Closing the gaps: An update on indicators of inequality for māori and pacific people

Abstract

This article updates and expands an earlier study investigating the gaps in inequality indicators between different ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The present study updates the same inequality indicators across categories of health, knowledge and skills, employment, standard of living, and cultural identity, using more recent data. It is also extended to incorporate the third-largest ethnic group in NZ, Asian people. This ethnic group is often excluded from inequality discussions, as Asian people are typically believed to outperform, or at least be on par with, the European ethnic group. In contrast to the earlier study, the findings in the current study show improvements in most indicators. However, Europeans continue to outperform Māori and Pacific people in all but one indicator. We find support for the suggestion that the Asian ethnic group experiences inequality less than Māori or Pacific people.