Ethnicity, Gender and Employment Status
The highest proportion of self-employed are among Asian and Pakeha populations, the lowest are recorded by Maori and Pacific Peoples
Data from the 1996 census shows that the ethnic group with the greatest proportion classified as employed without employees is the Asian employed labour force (13.8 percent). The second highest proportion is recorded by European/Pakeha with 12.4 percent. Similar patterns emerge with respect to the proportion that are classified as employers, with 8.4 percent of the employed European/Pakeha labour force classified in this category and 7.3 percent of the Asian employed labour force. In both of these categories, New Zealand Maori and Pacific Islanders record significantly lower proportions, with a greater fraction of these populations instead classified as paid employees.
Table 6. - Ethnicity and Employment Type 1996
| | Paid Employee | Self-employed Without Employees | Employer |
| European/Pakeha | 73.7 | 12.4 | 8.4 |
| New Zealand Maori | 82.4 | 6.1 | 3.4 |
| Pacific Island | 84.7 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| Asian | 65.6 | 13.8 | 7.3 |
| Other | 73.9 | 11.2 | 6.7 |
| Not Specified | 41.1 | 6.7 | 4.0 |
A greater proportion of males are self-employed
Table 7 reports data collected in the 1996 census. By gender, it is clear that a far larger proportion of the male working population are classified as either self-employed with no employees or as an employer. A greater proportion of the employed female labour force is classified as paid employees.
Table 7. - Gender and Employment Type 1996
| | Paid Employee | Self-employed Without Employees | Employer |
| Male | 70.1 | 14.3 | 9.8 |
| Female | 79.5 | 7.8 | 4.8 |
Females are almost three times more likely to be doing unpaid work in a family business
Statistics from the 1998 Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), illustrated in table 8, show the proportion of working males that are employers is more than twice the proportion in the female working population. As well as being more likely to be working as a salary or wage earner, females are almost three times more likely to be doing unpaid work in a family business. Data from the HLFS only concentrates on an individual's main job and therefore reports slightly different figures to those collected in the census and illustrated in table 7.
Table 8. - Gender and Employment Type 1998
| | Wage or Salary Earner | Self-employed | Employer | Unpaid in Family Business |
| Male | 74.5 | 14.8 | 10.1 | 0.5 |
| Female | 85.7 | 8.1 | 4.8 | 1.4 |
The number of female employers and female self-employed has doubled over the last 30 years
Data from both the census and the HLFS shows that females make up a relatively small proportion of the total number of employers and self-employed. However, the discrepancy between male and female participation in these types of employment is significantly smaller now than it once was. Between 1966 and 1996, the proportion of employers and self-employed made up by women has more than doubled. Women have gone from comprising 9.9 percent of total employers to 23.2 percent, and have moved from 11.2 percent of the self-employed to 23.0 percent.
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