Project Gender is a feminist social change agency, advocating for a fairer Aotearoa. Our latest project is SHORTCHANGED: The Pay Equity Investigation Podcast.
THE STORY OF SHORTCHANGED
Join us as we go undercover with Tom Sainsbury and Neill Rea in an unlikely fictional detective squad to follow the clues, question the suspects, go on stake outs, interrogate politicians, and reveal the history behind one of the country's biggest workplace battles.
Drawing on interviews with 55 people from across New Zealand, alongside the evidence gathered through the People's Select Committee on Pay Equity Report, the series pieces together what happened, why it happened, and who stands to gain.
Along the way you'll hear from workers, economists, activists, legal experts, union leaders, academics, politicians and some very familiar names—including a Deputy Prime Minister in the hot seat and several formidable Dames determined to get answers.
SHORTCHANGED follows the money and examines the evidence.
It’s furious, funny and truly eye-opening.
The investigation starts now. Grab your trenchcoat!
EPISODES
Episode 1: We're Not Going To Take It!
One night. One vote. Billions of dollars. Gone.
When the Government abruptly changed New Zealand's pay equity laws, thousands of women were left asking the same question: What the hell just happened?
In this first episode of SHORTCHANGED, Angela Meyer, Erin Jackson and Tania Domett join fictional detectives Tom Sainsbury and Neill Rea to investigate the missing billions and the overnight law change that blindsided workers across the country. Armed with coffee, questionable detective skills, and an unwavering commitment to justice, they follow the clues, examine the evidence and reveal why many people saw the changes as nothing less than a giant middle finger to the women of New Zealand.
Along the way there's a stakeout, some suspicious activity and a growing list of suspects.
The case is open. The women of New Zealand are fighting back.
The investigation starts here.
Episode 2: Follow The Money
Detective Manual Rule #1: If you want answers, follow the money.
In episode two, a Dame steps in to help crack the case and describes the forces that have shaped women's pay for generations. Plus we hear from another impressive Dame who went undercover in the fight for pay equity.
In this episode, Detective Meyer travels back to the 1770s to investigate the origins of the gender pay gap and discovers that the roots of today's inequalities run far deeper than most people realise. From old assumptions about women's work to modern systems that still undervalue it, the clues begin to connect.
Back at squad headquarters, tensions are rising. The evidence board is filling up, the theories are getting stronger, and the detectives are starting to see a pattern.
Because if women are earning less today, someone needs to explain WHY.
Episode 3: Cunt-Gate
When words become the story, what happens to the wages?
Episode three of SHORTCHANGED examines the controversy that dominated headlines and threatened to distract from the real issue at the heart of the pay equity debate.
As the media frenzy grows, Detective Domett starts asking the questions everyone else seems to have forgotten. Who benefits when the conversation shifts away from pay? What happens when outrage takes centre stage? And what are workers actually saying about the changes?
The investigation takes an unexpected turn when the team secures an interview with one of the key suspects.
Sharp words. Political theatre. Missing billions.
Welcome to Cunt-Gate.
Episode 4: The Interrogation
The Deputy Prime Minister enters the interview room.
In the season finale, Detective Jackson sits down face-to-face with one of the most powerful figures in New Zealand politics as workers, unions, economists, and women everywhere demand answers.
Why were the laws changed? Who stands to gain? And what would it take to restore confidence that women's work is valued fairly?
As the investigation reaches its conclusion, the evidence is laid out, the witnesses have their say, and listeners are left with one final question: what happens next?
This isn't just an interrogation. It's a reckoning.
The case may be closing, but the fight is far from over.
EXTRA FOR EXPERTS
*THE* DAME MARILYN WARING INTERVIEW
On the 22 August 2025, Angela Meyer & the Project Gender team went to the winterless north to interview Dame Marilyn Waring. A huge thanks to Creative Cavalry for their support of this project & this interview!
BE A NERD & A NUISANCE
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BE A NERD & A NUISANCE |
Much of our investigation centred around the mahi of the People’s Select Committee - and many of the voices that you hear in the podcast were heard during the Select Committee Hearings.
The full report (all 177 pages of it!) is a must-read for more evidence and detail that we refer to throughout the podcast episodes.