Unemployment stats released this week show women are still not being taken seriously within the work environment, National’s spokesperson for Women Barbara Kuriger says.

Ten thousand of the 11,000 people who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic were women, according to Statistics New Zealand.

“Women deserve better than what this current environment is providing us with,” Ms Kuriger says.

“This Government’s only solution to the job crisis has been to point to a list of shovel-ready projects that will ‘hopefully’ lead to job creation. Women only make up 11 per cent of the construction industry so it’s difficult to see how these projects will get large amounts of women into work when the industry is so male-dominated.

“The previous National Government worked hard to make sure women were given the same opportunities as men. This Government needs to do the same.

“Labour and the Greens should be looking at solutions to promote female employment and development through this economic and job crisis.

“National recognises the potential of women within our workplace. Our BusinessStart and JobStart policies are designed to create jobs that can be fulfilled by anyone.”