Kōrero: Women’s labour organisations

Teachers' pay, 1900

Teachers' pay, 1900

Teaching had been a male-dominated occupation, but from the 1880s increasing numbers of women joined the profession. Their pay was substantially lower than that of men (the difference varied around the country, as regional education boards set salaries). In 1894 average male salaries were between £105 and £202 per annum, while women were paid between £63 and £112. Women teachers, like those in Southland whose petition to the Minister of Education was reported in 1900, objected to this discrepancy. So did the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), a mixed-gender primary teachers’ association. The NZEI, like other unions and associations representing mixed occupations, spoke out against education boards employing women rather than men as teachers to save money.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Grey River Argus, 2 July 1890, p. 3

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Megan Cook, 'Women’s labour organisations - The first women’s unions and associations, 1878 to 1939', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/document/26362/teachers-pay-1900 (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Megan Cook, i tāngia i te 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 20 Dec 2022