David Lillis: Employment in University Academic Roles by Gender and Ethnicity: 2016 - 2025

Preamble and Disclaimer 

I offer this report as a contribution to ongoing debates on the future of our universities. In fact I undertook the study that led to this report, both out of curiosity and from a desire to provide information to the general public and to officials and policy-makers. I confirm that I was not funded by any external organization and that the work described here is exclusively my own. 

Executive Summary 

New Zealand’s sociodemographic profile is changing markedly through significant immigration, but also because increasing numbers of Māori and Pacific People are undertaking tertiary education and working in high-paying sectors, including tertiary education. This article explores how employment in the tertiary sector reflects our societal demographics.

Information on employment of academic staff (Professors, Readers or Associate Professors, Senior Lecturers, Lecturers and Other Staff) at New Zealand universities between 2016 and 2025 was analyzed in order to identify trends in employment of females and males, as well as of the main ethnic groups – Māori, Pacific People, Asian, European and Other Ethnicities. In addition, information on doctoral enrolments and completions was investigated in order to provide context for observed trends in subsequent academic employment of these demographic groups. The main findings of the study were that:

1. Females now complete more doctorates than males.

2. Percentages of female academic staff at every level (Professors, Readers or Associate Professors, Senior Lecturers, Lecturers and Other Staff) are increasing and now almost match those of males in employment at our universities.

3. Pacific People are represented at less than their percentage presence in the total population but at about the percentages expected on the basis of prior doctoral completions.

4. Today Māori academic staff are represented at less than their percentage presence in the total population but at more than predicted on the basis of prior doctoral completions.

5. The percentage presence of Māori, Pacific People and Asians in academic roles continues to increase steadily, while the presence of Europeans is decreasing.

6. Asians earn more doctorates than predicted by their presence in the total population.

7. Asians are now represented in academic roles at about their percentage presence in the total population and at about the percentages expected on the basis of prior doctoral completions.

8. Europeans are represented at somewhat less than their presence in the total population and less than on the basis of prior doctoral completions.

9. Māori doctoral graduates are more likely than others to gain employment three years post study and they earn higher salaries on average than doctoral graduates as a group.

10. Remuneration outcomes for Māori and Pacific People who hold doctorates are significantly better than for doctoral graduates of other ethnicities.

The above findings must be interpreted in the light of Population Census information in which the Total Response method is used (Ministry of Social Development, 2026). In this method, totals for all ethnic groups can sum to more than 100% because respondents can identify with more than one ethnic group. Thus, comparisons between percentages across demographic groups employed at New Zealand universities and their respective percentage presence in the total population must be undertaken very carefully. In addition, in any given year between about 10% and 13% of academic staff are of unknown ethnicity, so that there is unavoidable uncertainty in the quoted statistics on employment by ethnicity. 

The full report can be seen below.

 

Dr David Lillis trained in physics and mathematics at Victoria University and Curtin University in Perth, working as a teacher, researcher, statistician and lecturer for most of his career. He has published many articles and scientific papers, as well as a book on graphing and statistics.