Ko Te Mata taku maunga

Ko Tukituki taku awa

Ko Tau iwi

Ko Ngāti Pākehā ahau

Taku ingoa, ko Steve Chadwick

 

Rau rangatira mā, tēnei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā – mana wahine. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

 

Thank you Chris for your warm welcome, and greetings to Christchurch Deputy Mayor Norm Withers, and to Altrusa International Vice President Dona Garretson. I hope, Dona, that you are enjoying Christchurch.

 

This is the first time I have spoken to Altrusa as Minister of Women’s Affairs, so I would like to begin by thanking you for the wonderful work that Altrusa does in the community.  While I appreciate that Altrusa members take a keen interest in issues of international concern, I deeply admire and respect your dedication to solving problems that are much closer, the ones we can all see from our own back yards if we look hard enough – and sometimes we don’t have to look that hard. 

 

I note that the very first of the ten principles articulated by Altrusa founder, Mamie L Bass, back in 1917 was to be a ‘Builder of Women’; this seems a good guiding principle for a Minister of Women’s Affairs too.

 

I have been asked to talk about women in Parliament, including my own experience, and then about the key issues for women today and how organisations like Altrusa can help to progress these issues.

 

I am one of 38 women Members of Parliament.  I feel proud that I am part of this shift towards a more gender-representative government. We are doing well in terms of women’s representation – the world average is only 18 per cent. MMP has made a difference to how we do things in New Zealand and it has certainly made a difference in our House of Parliament.

 

My women colleagues and I bring a different and valuable set of skills to government. For the first time in New Zealand’s history, women have strong and clear voices in these corridors. We bring with us lifetimes of experience in listening, caring and multi-tasking. Many of us are here because of our conviction to social justice.

 

It is a wonderfully fulfilling job, but I think, particularly for those with young children, it can also be hugely demanding.  Any working mum knows how difficult it is juggling work and the needs of the kids, their partner, and their wider family.  I admire the MPs who manage this balancing act and I empathise with those who have made the decision to put family first.  For MPs, the job also means that you are working away from home during the week, and have electorate commitments in the weekend.  I think you will find that, like me, most MPs do the job because they feel strongly about making a positive difference to people’s lives.

 

What makes it worthwhile and fulfilling for me is knowing that the hard work this government has done, and continues to do, is making a difference to families young and old all over New Zealand. For me, it is a continuation of what I have been doing all my life.

 

I was lucky to be brought up in a family that encouraged us all to speak our minds and have the courage of our convictions. Family is important to me and my career has always been related, in one way or another, to helping families in all their diversity.

 

Before entering Parliament in 1999, I worked for nearly 30 years in Rotorua as a nurse and midwife, and also as a manager of Women, Child and Family Services for the local District Health Board.

 

In those roles I saw women from all backgrounds, including those who were impoverished, or abused, or lacked the basic opportunities that many New Zealanders take for granted. Seeing the range and depth of women’s needs was one of the things that led me to become politically involved and to want to do things that would make a real difference to women’s lives.

 

I joined the Women’s Electoral Lobby in the 1970s and helped that group start Rotorua’s first Women’s Refuge in 1978. That was a direct response to the number of battered women who were having babies under my care. Even though we had no money, we managed to get the refuge up-and-running.

 

A similar motivation led me to help set up Rotorua’s first family planning clinic. I saw so many young women having babies who didn’t have good family support, or access to contraception, and I felt that something had to be done.

 

My focus since entering Parliament has stayed on issues that have a big impact on women’s lives, especially health and development issues.

 

Last year I was delighted to be given the Women’s Affairs portfolio, not only because of my strong interest in women’s issues, but also because as Minister, I am in a better position to help bring about change where it is needed.  I am passionate about making our country a safe place to live and grow, and I have seen first hand how the empowerment of women can create positive outcomes for entire communities.

 

And of course, we still have work to do. We are working towards a country that values the needs of families. The Flexible Working Hours Bill has recently passed into law and the Work Breaks and Infant feeding Bill has just passed its first reading. These two bills alone could change the way families juggle their work and home commitments in the future.

 

As a society, we do not value highly enough the roles of parents and caregivers. Not every mother wants to be in the paid workforce while bringing up children, but many do seek paid work through interest or through necessity. Over the past few years we have taken action to help women achieve a better balance between work and family life. This includes the introduction and extension of paid parental leave, free early childhood education and the Working For Families package.

These are some successes – but here are a couple of challenges. The gender pay gap in New Zealand is still 12 per cent and the effects of occupational segregation are a big contributor to that figure. As a country we need to change the way we think about what a “girl’s” job is and what a “boy’s” job is. We won’t see equity until we get equality.

 

We need to ensure that all women enjoy the benefits of living in New Zealand, including groups like migrant women that can so easily become marginalised.

 

We need to see more women in leadership positions. It’s very disturbing that less than 9 per cent of directors on our top 100 listed companies are women.

 

And we need to ensure women’s safety and well-being in New Zealand.  Ending violence against women is something very important to me personally, and it illustrates the way that government needs to work with communities and with NGOs like Altrusa.

 

We have been struggling for years to make an impact on our terrible rates of family violence and sexual violence, but now I believe we are beginning to see the first signs of change.

 

You may be familiar with the series of advertisements which form part of the ‘It’s not OK!’ campaign; this is one example of the work that is being done to eliminate family violence. The advertising is at the heart of a campaign to change attitudes towards family violence – and ultimately to change behaviour. Research after the first round of advertisements showed that New Zealanders had understood the message that family violence is never okay. Judging by the numbers of calls to the helpline, people are also hearing the second part of the message – that it is okay to ask for help.

 

There is a huge range of work being undertaken to address family and sexual violence, and this illustrates our determination to make women free from violence.

 

Today I’ve touched on what the government is doing, but we know we can’t do this on our own. We need organisations like Altrusa to use their community and business networks to champion change.

 

You can do this by supporting women and organisations in your communities who, like you, are working to build strong women.

 

You can do it by talking in your families and in your wider networks about issues like family violence, so that those who have been voiceless know that they are understood and will be supported.

 

If you own shares in companies, ask questions at the AGM, like why mainly men are nominated as directors, and point out the significant international research that shows companies with diversity on their boards are more profitable.

 

You can ask similar questions of parliament, keeping the pressure on government to close the pay gap and to meet its own target of 50 per cent women on state sector boards and committees by 2010.

 

And you can lead by example, and encourage others too – put yourselves up for leadership positions in the workplace, in your children’s schools, or in your own organisation.  I know that Altrusan clubs get together annually for workshops, conferences and leadership training. You could use these for discussion around how to increase the number women on boards, and to identify possible candidates amongst yourselves for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs nominations database.  At club nights, make women on boards a regular topic for discussion; encourage and help those with potential to develop their talents; or urge those who may already have the talents – such as your senior leadership teams – to put their names forward.

 

I am sure that, with all of us making an effort together, we can achieve a future in which all New Zealanders are able to achieve their best.

 

Again, thank you for your tremendous work and best wishes for the rest of your conference.

 

Thank you.