households do not have a motor vehicle. This information indicates that some women in rural areas and small towns, due to their lack of proximity to legal advisers and their inability to easily contact them, may have particular difficulty in obtaining access to legal services.
212 One in five New Zealanders has some form of disability (namely, a long-term limitation in activity resulting from a medical condition or health problem).[10] More women than men have disabilities, and the nature of their disabilities is different from men’s. For example, women have higher rates of physical and psychiatric/psychological disability than men. Conversely, men have higher rates of intellectual and sensory disability than women. These factors are likely to impact on the types of services women and men need.
213 There are also variations in the incidence of disabilities among ethnic groups. Mäori have higher rates of psychiatric or psychological disability compared to Pakeha, while Pakeha have the highest rates of disability overall. While Pakeha make up 72 percent of the total population, 81 percent of the adult population with disabilities are Pakeha – a fact which may reflect the older age structure of the Pakeha population.
214 Participation in the workforce of people with disabilities varies according to gender and ethnicity but is consistently below the national average. Men with disabilities are more likely to be in the workforce than women with disabilities: about half of all men with disabilities (compared to 66 percent of all men) are in the workforce, as are one third of women with disabilities (compared to 51 percent of all women). Unemployment rates for women with disabilities are also higher than for men with disabilities. Mäori with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed as are Pakeha with disabilities.
215 Accordingly, income levels for people with disabilities are lower than for those without disabilities. For example, of all New Zealanders who specified their income in the 1996 Census, 25 percent received a personal income of $30 000 or more, but only 15 percent of people with disabilities have that level of personal income. Income levels also vary with disability type. Those with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities have lower levels of income than do those with sensory disabilities. This information suggests that physical access to and the cost of legal services may be a more significant barrier for women with disabilities than for other groups of women.
216 There are three broad types of income: personal, family or household. Women and men have different levels and sources of personal income, as do those from different ethnic groups.
Personal Income
The median income for all New Zealand women is $12 600
The median income for all New Zealand men is $22 000
217 Personal income is distinct from family income and household income. Personal income provides the individual with an important measure of independence and security. Those who have low or no personal income may be reliant on others for financial support and therefore be at risk of economic hardship when there are changes in the circumstances of those upon whom they rely.
218 The response rate to the 1996 Census question about adult personal income was lower than for other questions: 249 897 people over the age of 16 years did not answer the question, for reasons which are assumed to be connected to the private nature of the information.
219 The following analysis focuses only on the 2 352 720 adults who did specify their personal income in the Census, and shows very clear disparities between the personal incomes of New Zealand women and men. In particular:
• the median income[11] for all New Zealand women is $12 600;
• the median income for all New Zealand men is $22 000;
• 37 percent of New Zealand’s women receive personal incomes of less than $10 000 a year;
• 24 percent of New Zealand’s men receive personal incomes of less than $10 000 a year;
• 70 percent of women (890 547 women) receive personal incomes of less than $20 000 a year;
• 45 percent of men (545 031 men) receive personal incomes of less than $20 000 a year;
• 86 percent of women (1 095 723 women) receive personal incomes of less than $30 000 a year;
• 65 percent of men (786 000 men) receive personal incomes of less than $30 000 a year;
• 3 percent of women receive personal incomes of more than $50 000 a year;
• 12 percent of men receive personal incomes of more than $50 000 a year.
220 The disparities are even more stark when those statistics are disaggregated for the four major ethnic groups of men and women identified separately in the Census (Pakeha, Mäori, Pacific Islands and Asian). Of those groups, Mäori women have the lowest personal incomes and Pakeha men the highest. The following figures are the proportions of each group with personal incomes of less than $20 000 a year:
• 81 percent of Mäori women and 56 percent of Mäori men;
• 77 percent of Asian women and 62 percent of Asian men;
• 75 percent of Pacific Islands women and 59 percent of Pacific Islands men; and
• 68 percent of Pakeha women and 42 percent of Pakeha men.
221 Pakeha men are over-represented in the high income bands. The following graph demonstrates that, in every ethnic group and age, more men than women have a personal income of over $30 000. The greatest similarity across the eight gender and ethnic groups is that those who are least likely to be earning over $30 000 are our youngest (16–24 years) and oldest (over 65 years) citizens.
222 Pakeha men between the ages of 25 and 54 are the most likely to earn over $30 000 per annum in personal income. The proportions of women from every ethnic group who earn over $30 000 stay relatively low in the same age bands.
223 The low level of New Zealand women’s incomes accounts for women’s concerns about the cost of legal services and the relative priority that can be given to purchasing legal services when compared to other day-to-day costs. In addition, low levels of personal income suggest that women are more likely than men to be dependent on others for financial security. This in turn suggests that women may experience greater economic difficulty when there are changes in the economic circumstances of those on whom they depend: for example, upon the breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship. This is supported by research that shows that, upon marriage or relationship breakdown, women typically experience a far more marked decline in their standard of living than do their male ex-partners, especially when there are dependent children and, as is usual, their mothers are their primary caregivers. (See Funder et al 1993, Lee 1990, and Maxwell, Robertson and Vincent 1990)
224 Personal income can be derived in four main ways: wages and salary, self employment, interest and dividends, and state income support payments. The source of a person’s income is strongly associated with its amount. The following information on sources of income shows that women’s incomes are significantly lower than men’s across all ethnic groups. This suggests that women are more likely than men to experience barriers associated with the cost of legal services.
The self-employed
225 Self-employment can be linked to high personal income levels. In the less than $20 000 personal income band, 16 percent of men and 10 percent of women derive some income from self-employment. In the over $50 000 income band, 46 percent of men and 48 percent of women derive income from self-employment. Of all the gender and ethnic groups, Pakeha men are the most likely to be self-employed. The proportions of the various groups who derive some personal income from self-employment are:
• 26 percent of Pakeha men and 14 percent of Pakeha women;
• 20 percent of Asian men and 11 percent of Asian women;
• 18 percent of men from other ethnic backgrounds and 11 percent of women;
• 12 percent of Mäori men and 7 percent of Mäori women;
• 8 percent of Pacific Islands men and 4 percent of Pacific Islands women.
Income Support Payments
226 There are many different types of income support payments, including those related to unemployment, sickness, superannuation and caregiving (the Domestic Purposes Benefit).
Domestic Purposes Benefit
227 The largest difference between New Zealand men’s and women’s sources of income relates to their reliance upon the Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB). Women are significantly more likely than men to receive income from this benefit, and most recipients of the DPB have low income levels. Over 80 percent of the people (84 075 out of the 103 245) who reported receiving at least some of their personal income from the DPB had received less than $20 000 in the 12 months preceding the 1996 Census. Of all those who received under $20 000 that year from all income sources, 9 percent of the women and 1 percent of the men received income from the DPB. Breaking down that group of women (with incomes under $20 000) by their ethnicity, 23 percent of the Mäori women, 15 percent of the Pacific Islands women, 6 percent of the Pakeha women, 5 percent of the “other” ethnic women and 2 percent of the Asian women received income from this benefit.
Unemployment Benefit
228 Those who receive income from the unemployment benefit also tend to be in lowincome brackets. Again, there are significant differences by gender and ethnicity among those who received at least part of their income from the unemployment benefit in the preceding 12 months. In the lowest personal income bracket (under $20 000 a year), the following proportions were recorded:
• 35 percent of Mäori men and 19 percent of Mäori women received income from the unemployment benefit; as did
• 28 percent of Pacific Islands men and 18 percent of Pacific Islands women;
• 18 percent of Asian men and 13 percent of Asian women; and
• 14 percent of Pakeha men and 7 percent of Pakeha women.
Interest and investment income
229 Men are only slightly more likely than women to receive income from interest or other investments. While the exact amount of investment income received cannot be determined from the Census, it is evident from the personal income data that there must be significant variations in the amounts of interest and investment income received by people in each of the population sub-groups. The disparity between men’s and women’s provision for retirement (for which investment and interest income is one measure) has been well publicised in New Zealand in recent years by, among others, the Office of the Retirement Commissioner and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
ACC payments
230 Approximately 3 percent of New Zealand’s adults receive at least part of their income from Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) payments. Men are nearly twice as likely as women to receive income from that source. This is accounted for by the fact that the ACC scheme compensates people who suffer accidental injuries (not illnesses) which adversely affect their earnings. Because fewer women than men are in the workforce, women are less likely to be entitled to ACC payments for the effects of accidental workplace injuries.
Unpaid work
231 Work is an ambiguous term for many women, as historically it has been defined by reference to work undertaken for monetary gain. That definition has little relevance to those who carry out unpaid work in the home. Currently, statistics regarding unpaid work are insufficient to support any significant analysis. The state’s increased reliance on the unpaid sector in areas such as the care of the sick and of people with disabilities has led to a growing demand for information on unpaid activities. The paucity of data will be remedied by the availability at the end of 1999 of the results of a time-use survey being conducted by Statistics New Zealand for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Paid work
34 percent of working age women are employed full-time in paid work
59 percent of working age men are employed full-time in paid work
232 The gender and ethnic composition of the New Zealand workforce (16 years or over) reveals that those two factors are very influential in a person’s paid work prospects. Those with the highest rate of participation in the workforce are Pakeha men. Those with the lowest rate of participation in the workforce are women from the “other” ethnic groups. In fact, all groups of women have lower workforce participation rates than men.
233 Men also have far higher rates of participation in the full-time workforce than do women. In 1996:
• 59 percent of New Zealand’s working age men were employed full-time;
• 34 percent of New Zealand’s working age women were employed full-time;
• 7 percent of working age men were employed part-time;
• 17 percent of working age women were employed part-time.
234 For a person to be unemployed, she or he must be both available for, and actively seeking, work. At the last Census, unemployment rates were the same for both men and women, at 5 percent, but the low Pakeha unemployment levels mask the high rates for other ethnic groups. For Mäori and Pacific Islands men and women, the unemployment rate was at least twice that: Mäori men, 12 percent; Mäori women, 11 percent; Pacific Islands men, 11 percent; and Pacific Islands women, 10 percent.
235 People who are not employed and neither available for work nor actively seeking it are classified as not being in the workforce. In 1996, 25 percent of working-age men and 41 percent of working-age women were not in the workforce.
236 The availability of adequate childcare services is relevant here. The Household Labour Force Surveys show that approximately 15 percent of women available for work are not seeking it because they cannot find suitable childcare.
237 This information suggests that women may find it more difficult than men to meet the costs of legal services, and that paid and unpaid work commitments may affect women’s ability to obtain access to legal services.
Women employed in full-time work earn 80 percent of the earnings
of men employed in full-time work
238 Pay rates for different jobs are determined by a variety of factors, including the level of skill, training and experience that is required. But in a 1993 report, Statistics New Zealand observed that full-time employed women have a lower median income than full-time employed men, irrespective of the industry or occupation group in which they are employed or their level of education. (All About Women in New Zealand, 117)
239 On the basis of the 1991 Census data, the difference between full-time working men’s and women’s median incomes was nearly $6000 ($27 322 for men and $21 596 for women). (All About Women in New Zealand, 114) At that time then, full-time employed women were receiving less than 80 percent of the earnings of full-time employed men, and differences in educational qualifications could not account for the disparity. Research in other countries has identified three broad factors that contribute to the gender pay gap: productivity differences, occupational segregation and discrimination. (Dixon, 1996)
240 The following analysis of the 1996 Census results divides occupations into nine broad types: legislators/administrators/managers, professionals, technicians, clerks, service and sales workers, agriculture and fishery workers, trades workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, and elementary occupations. The proportions and numbers of workers in each occupational group have been itemised.
241 There is one caveat: the percentages and numbers given here do not include the nearly 28 000 women and 35 500 or more men who did not specify their occupation in the 1996 Census. Mäori and Pacific Islands people were over-represented in this group, accounting for nearly one quarter of those who did not specify their occupation.
Male-dominated occupations
242 In the nine occupational groups, men dominate as trades workers, plant and machine workers, legislators/administrators/managers (called administrators here), and agriculture and fishery workers. In fact:
• 16 percent of all employed men work as trades workers, compared with 1 percent of all employed women (approximately 138 500 men and 9500 women);
• 12 percent of all employed men work as plant and machine workers, compared to 4 percent of all employed women (approximately 105 500 men and some 28 500 women);
• 14 percent of all employed men work as administrators, compared with 9 percent of all employed women (approximately 120 500 men and 67 000 women); and
• 12 percent of all employed men work as agriculture and fishery workers, compared to 7 percent of all employed women (approximately 101 000 men and 47 000 women).
Female-dominated occupations
243 Women are more concentrated than men in fewer occupational groups. Nearly 60 percent of the female workforce are employed in just three groups, as clerks, service and sales workers, and professionals (which includes all forms of teaching, nursing and other healthcare work). The proportions and numbers of women and men in those groups is as follows:
• 24 percent of all employed women work as clerks, compared to 5 percent of all employed men (approximately 170 000 women and 43 000 men);
• 20 percent of all employed women work as service and sales workers, compared to 9 percent of all employed men (approximately 140 000 women and 77 000 men); and
• 15 percent of all employed women work as professionals compared to 10 percent of all employed men (approximately 104 000 women and 87 000 men).
Ethnicity and occupational groups
Mäori and Pacific Islands people dominate in elementary,
plant and machine work
244 Some equally notable trends are evident when the ethnicity of New Zealanders involved in the various occupational groups is considered. In particular, while only 7 percent of the entire male workforce (or some 65 000 men) and 6 percent of the female workforce (or some 40 000 women) are employed in elementary occupations, Mäori and Pacific Islanders are so over-represented in those occupations that they make up a quarter of all elementary workers. The same is true of plant and machine work, in which 12 percent of all employed men and 4 percent of all employed women are engaged. A quarter of those employees are Mäori or Pacific Islanders.
245 At the time of the 1991 Census, higher proportions of all workers, and especially Mäori and Pacific Islanders, worked in elementary and plant and machine occupations than were doing so in 1996. The decline, which is due in part to the decrease in local manufacturing operations, seems to be matched by an increase in the proportions of Mäori and Pacific Islands people who are now engaged in sales and service work.
246 The over-representation of Mäori and Pacific Islands workers in elementary and plant and machine work is matched by their under-representation in the three occupational groups, legislators/administrators/managers, professionals and technicians. Although 35 percent of the entire male workforce is involved in one of those three occupations, the proportion of the Mäori male workforce is just half of that (19 percent). For the Pacific Islands male workforce, the proportion is even lower (13 percent). And although 35 percent of the entire female workforce is involved in one of those three occupations, only 27 percent of the Mäori female workforce, and 18 percent of Pacific Islands female workforce, are so engaged. Pakeha men dominate as legislators/ administrators/managers: one in seven employed Pakeha men are in that group, compared with one in 30 employed Pacific Islands women.
Gender and ethnicity of legislators, administrators and managers
The majority of legislators, administrators and managers
are Pakeha men
247 The occupational group which contains many of those in influential public and private sector positions is that of legislators/administrators/managers (“administrators”). Approximately 188 000 New Zealanders work as administrators but the gender and ethnic composition of this group is very different from that of the New Zealand population as a whole. The following graphs show the disparity between the composition of the general population and the administrators.
248 Accordingly, women, Mäori and those from other non-Pakeha ethnic groups are not well represented as legislators, administrators and managers.
Educational qualifications
6 percent of New Zealand women and 9 percent of men
have a tertiary qualification of some kind
249 There is a strong correlation between educational qualifications and employment status. The Census results make it clear that the higher a person’s educational qualifications are, the more likely it is that she or he will be gainfully employed and the less likely it is that she or he will be unemployed.
250 Historically, New Zealand women have had fewer opportunities than men to gain formal qualifications. This has been particularly true for non-Pakeha women. In recent years, the differences between women’s and men’s educational achievements have lessened considerably, but large disparities on the basis of ethnicity still remain. The effect of these disparities can be seen in the preceding section on personal income and participation in paid work. However, there are indications that educational qualifications statistics are changing.
251 Of people aged 16 years or more and still studying, women outnumber men: 13 percent of women (183 735 women) compared with 11 percent of men (145 272 men). Of the ethnic groups, Pakeha are the least likely to be currently studying, a fact which may be associated with the older age structure of the Pakeha population. Some 11 percent of Pakeha are studying, compared with 14 percent of Mäori and 14 percent of Pacific Islanders. Asians are significantly more likely than any other group to be currently involved in education, with 30 percent of Asian men and 27 percent of Asian women studying at the time of the Census.
252 Rates of employment are highest for women and men with tertiary qualifications. While 51 percent of all New Zealand women and 66 percent of men are employed full-time or part-time, 78 percent of women with tertiary qualifications and 85 percent of men with tertiary qualifications are employed. By contrast (and excluding those who are still studying), unemployment rates are highest among those with no qualifications. Of those without qualifications, only 35 percent of the women and 57 percent of the men are employed.
253 In relation to the highest (tertiary) qualification level, 6 percent of New Zealand women and 9 percent of men have a tertiary qualification of some kind. By ethnicity, 30 percent of the “other” ethnic groups population have a tertiary qualification. Asians are the next most highly represented, with 24 percent of Asian men and 18 percent of Asian women having a tertiary qualification. This compares with 11 percent of Pakeha men and 8 percent of Pakeha women, 3 percent of Mäori men and women, and 2 percent of Pacific Islands men and women who have a tertiary qualification.
No formal qualifications
32 percent of women and 30 percent of men
have no formal qualifications
254 Across the total adult population (16 years and over), 32 percent of women and 30 percent of men have no formal qualifications, which means they do not have any school qualification, such as School Certificate, or any higher qualification. By ethnicity, 46 percent of all New Zealand’s Mäori and Pacific Islands adults are in this group, compared with some 30 percent of Pakeha, 20 percent of Asian adults and 19 percent of adults from the “other” ethnic groups. Age is also a relevant factor: 24 percent of those without a qualification are in the over-65 age group. The younger age structures of all non-Pakeha ethnic groups, and the fact that older people have less need for formal qualifications for employment purposes, provide important contextual information for the proportions of Mäori and Pacific Islands people without formal qualifications.
School and vocational qualifications
255 For all ethnic groups, a higher proportion of women than men have a school qualification as their highest. About 40 percent of New Zealand’s Pakeha, Mäori, Pacific Islands, Asian and “other” ethnic groups are in this category. For vocational qualifications (eg, trades), men have a slight predominance over women, but differences between ethnic groups are more marked. Some 21 percent of Pakeha, 12 percent of Mäori, 13 percent of “other” ethnic groups, 10 percent of Asians and 8 percent of Pacific Islands people have a vocational qualification as their highest.
256 The implication of this information across all groups is that there may be particular barriers for some people wishing to obtain legal information or legal services, particularly if information and services are made available on the basis of assumptions about educational attainment.
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND HOUSEHOLDS
257 An understanding of the families and households in which women live is essential for understanding how changes in these might affect women’s interactions with the justice system.
258 There are 915 111 families in New Zealand. Families are classified as being
• two parents with children (dependent or adult);
• couples without children, or
• one parent with children (dependent or adult).
Two-parent families
Just over 75 percent of New Zealand’s dependent children
live in two-parent families
259 Across all ethnic groups, the most common type of family consists of two parents with children. These account for nearly 45 percent of all New Zealand families, down from 53 percent of families 10 years ago. Now just over three-quarters of New Zealand’s dependent children (707 568) live in two-parent families.
260 The following are the percentages of dependent children by ethnic group who live with two parents:
• 86 percent of Asian children;
• 82 percent of Pakeha children;
• 80 percent of children from “other” ethnic backgrounds;
• 71 percent of Pacific Islands children;
• 59 percent of Mäori children.
261 One of the most notable changes in two-parent families since the previous Census is the decline of marriage. Since 1991, there has been an increase of over 50 percent in the number of two-parent families in which the parents are in a de facto relationship.
262 Ethnicity has an influence on whether parents in a two-parent family will be married or in a de facto relationship. Asian women in two-parent families are far more likely than any other group of women to be married: 96 percent with one child are married; 98 percent with two or more children are married. Mäori women in two-parent families are the least likely to be married: 63 percent with one child are married; 72 percent with more than one child are married.
263 Same-sex couples with children account for a very small proportion of two-parent families. About 1300 same-sex couple families include children, with female couple families far more likely than male couple families to have children.
Couples without children
264 The next most common family type is that of couples without children. This accounts for 37 percent of families, compared with 33 percent 10 years ago. In 1991, 23 percent of Pakeha women lived in a couple-only household. This increased to 30 percent in only five years. For Mäori women the increase has been from 8 percent to 12 percent. Couple-only households include pre-parent couples, those whose children have left home and couples who do not have children.
One-parent families
86 percent of dependent children who live in one-parent families
live with their mother
265 One-parent families account for 18 percent of New Zealand’s families, compared with 14 percent in 1986. Of all New Zealand’s families with children, 28 percent are one-parent families. Just under a quarter of New Zealand’s dependent children (or 220 275 children) live with one parent. A particularly notable feature of one-parent families is that in the great majority of them (83 percent), the parent is a woman. Mäori are more likely than any other ethnic group to live in one-parent families: four out of 10 Mäori children live in one-parent families. By contrast, three out of 10 Pacific Islands children, and fewer than two out of 10 Pakeha and Asian children, live in one-parent families.
266 In 1996, just under two-thirds of sole parents had been married and just over a third (35 percent) had never been married. In the five years since the previous Census, there has been an increase of 7 percent in the proportion of sole parents who have never been married. Some of this increase will be the result of the breakdown of de facto relationships in which some sole parents were living previously.
267 Only 13 percent of sole-parent mothers are under the age of 25 years. The largest number of sole-parent mothers (44 percent) are between the ages of 25 and 39 years, and 43 percent are over the age of 40 years.
Marital status
268 Twenty-five years ago, at the time of the 1971 Census, 65 percent of all New Zealand’s women were married. In 1996, just 46 percent of all the women in New Zealand were married. Included in that 46 percent are the 7 percent of women in second or subsequent marriages. Ethnicity again influences marriage rates, as is demonstrated by these figures:
• 55 percent of Asian women are married;
• 48 percent of Pakeha women are married;
• 40 percent of Pacific Islands women are married;
• 30 percent of Mäori women are married.
269 A further 4 percent of women are divorced and not remarried or living in a de facto relationship, and 3 percent are separated from their husbands and not living in de facto relationships. Accordingly, it can be deduced that one in every nine New Zealand women has been through a marriage dissolution, and that one in every 33 women has been through a marital breakdown but not yet obtained a dissolution. Department for Courts records show that in the year to June 30 1998, there were 10 036 applications filed in the Family Court for dissolution of marriages.
270 Alongside the decline in marriage rates, the incidence of de facto relationships has increased, but unevenly according to ethnic group. In 1996, 9 percent of all women in private dwellings lived in a de facto relationship with a man. However, 15 percent of all Mäori women were living in a de facto relationship with a man, compared with 9 percent of Pakeha women, 8 percent of Pacific Islands women and 4 percent of Asian women.
271 A small proportion of New Zealanders live in same-sex relationships. The 1996 Census recorded 6510 people in same-sex couples, making up 0.4 percent of all couples. Statistics New Zealand has noted that this figure is likely to be an understatement, because of inconsistencies in the way people responded to the question asked. There were more female couples (55.7 percent) than male couples (44.3 percent). On those figures, 0.2 percent of adult women live in a lesbian relationship. Again, there are variations among ethnic groups in the incidence of same-sex relationships. For example, Mäori women are three times more likely to live in a same-sex relationship than are Asian women.
272 The different age structures of the ethnic populations account for some of the differences in women’s marital status. For example, Pakeha women, who make up by far the largest proportion of older women, are more than twice as likely as Mäori and Pacific Islands women, and three times more likely than Asian women, to be widowed. However, among women with dependent children, Mäori and Pacific Islands women are twice as likely as Pakeha women to be widowed.
273 It has been noted that marriage rates are higher among Asian and Pakeha women than Pacific Islands and Mäori women. However, divorce rates do not follow the same pattern. Two percent of all Asian women are divorced but not living in a relationship with a man, as are 5 percent of all Pakeha women, 3 percent of Pacific Islands women and 4 percent of Mäori women. It is notable that these proportions are almost identical among women who have dependent children and those who do not.
274 Across all ethnic groups, women with dependent children have far higher rates of separation than other women: 2 percent of Asian women with dependent children are separated from their husbands, as are 5 percent of Pakeha women, 5 percent of Pacific Islands women and 6 percent of Mäori women.
275 One conclusion that may be drawn from these figures is that Mäori women, who are the least likely to be married, have disproportionately high rates of divorce and separation. Another conclusion, which may be drawn by comparing the divorce rates with the rates of separation for women with dependent children, is that Pacific Islands and Mäori women are less likely than either Asian or Pakeha women to obtain dissolutions of their failed marriages. The reasons for this are unclear, but the disparity suggests that Mäori and Pacific Islands women may face particular barriers in obtaining legal services related to marriage breakdown.
Households
276 At the time of the 1996 Census, there were 1 276 332 private households in New Zealand, an increase of 8.4 percent since 1991. A household is a private dwelling containing either:
• one person living alone;
• one family (two parents with children, a couple only, or one parent with children);
• two or more families (of any of the above three types of family); or
• a multi-person (non-family) group.
277 The average size of a New Zealand household is 2.7 people. Over half of all households contain only one or two people. Households containing one family are by far the most common type (69 percent of households). Of the major ethnic groups, Pakeha are the most likely to live in one family households: 82 percent of Pakeha live in one-family households.
278 The next most common type of household consists of one person living alone (20 percent of households). Of the ethnic groups, Pakeha are most likely to live in one-person households: 9 percent of Pakeha live alone. Mäori are the next most likely group to live alone: 4 percent of Mäori live alone.
279 Households made up of two or more families account for 3 percent of all private households. Pacific Islanders are the most likely to live in two-family households: 18 percent of the Pacific Islands population lives in two-family households. They are also more likely to live in households with three or more families: 4 percent of Pacific Islanders live in such households. This means that more Pacific Islanders live in households of three or more families than live in one-person households.
280 There has been an increase in multi-family households across all ethnic groups since the 1991 Census. In 1991, 2 percent of Pakeha women lived in a multi-family household. This increased to 3 percent in 1996. The increase for Mäori women has been greater, from 10 percent in 1991 to 13 percent in 1996. The largest increase is for Pacific Islands women: from 17 percent in 1991 to nearly 25 percent in 1996.
281 There has also been an increase in the number of women living with others who are not family. Multi-person (non-family) households now make up 5 percent of all households. Overall, 12 percent of New Zealand women now live in a multi-family household or in one in which there is a family living with others. The proportions of women from the different ethnic groups living in these shared households vary significantly: 7 percent of Pakeha women, 26 percent of Mäori women, 27 percent of Asian women and 42 percent of Pacific Islands women live in shared households.
282 There has been speculation about the reasons for sharing accommodation. Although there are cultural precedents for it, the significant increase in shared living over the last five years points to economic pressure being the major factor. In the 1993 report All About Women in New Zealand, Statistics New Zealand observed that the 1991 Census results revealed that single-parent families were more inclined than two-parent families to share accommodation and that they probably did so for economic reasons. At that time, almost one in three single-parent households headed by women with dependent children shared their accommodation with others. By contrast, only one in 12 mothers in two-parent families with dependent children shared accommodation. In 1996, more than one in two women in single-parent households lived with others and one in seven mothers in two-parent couples lived with others.[12]
283 Two-parent families have far greater access to income from earnings than either couple-only families or, most notably, one-parent families. In fact, in nearly one-third (31.2 percent) of two-parent families both parents are employed full-time. In 1996 only one in five two-parent families had the father as sole breadwinner. Ten years earlier almost one-third of families had a father working full-time and a non-workforce mother.
284 In general, the larger share of couples’ household income of between $20 000 and $40 000 is earned by men. This is true whether the couple is married or unmarried. For example, among both married and de facto couples with a household income of between $20 000 and $40 000, some 45 percent of the men earned over $20 000 whereas only 11 percent of the women earned that amount. In both types of couple, approximately half the women earned less than $10 000 whereas about 13 percent of the men earned that amount.
285 In 7 percent of two-parent families, neither parent is in the workforce. But half (50 percent) of all sole parents are not in the workforce. There has been a notable change in the work status of sole parents since 1991, when more (57 percent) were not in the workforce. The increased participation of sole parents in the workforce is largely the result of their entry to part-time work. Since 1991, the proportion of sole parents working part-time has increased from 9 percent to 13 percent.
Family income level
One-parent families have a median annual income of $16 900
Two-parent families have a median annual income of $50 200
286 There are very clear connections between family type and family income level, which is the combined income received by all people aged 15 and over in a family unit. Of the three family types, one-parent families have by far the lowest median income: $16 900. The median income for couple-only families is more than twice that amount: $37 700. And the median income of two-parent families is almost three times that of one-parent families: $50 200.
287 The dramatic differences in income between one- and two-parent families are illustrated in greater depth by the following graph. From this it can be seen that of the households which consist of one-parent families:
• over half (55 percent) have an income under $20 001;
• three quarters (73 percent) have an income under $30 001; and
• 90 percent have an income under $50 001.
288 By contrast, of the households made up of two-parent families:
• only 8 percent have an income under $20 001;
• 20 percent have an income under $30 001; and
• just over half (52 percent) have an income under $50 001.
289 As with all the nationwide figures noted to this point, a disaggregation by ethnicity reveals disparities between Pakeha and non-Pakeha. Using the ethnicity of the mother as the basis for disaggregation, it is clear that two-parent families which have an income over $50 000 and in which the mother is Pakeha are the most highly represented in that high income group of two-parent families. Over half (52 percent) of Pakeha-mother two-parent families have an annual income of more than $50 001, compared with 39 percent of two-parent families with a Pacific Islands mother, 37 percent of two-parent families with a Mäori mother and 35 percent of two-parent families with an Asian mother.
290 However, family or household income is not necessarily a reliable indicator of access to money by those living in the household. Recent research has found that New Zealand women in all ethnic groups studied prioritised their children’s needs over their own, that women’s need to save for retirement did not have priority and that women who contribute unpaid work rather than money to household resources can be in a weak position when deciding whose needs are to be met from these resources. In Pakeha families, it has been found the more a woman contributes to a household income, the more likely she is to have some say in household financial decisions. However, men exert various forms of direct and indirect control over money which inhibit women from spending it on themselves in areas such as health care. (Briefing to the Incoming Government, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, 1996, 46; Taiapa, 1994; Pasikale and George, 1995; Fleming and Easting, 1994)
In the year to 30 June 1998, 91 percent of the 7195 applications for
protection orders were made by women;
91.5 percent of the applications were made against male respondents
291 Recent New Zealand surveys confirm overseas research which indicates that the incidence of violence against women, especially in the home, is astonishingly high. The Statistics New Zealand New Zealand Now: Crime Tables reveal that during 1995 there were 16 001 incidents of domestic dispute reported and 9573 male assaults females reported. Of the total reported sexual attacks, 1155 related to sexual violation. Of these, 59.9 percent (692) occurred in the home. (New Zealand Now: Crime Tables 1996, 14, 17) In 1996 there were 2116 convictions for a violent sex offence (rape, unlawful sexual connection, attempted sexual violation or indecent assault). In 1997 there were 1565 convictions for those offences. (Ministry of Justice, 1998, 13)
292 The New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 1996, the first comprehensive survey of this type, was published during 1997. It found that the sexual victimisation of women is considerably higher than of men. Overall, 16 percent of men stated that they had experienced an act of sexual violence whereas 26 percent of women had experienced such an act. Within that overall result, 11.6 percent of women reported that someone had had, or had attempted sexual intercourse with them against their will, compared with only 1.5 percent of men. The study found that the rate of partner abuse reported by women is two to three times higher than that reported by men. It also tested levels of worry about being a victim. Over half (50.4 percent) of women compared with less than a third (30.9 percent) of men were fairly or very worried about being assaulted by a stranger. Further, 21.7 percent of women were fairly or very worried about being assaulted by someone they knew, compared with 12.5 percent of men. (Young et al, 1997, 38, 41, 118)
293 With regard to non-sexual assaults, the survey found that there were no statistically significant gender differences in the overall risk of being a victim, although women and men experienced different types of violence. Men had much higher incidence (number of assaults) and prevalence (proportion of the group assaulted) rates for assaults by strangers and casual acquaintances than did women. Conversely, women were much more likely than men to be assaulted by those they knew well. (Young et al, 1997, 32–33)
294 The Women’s Safety Survey was also published in 1997. This survey, conducted as part of the National Survey of Crime Victims, explored violence against 500 women by their male partners. Among the survey’s findings are that:
• 24 percent of the women with current partners and 73 percent of the women with recent partners had experienced at least one act of physical or sexual abuse by their partner;
• 2 percent of the women with current partners and 22 percent of the women with recent partners had experienced 10 or more acts of physical or sexual abuse by their partner;
• 1 percent of the women with current partners and 8 percent of the women with recent partners had been treated in or admitted to hospital as a result of their partner’s violence; the comparable figures for Mäori women were 2 percent and 19 percent;
• 3 percent of women with current partners and 24 percent of the women with recent partners had been afraid that their partner might kill them;
the comparable figures for Mäori women were 5 percent and 44 percent. (Morris, A, 1997, 28, 48)
295 In the year to 30 June 1997, there were 7911 applications for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995, of which 91 percent were made against men respondents and 8 percent against women. (The sex of the other 1 percent of respondents is unknown.) In the year to 30 June 1998 there were 7195 applications for protection orders, of which 91.5 percent were against men respondents and 8 percent against women. Women were 91 percent of the applicants for protection order.
296 Crime statistics are one measure of the incidence of violence against women. The economic cost of family violence in New Zealand is another measure. In 1994, the government commissioned research which estimated the annual cost to the country of family violence for the 1993/94 year at between $1.187 billion and $5.302 billion. (Snively, 1994)
297 Men’s own attitudes to violence against women also provide a useful measure of the social context for violence against women. Hitting Home: Men Speak About Abuse of Women Partners (research commissioned by the then Department of Justice) was released in 1995. Of the 2000 men surveyed as part of the nationally representative survey:
• 21 percent reported at least one physically abusive act towards their partner in the past year, and 35 percent at least one such act during their lifetime;
• 70 percent said domestic violence is a major problem;
• 87 percent knew that hitting a woman is a crime (10 percent did not know that a man hitting a woman is a crime);
• 67 percent had personal knowledge of men hitting women – either they knew a perpetrator or victim of physical abuse, or they had witnessed physical abuse;
• 25 percent said that physical abuse of women partners is “okay in some circumstances”;
• 58 percent said that psychological abuse of women partners is “okay in some circumstances”. (Leibrich, Paulin and Ransom, 1995, 16–17)
298 The Census and other data cited in this chapter allows a number of important conclusions to be drawn about how social and economic factors relate to women’s abilities to obtain access to the justice system. Before summarising the issues highlighted by the data, it needs to be noted that it indicates that women are differentially disadvantaged and that there are some men whose life circumstances place them in a much more disadvantaged position than that of some women. Nonetheless, the general point holds true – that there are few women with high incomes, and that in relation to the indices of access to income, employment and disability, women are worse off than men, and Mäori women are the most disadvantaged. In summary:
• The different social, economic and disability status of men and women in New Zealand is likely to impact on their needs and priorities for legal services.
• Men and women have different levels of education and income, and these differences are likely to impact on the types of services they need, including legal services, and their respective abilities to pay for them.
• Different groups of women have different educational qualifications, income levels, and household and family compositions, and these differences suggest there may be differing legal services needs among these groups.
• Women, Mäori and those from non-Pakeha ethnic groups are not well represented in the occupational group (legislators, administrators and managers) to which many of those in influential public and private sector positions, including those in the justice sector, belong.
• New Zealand’s increasingly diverse population includes women from all ethnic groups and with differing English-language abilities who are likely to have specific legal services and legal information needs.
• Women have different caring roles from men, and those roles are likely to affect women’s ability to undertake paid work and to obtain access to legal services.
• Women are likely to have significant needs for legal services associated with marriage breakdown, and Mäori and Pacific Islands women may face particular barriers in having their needs met.
• Women’s lives are affected by violence, but in different ways from men’s, and those differences are likely to affect the legal services needs of women.
• New Zealand women mainly live in urban centres, although there are differences in the geographic distribution of groups of women by ethnicity and age which suggest legal services are needed in a diverse range of places.
• Rural women may face particular barriers in obtaining access to legal services.
299 This statistical information supports the likelihood that women’s experiences with and needs of the justice system will be different from men’s (just as in general the life experiences of men and women are different), and that different groups of New Zealand women will have different needs.
300 This chapter has outlined key facts of the social context for New Zealand women’s lives. The next chapter outlines the facts about one part of the institutional context for the structure and delivery of legal services in New Zealand.
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