Social workers are the latest employees to receive a large pay equity settlement from the Government, and some are saying this will attract more men to the female-dominated industry.
More than 1,300 Oranga Tamariki union members are celebrating a $114 million pay settlement for social workers, meaning an average pay rise of 30 per cent over the next two years.
"To get the recognition of what we do, to do what social workers love doing, helping out tamariki, and to do it with the financial backing, was really important,"social worker Rachel Baxter-Mackay says.
Social work lecturer Heidi Crawford says she thinks the pay boost will attract newcomers to the industry.
"I think it will attract more people to social work who have that heart for it but because of other financial constraints they can't come and do this sort of work," she says.
The deal is not only to increase the next intake of social workers, but encourage more men to join this line of work.
Currently, 85 per cent of social workers are women and Ms Crawford says in her class of 15, only two are men.
"There needs to be men in social work and I wonder if pay will actually bring more men because a lot of men feel the responsibility of looking after families and you know that traditional breadwinner type stuff," she says.
"We need males in social work and being able to earn more might draw them in."
Public Service Association's national secretary Erin Polaczuk said social work has traditionally been viewed as an extension of woman's work.
"It's an extension of the work that woman would have done in society, caring for children, yet it hasn't been remunerated like police, for example."
The agreement is yet to be ratified, but workers have no doubt everyone will sign up.
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