Abstract
By 1977 Aotearoa/New Zealand had enacted a comprehensive legislative foundation for discrimination law based on international human rights instruments to which it was a party. Initially this legislation had a significant impact, particularly on removing occupational barriers to women, but subsequent progress on achieving anti-discrimination goals has been modest. More recently, however, there are indications that the groundwork for a new, broader approach to discrimination is being developed on several fronts. Unlike the universalist approach of the 1970s, the new approach is likely to be driven by three major forces: first, the need to respond to the failures of the initial legislation, in particular its failure to advance pay equity and fully advance non-discriminatory access to employment; second, to reflect new developments and challenges that have been identified in discrimination law over recent decades; and third, to shape discrimination law to reflect the values and demographics of contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand.