Labour market analysis has shown that women's employment has been more affected than men's as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes. Initiatives are underway to address some of these effects.
The Ministry of Women's Affairs and Statistics New Zealand have investigated the impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes on the labour market and the Ministry's Director of Policy, Joanna Gordon, said that differing effects on men and women were starting to emerge. These appear consistent with the findings of studies of similar events overseas. Read more of this report here. (This link also leads to more recent reports from the Ministry of Women's Affairs.)