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It’s now easier for young girls and women to pursue career opportunities in science, technology engineering and maths, Womens’ Minister Louise Upston says.

The ‘STEM Directory’ is a new online tool launched by the Ministry for Women and identifies initiatives, programmes and associations through which young girls and women can connect, discover and learn about science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).

The Minister for Women Louise Upston has today welcomed the selection of the first Future Directors participant since the expansion to the state sector.

Ruth Smithers will join the WorkSafe New Zealand board early in the New Year, following the expansion of the Future Directors programme to include state sector boards and committees in June this year.

Minister for Women Louise Upston has today announced changes to the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women to strengthen its focus on breaking down barriers facing women in work.

“The aim of the Council is to drive genuine and sustainable change for women in the workplace, and ensure their skills are fully utilised. To achieve this, I have asked the Council to focus on five critical areas preventing women from reaching their potential at work.

The Government will update the Equal Pay Act and amend the Employment Relations Act to implement recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity.

This will make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts. It will also assist employers in addressing those claims.

“The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, which set out principles for raising and resolving pay equity claims through bargaining,” State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

The 2016 Enterprising Rural Women Awards have been announced overnight, with the winners displaying dynamic, resourceful and successful entrepreneurship and business acumen, the Minister for Women Louise Upston says.

Rotorua’s Amy Dibley, Founder and Director of Physio Direct was named the supreme winner of the annual awards, which are run by Rural Women New Zealand to showcase successful rural business women.

Louise Upston, Minister for Women, has congratulated the winners of the 2016 YWCA Equal Pay Awards.

The awards recognise best practice among business leaders actively tackling equal pay within their organisations.

“I am proud to support this initiative which celebrates employers that are committed to this very important work,” Ms Upston told the audience of business and state sector leaders.

ANZ was named Supreme winner.

Trophy winners also included Simpson Grierson, Youthtown Inc and Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation winning.

Minister for Women, Louise Upston, tonight announced the 2016 NEXT Woman of the Year award winners in Education, Health and Science, and Sports. 

The NEXT Woman of the Year annual awards celebrate outstanding female leaders across six diverse categories.

Ms Upston, who was a member of the judging panel, said to the 30 finalists that their success would inspire other women to aim high and push the boundaries of what they could accomplish.

Minister for Women Louise Upston says she’s disappointed to see an increase in the gender pay gap.

The New Zealand Income Survey released today by Statistics New Zealand shows the gender pay gap is now 12 percent, up from 11.8 per cent in 2015.

“While it’s been encouraging to see a downwards trend in Gender Pay Gap figures over the past 17 years, this year’s result is disappointing.”

Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, and Employment, and Minister for Women, Louise Upston has today opened the inaugural Women in Trades Conference, where she’s encouraged more women to consider a career in the trades.

“People need to push aside gender stereotypes and encourage young women to consider careers in trades where there is high growth and high demand, like building and construction.” Ms Upston said.

Minister for Women Louise Upston has today announced a reformed National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (‘the Council’), which will address key issues facing women in work.

The Council will be comprised of a group of highly experienced business people who will tackle the ongoing barriers to women’s full participation in the workforce. The new Council has the skills, knowledge and practical experience and will be key influencers and leaders of genuine and sustainable change for women in the workplace.

Minister for Women Louise Upston has welcomed funding for Women’s Refuge to help it continue to support women by giving them somewhere to go when they need emergency accommodation.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett announced that Budget 2016 funding, directly targeted at emergency housing, has so far resulted in 30 organisations providing 3032 new and existing emergency places.

That includes $200,000 per year for Women’s Refuge to fund more than 800 existing places around the country each year.

The best way to recognise the significance of the suffragists’ achievement 123 years ago is to engage and participate in the democratic process today, Minister for Women Louise Upston says.

“Women’s right to vote was a massive step towards gender equality and should never be considered lightly.”

On September 19, 1893, New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote.

Talofa lava, and warm Pacific greetings.

I wish to extend my deepest thanks to our hosts, the Government of Samoa.  

I want to acknowledge my counterpart, and our Chair for this meeting, the Hon Faimalotoa Kika Iemaima Stowers, Minister for Women, Community and Social Development. 

To my other Ministerial counterparts and colleagues who have travelled from far and wide, greetings to you all.

A special thanks to the Commonwealth Secretariat for their kind invitation to speak today.  I am honoured to be here.

Minister for Women Hon Louise Upston tomorrow travels to Apia to attend the eleventh Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting (11WAMM). While in Apia, Ms Upston will also meet with Samoan women leaders.

Ms Upston then travels to Australia to attend discussions with leaders on women’s leadership and economic independence.

“New Zealand has a strong tradition of gender equality. This is an important opportunity to share our work across the region and to learn from others,” Ms Upston said.

Although women are participating in the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, they remain under-represented in science, technology and engineering, Minister for Women Louise Upston said this week.

Ms Upston made the comments at a meeting of women scientists and engineers from the Asia Pacific region.

Every year, women with an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) gather to promote the interests of women in STEM and discuss gender issues unique to the region.

New Zealand women’s contribution to the economy continues to grow, said Minister for Women Louise Upston.

“The latest Household Labour Force Survey shows women’s participation is now 64.6 percent (June 2016 quarter), continuing an upward trend.

“Women’s employment rate is also high at 61.1 percent.  Compared with June 2015, there were 8,000 fewer unemployed women, and their unemployment rate fell from 6.2 percent to 5.4 percent.

State Owned Enterprises Minister Todd McClay called for nominations for the Boards of Airways Ltd, AsureQuality Ltd, Meteorological Service of New Zealand Ltd (MetService), and Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd (QV). 

Mr McClay says he is particularly looking for high calibre individuals, with strong commercial skills and is keen to receive applications from a diverse range of New Zealanders, particularly women, who are under-represented.

Minister for Women, Louise Upston is also encouraging a greater number of women to put themselves forward for consideration.

Minister for Women Hon Louise Upston is calling for nominations the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW).

NACEW’s purpose is to provide high quality advice and inform government policy development. It is directly responsible to the Minister for Women.

Ms Upston acknowledges the significant role NACEW has played in advocating for women in employment since its establishment in 1967 and appreciates the contribution of current and former members over the years.

Minister for Women Louise Upston has submitted the Government’s latest report to the United Nations on New Zealand’s efforts to eliminate discrimination against women.

New Zealand is required to periodically report on the country’s performance under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This is the eighth report New Zealand has provided since ratifying the Convention in 1985.

Expanding the Institute of Directors’ Future Directors programme to state sector boards will have strong benefits for governance, Minister for Women Louise Upston announced today.

“New Zealand has a relatively small pool of directors and this programme will help us create a larger and more diverse pipeline of talent,” she said.

We must celebrate and cherish the women who devote their time and energy to voluntary work, says Hon Louise Upston, Minister for Women.

“Women are often the first to volunteer in a range of areas, sharing their experience and providing essential services,” she said.

“These women rarely seek the spotlight, yet the work they do has a positive impact on our communities. We need to give them the recognition they deserve.”

Ms Upston made the comments in recognition of National Volunteer Week.

New Zealand now has the highest ever percentage of women on state sector boards and committees, Minister for Women Louise Upston announced today.

“I am pleased to report that women represented 43.4 per cent of state sector boards and committees, at the end of 2015. This is a significant increase on 41.7 per cent in 2014.

51.4 percent of Ministerial appointments to boards in 2015 were women.

Ms Upston also challenged the private sector employers to encourage the next level of leaders.

New Zealand had a strong voice in discussions on gender equality and the empowerment of women at the United Nations in New York last week.

“New Zealand has an international reputation for working towards gender equality. We value this opportunity to share our work and learn from others, to improve the lives of women,” said Ms Upston.

New Zealand’s National Statement at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women was presented by Ministry for Women Chief Executive Dr Jo Cribb on 18 March.

New Zealand can be proud of its reputation as a nation that empowers women to lead independent and self-determining lives, said Minister for Women Louise Upston, but we can’t be complacent in our progress towards gender equality.

The Minister made the comments in response to International Women’s Day – a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.