Inspiring change on Suffrage Day

“As a country we led the way with Suffrage, let’s continue to lead the way for further change,” the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hekia Parata, told a breakfast at Parliament this morning to celebrate Suffrage Day.

Suffrage day marks the anniversary of those who pioneered New Zealand Women's right to vote in 1893. 

"As a country New Zealand has had many firsts, being the first women in the world to gain the right to vote was a significant achievement for women's independence in our national and international history," said Ms Parata.

“I have just returned from the APEC Women and the Economy Summit in San Francisco and by world standards women in New Zealand are doing well.

“We rank highly in international surveys, such as the latest Global Gender Gap Report, where we are fifth, behind the Scandinavians. However, there is always more that can be done.''

Ms Parata said the Government has implemented a number of initiatives over the last three years which have benefited New Zealand women including investing more in education and health and employment assistance programmes, and changing the tax system which has seen the after-tax average wage increase 2% faster than inflation over the last year.

“We have also introduced Police Safety Orders which allow Police to remove an alleged violent person from the home for a period of up to five days. Over five thousand of these have been issued since their introduction in July of last year – and over 80% of these have been issued to protect women.”

Ms Parata said the Government has also made good progress on its goal of getting more women participating in the economy and in leadership roles.

"A recent report by Investment Bank, Goldman Sachs, said New Zealand could increase its GDP by a further 10 percent by increasing women’s participation in the economy.

"The report recommended a number of ways the gender gap could be reduced many of which the Government is already undertaking.

“We are starting to see change. The NZX recently proposed new rules that would require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women they have in senior roles, while the New Zealand Institute of Directors' has established a mentoring scheme aimed at improving the leadership and board opportunities available to New Zealand women,’’ said Ms Parata. 

"Women are absolutely critical to achieving a better future. The Government has an important role to play, but everybody must play their part.

“This Suffrage Day let’s celebrate the contribution made by our Suffragettes and in remembering the action they took to champion change take time to think about our own contribution to the future of our country."  

As part of Suffrage Day 2011, a new online database has been developed by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Archives New Zealand and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, to enable people to see if a relative was a suffragist.

The data base contains around 24,000 names and can be viewed at: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/petition