WELLINGTON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government reached a major milestone in its commitment to eliminate the gender pay gap in the public service, as new Gender Pay Principles are launched on Monday.

"These five principles represent significant progress for women who've waited too long to be recognized fairly at work," Women's Minister Julie Anne Genter said in a statement.

These principles will guide all government work on gender pay and are a significant step forward for the whole of the state sector, Genter said.

The five Gender Pay Principles are: Freedom from bias and discrimination; Transparency and accessibility; Acknowledging the relationship between paid and unpaid work; Sustainability; and Participation and engagement.

The principles were developed by a bi-partite working group of state sector unions and agencies, including the State Services Commission, State Services Minister Chris Hipkins said.

Their purpose is to ensure working environments in the state sector are free from gender-based inequalities, Hipkins said.

The government recognizes that workplace gender equality must be addressed by policies around recruitment, remuneration, career progression, and many more, he said.