A global survey by advisory and consultancy firm, PwC, ranks New Zealand fourth among OECD members in terms of female economic empowerment.
While 60 percent of law graduates are women, less than 40 percent become partners, according to the Law Society. Photo: 123rf
It combined factors such as gender pay rates, levels of employment, and the skill levels of work being done.
New Zealand has held its fourth spot from the previous survey in 2013, but lags behind Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The report showed more women were in work in the OECD countries but women were under-utilised, often in part-time work below their skill levels, and being paid on average 15 percent less than men.
The gender pay gap was smallest in New Zealand at 5.6 percent.
And a survey by consultants Grant Thornton showed New Zealand is one of the poorest performers in the Asia-Pacific region in having women in senior management positions.
It showed 42 percent of New Zealand businesses surveyed had no women in leadership positions and only 19 percent had women in senior management. New Zealand has fallen to the bottom end of a global ladder measuring diversity after being third in 2004.
