Project Gender is a feminist social change agency, advocating for a fairer Aotearoa. Our latest project is SHORTCHANGED: The Pay Equity Investigation Podcast.
MERCH
Featuring Dame Marilyn Waring’s (now) famous quote, on a cap! “Be a Nerd and a Nuisance!”
About the hat itself:
• 100% chino cotton twill
• Green Camo color is 35% chino cotton twill, 65% polyester
• Unstructured, 6-panel, low-profile
• 6 embroidered eyelets
• (7.6 cm) crown
• Adjustable strap with antique buckle
• Blank product sourced from Vietnam or Bangladesh
We make this just for you after you order, so it ships a little slower. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Featuring Dame Marilyn Waring’s (now) famous quote, this t-shirt has a small quotation on the front. “Be a Nerd and a Nuisance!”
About the t-shirt itself?
100% combed cotton
Marle colors are 85% cotton and 15% viscose
Fabric weight: 4.42 oz/yd² (150 g/m²)
Yarn diameter: 34 singles
Pre-shrunk for extra durability
Regular fit
Double-needle topstitch on the neck, sleeves, and bottom hems
Side-seamed construction
Self-fabric neck tape
Blank product sourced from Bangladesh
We make this just for you after you order, so it ships a little slower. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Because who DOESN’T want a hat emblazoned with an iconic political moment?!
About the hat itself:
100% chino cotton twill
Green Camo color is 35% chino cotton twill, 65% polyester
Unstructured, 6-panel, low-profile
6 embroidered eyelets
7.6 cm crown
Adjustable strap with antique buckle
Blank product sourced from Vietnam or Bangladesh
We make this just for you after you order, so it ships a little slower. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Featuring Dame Marilyn Waring’s (now) famous quote, this unisex t-shirt has a small quotation on the front. “Be a Nerd and a Nuisance!”
About the t-shirt itself?
This fitted t-shirt delivers a soft feel with a clean, modern look. Made from a cotton-poly blend, it’s lightweight, breathable, and built to hold its shape and color over time. Whether worn on its own or layered, it’s an easy everyday staple.
· 60% combed ring-spun cotton, 40% polyester
· Lightweight fabric: 4.3 oz./yd.² (146 g/m²)
· Regular fit with a modern silhouette
· Crew neck with reinforced shoulder-to-shoulder binding
· Tear-away label for added comfort
· Blank product sourced from the US
We make this just for you after you order, so it ships a little slower. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
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.