Ministry for Women

Document name

Closing the gender pay gap — advice for employers

Judges’ comments

We thought this entry was an excellent use of plain, direct language, backed up by an engaging design.

We liked the simple structure, with seven action points, each explained with a heading that starts with an imperative, a quote to make it real, and practical ideas clearly stated.

Media statement

The Ministry for Women is thrilled that our booklet Closing the gender pay gap — actions for employers became a finalist in the Best Document — Public category at the Plain English Awards. We are also thrilled that we were a finalist in the Best Sentence Transformation category.

‘The gender pay gap, its causes, and solutions to close it are complex,’ says Renee Graham, Ministry for Women Chief Executive. ‘However, it’s important that all employers and employees are able to have access to information that helps them identify if their organisations have a gap and how to tackle it.

‘That’s why we’ve placed such an emphasis on ensuring that our material is evidence-based, and easy to read and understand.

‘Being judged a finalist in this category confirms that our approach to making language clear and concise has paid off. I’d like to congratulate all the team at the Ministry who worked on these documents.’

The booklets are both available on the Ministry’s website www.women.govt.nz.

Renee Graham
Chief Executive
Ministry for Women