Proceedings Commissioner Chris Lawrence said the Burton Report is a blueprint for employers to address gender equity within male-dominated work forces, and is relevant to all human resource managers, not just the Defence Force. Women form a large part of the modern workforce.
Employers have a duty to ensure their workplaces are as free from discrimination as possible.
Mr Lawrence said the Commission had recognised that the Defence Force, like many other employers in traditionally male-dominated areas, had systemic problems in relation to gender integration. It drew the matter to the attention of the NZDF and arranged for an Australian expert, Dr Clare Burton, to investigate the situation in NZDF and report on it. Dr Burton had conducted a similar project for the Australian defence forces and was a leading employment equity researcher. She died after a brief illness following completion of the report. In November 1998, the Human Rights Commission commended the report s recommendations to the former Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tony Birks, which he fully accepted.