Sports organisations need to be open and transparent with its inclusion and diversity statistics if they want to make positive change and lift their communities out of poverty.

That’s the call from Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo following the release of Sport New Zealand’s inclusion and diversity survey.

The research, which canvassed sport workplaces and was released last week, uncovered gender and ethnic pay gaps, an under-representation of women in leadership positions, Asian and Pasifika communities and a lack of trust in organisations to handle integrity issues appropriately.

More than 150 sports organisations – including national and regional organisations, disability sport providers and Sport New Zealand – contributed to the research, and each organisation with more than 10 employees will be given its own report. It will be up to individual sports whether to release the data publicly.

Sumeo is urging sports organisations to release their findings in the name of transparency.

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“Sport is so influential in shaping our Kiwi culture, and we want that sector to reflect our community,” she said.

Within the sport sector, 80 per cent of the workforce is Pākehā and 55 per cent are women, 14 per cent are Māori and Asian, Indian and Pasifika communities make up just 6 per cent.

There is a 15 per cent gender pay gap – above the national average of 9.1 per cent – and a 9 per cent gap between Pākehā and Maori. It grows to 17 per cent between Pākehā and Maori in leadership roles. Sport New Zealand did not provide data for Pasifika communities.

In the general workforce, however, Pacific men and women “sit at the bottom of the table” in regards to pay, Sumeo said.

The Human Rights Commission found Pasifika men earn 24 per cent less than Pākehā men. For Pasifika women the gap is 27 per cent.

She would like sports bodies to explore its ethnic gender pay gap and release the findings. She said it would be “eye-opening”.

“It’s important because until you break it down you won’t be able to identify what the inequities are,” she said.

“If you just look at men and women, you are only measuring the gap between Pākehā men and Pākehā women. If you look at women themselves, there are huge inequities just within the gender group.

“It’s important to look at that otherwise you mask the inequities.”

A national inquiry is under way into the ethnic pay gap, and she hopes sports organisations engage. Results are due in August 2022.

But unequal pay is a breach of human rights and is discrimination, Sumeo said.

Closing that pay gap is beneficial to everyone and has the ability to bring communities out of poverty, she said.

“Our people feel that despite proving their worth, they never feel good enough. That is not right,” she said.

“We’re not talking about the icing on the cake here. We’re talking about [affording] the basic things. We are a paradise, but we have hungry children.

“If you have hungry children, that’s a reflection on you and your nation. If you have homeless children that’s a reflection on you and your nation.”

She has a message to sports organisations. Collect the data, then act.

“Until you have the information, you won’t be able to do a comparison. Then look at how you invest [in your people],” she said.

“And board commitment. If the board isn’t committed to equity, to pay equity then you’re going to struggle.”

Sports bodies will also attract and retain talent if they are open and transparent about the findings.

“People are worrying about their brand, but … if we act as a collective, as an industry, and do what’s best in the industry, then that will attract people to come into it,” she said.

“We are in this time now where people are attracted to employers who are known to be fair, to be transparent.”

Speaking openly about pay will also help close the gender and ethnic pay gap, she said. This includes having open conversations in the workplace, and posting the salary on job advertisements. “Keeping it hidden” doesn’t help, she said.

“[Sport] is not the only one who may be struggling with this issue. There’s no point struggling by yourself. It’s great to talk about it and share with others, so you can help each other out. That’s the best way forward.”

Sport New Zealand will start releasing sport specific data next week. It will release specific findings to the public once discussions have concluded with staff and its board.