University of Auckland
Auckland

Thank you for inviting me here this evening. I've been asked to tell you about my role as the Minister of Women’s Affairs, what the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is all about and what feminism means today.

Is this relevant to men? Yes it is. I believe that there has been a bit of a backlash against the issues that feminists had to fight for and it is important that men understand that liberation from sex role stereotyping is also liberating for men.

I am often asked at meetings how we can more actively engage with men so that we can work on issues together. Women are acutely aware that they are being asked to address issues that have a gender bias, when removing that bias requires men to act.

I have been conducting a series of meetings around the country explaining my role as Minister of Women’s Affairs. I have a strong belief that women still need a strong, well-informed voice at the Cabinet table. People often challenge whether this is necessary; but, when you consider that many of the gains that have been made for women have occurred in my lifetime and many continue to suffer attacks from conservative quarters, it means that we must be vigilant to protect against their challenge; and, let’s face it, despite those gains we still have work to do.

I was gobsmacked when I learned about the Burger King advertisements. I don't watch enough TV to see them. They are exploitative, plain and simple, and we should not tolerate them. I am appalled that Burger King is appealing the advertising standards authority decision against them. I read an article in the paper at the weekend quoting a former model who is as appalled as I am. She, like me, thought such advertising had been consigned to history.

Are young people unaware of the struggle our forebears had to undergo to combat sexist portrayals of women? What about those rights and legal protections we now take for granted, such as equal pay for equal work; safe and legal abortion; and, the law against rape within marriage, for example? Are you all aware of the reality that awaits you?

You are all students studying alongside each other, and yet graduate women can expect that their salaries will gradually differentiate from their male counterparts and that there will be subtle differences in expectations that will be applied by employers to each group.

Nine public service departments have reviewed the pay and employment conditions for men and women within their organisations and in the public health sector five district health boards are carrying out the same review. We're now extending this process to a number of Crown entities and state-owned enterprises and other organisations whose work is government funded.

These reviews will help identify changes needed to the way pay issues and working conditions are addressed. We recognise that every organisation is different and there cannot be a blanket approach. In the current climate of low unemployment and skill shortages, achieving pay and employment equity is one way employers can ensure women want to return to work after parental leave.

David Lange opened the Ministry of Women's Affairs 20 years ago last year with a challenge to demolish the structure of inequality. The National Party has flip-flopped on its promise to scrap the Ministry of Women's Affairs but having read the Hollow Men I am not convinced that this will last. I remember how quickly after the 1990 election National repealed the employment equity legislation. Their tolerance for the disparity that exists between men and women – and their outrage at any hint that women may be overtaking men in some areas, such as in participation in tertiary education, reinforces my view that many of the gains we have made are still fragile.

We need to be mindful of the reality that there is also a well resourced, influential international movement that masks its conservative desire to return men to the head of the household, the boardroom and the political arena, behind the language of family values. No one can argue against the values themselves - they actually are Labour values - but they are used to obscure the real agenda. This movement wants to reassert the dominant role of men as head of the household. It wants to promote the imposition of physical discipline as a parental right in stead of asserting a child's need for a disciplined upbringing with clear boundaries and values to build character. It is content to see women undervalued and underpaid – it opposes minimum wage increases and seeks to restore fault-based divorce and advocates morality as the basis for law. This is pure rhetoric and it scares me how closely they came to winning government last time.

Instead of just talking about 'family values' Labour 'values families'. The Working for Families tax credits represent the largest financial return to families the country has seen.

Complaints that the pendulum has swung too far in favour of women have come from unexpected quarters – Massey University pro-vice chancellor Professor James Chapman was quoted last week bemoaning the fact that a graduating class of teachers comprised just 15 men out of a total of 158 graduands. But, he's missing the point. That particular class may have had a lower proportion of men than usual but that is not the national trend.

I had a look at some statistics about teachers and over the past ten years the ratio of male to females has barely moved. In 1998 19 per cent of primary teachers were male and in 2007 the figure is 18 per cent. Over the same decade male secondary teachers went from 45 per cent to 42 per cent. That is hardly an example of men leaving the profession in droves. And there are other reasons why young men are reluctant to enter primary school teaching – status is one and the other is the fear of being accused of inappropriate behaviour. I believe these are the issues that we need to address; not grandstanding on the mantra of "political correctness". It is a cheap and easy headline but holds no substance.

While the numbers of women going to university has been increasing compared to men, I also feel compelled to point out that between 1998 and 2005 (the latest figures I could find) the numbers of males graduating from the male dominated area of engineering has increased further – from 79 per cent to 83 per cent.

As with teaching, in the female-dominated field of nursing numbers of males barely moved – 7 per cent of graduates were males in 1998, it rose to a high of 10 per cent in 2002 then dropped again slightly to 8 per cent in 2005. But who wants to be employed as a nurse when there are opportunities to run your own business as a qualified tradesperson?

I believe that Kiwis are generally supportive of the notion of gender equality and as a nation New Zealand is committed to improving outcomes for women. We genuinely see that equality and advancement of women is essential to improving outcomes for all of us.

With this in mind, the whole-of-government Action Plan for New Zealand Women (the Action Plan), was released by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in March 2004. The goals of the Action Plan are to: improve the economic independence of women, achieve greater work-life balance for families, and improve the quality of life of New Zealand women.

I have heard some women worry that the voice of women would be lost due to the government's arrangements on confidence and supply with United Future and New Zealand First. But make no mistake - this is a Labour-led government, with Labour values and Labour ways of doing things.

This government's agenda makes my job particularly easy in some respects. My Cabinet and other Labour colleagues are highly supportive of gender analysis and the work of the Ministry of Women's Affairs. The Prime Minister herself takes a special interest in ensuring that women's issues receive attention. Nevertheless, I still occasionally need to remind my colleagues and their departments of the importance of identifying and understanding potential impacts on women of particular policy proposals.

I have no difficulty raising these issues with my colleagues and that in part is due to the consistently high-quality work of the Ministry. The Ministry's role is to provide high-quality policy advice to government based on solid and well-researched evidence about how to make a difference in women's lives. There is a difference between advocacy and policy input.

Quality research can help shape the government's focus and providing quality research on issues of concern to women is a key responsibility of the Ministry. I admit to frustration when I hear statistics being quoted to deflect from the seriousness of the problem.

For example, on a pure 'knock for knock' basis women and men admit to equal levels of violence (he tried to strangle her, she kicked him in the shin), but it's the next question they are asked that highlights the difference: 'were you afraid?' When men are violent against their intimate partners, it is the fear they evoke that enables us to understand why it is that so many women die at the hands of their partners or former partners rather than the other way round. Quality research takes us beyond the bald statistics to shed light on the real issues. Women's Affairs undertakes or commissions that research to ensure that women's experiences come through.

The same is true in the area of sexual violence. Women are overwhelmingly the adult victims of sexual violence which means there are gender issues to be addressed. What I am saying is that I have an important role in ensuring that women's issues are not lost in these days of 'gender neutrality'.

Another priority for me is women in leadership. The public debate on this would cause most people to think there is no problem given the high profile of a small number of very talented women. There is still the view that women are running the country. I keep looking down the layers but I just don't see women coming through in sufficient numbers. Women continue to be under-represented in leadership roles in most sectors, and we compare poorly with our international counterparts in terms of participation rates on boards of listed companies.

Governments have proven that the women are available, with women making up 41 percent of the government appointments to state sector boards and committees. This contrasts to the top 100 listed companies in 7 percent participation rates.

My proposition is not about tokenism; I make a business case for diversity - that boards with diversity show better performance.

The Ministry is the smallest of the public service agencies and, as such, must take a strategic approach: choosing where it can make a difference, where women are marginalised or vulnerable, where a large number of women are affected, where there is opportunity for traction on seemingly intractable problems, and where government agencies might need expert gender analysis to support their efforts to address problems.

The Ministry is well-attuned to emerging issues. Its helicopter view across government helps it to make linkages across government policies and draw together the sometimes siloed work of other government agencies. We have found that working collaboratively and constructively with others is a highly effective approach. Often, both the Ministry and I work behind the scenes and are happy for others to take the credit for the results. Labour in government is very much a team effort.

I spoke earlier about the need for changes in attitudes. But transitions in attitudes can be challenging for women as well as men. An example is the contradictory social attitudes towards working mothers. A recent Massey University survey found that half the respondents believed a working mother could establish as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who did not work, while 40 percent believed a child under five suffers when their mother works full-time.
Women are more likely than men to take on responsibilities for childcare, elder care and housework. The government introduced paid parental leave and last year's extension of eligibility to the self-employed means paid parental leave is now available to nearly 90 per cent of all women in paid work. In terms of the wider application of these provisions we are still seeing only a very small number of leave transfers to fathers.

I have made it a high priority to talk to women and women's groups about their role in changing the norms, and breaking down gender stereotypes. The role of men and boys in this process is also critical. As I said before, men's choices are also limited by gender stereotypes, and policies that benefit women will also benefit men.

Let's remember the significant advances that New Zealand women have made over the past two decades. The Ministry's role in providing policy advice has made a real difference for women.

The first Minister of Women's Affairs, (Dame) Ann Hercus, said that: "We are the only government department working for our own demise."

I think its work will be done when all arms of government routinely and without fuss undertake gender analysis in their work; when women are equally rewarded for work of equal value, and when we no longer comment on women leaders – because, well, it happens from time to time and who cares?

The current political environment and backlash against some of the gains made by women do not daunt me or the Labour-led government. In fact, effective leadership is about setting the agenda.

As Minister I remain committed to achieving David Lange's original vision for the Ministry: that of demolishing the structure of inequality.

Our central themes for this term of government - economic transformation, strengthening families young and old, and building our identity as a nation - are all about building sustainable economic growth, while at the same time promoting an inclusive society that values its diversity and creativity, and that helps us all to be proud to be New Zealanders. And women's roles in all of these are critical, but our interests are not and never will be mutually exclusive to those of men's.

I hope that provides some food for thought. And I look forward to your comments.