Women in New Zealand

Political and legal history

18th century

Prior to the colonisation of New Zealand, Māori women held a range of roles and responsibilities in society. High ranking Māori women could and did own and inherit land. Māori women held positions of social influence and some were signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 which was a document between Māori and the British Crown to 'establish British law in new Zealand, while at the same time guaranteeing Māori authority over their land and culture.'

During the early to mid nineteenth century there were significant political and legal differences between the worlds of Māori and European women. Married European women were considered to be subsumed under their husbands' legal status and could not own land. With the introduction of the English legal system that occurred concurrently with the Crown of England establishing governance over New Zealand, in keeping with British common law, Māori women also became chattels of their husbands. The restricted position of women under English laws and customs constrained the actions of Māori and European women.

The first groups of Europeans to visit New Zealand at the end of the 18th century were almost all men and were sealers, whalers and missionaries. Men outnumbered women in the European populations as measured in a census from 1861 to 1926. Even though the founders of European settlement in New Zealand such as the New Zealand Company encouraged settlement by families instead of single men because women were believed to have a "civilising" influence there were still more men, mostly because of migration.

Late 19th century

After the New Zealand Wars around the late 1860s and early 1870s, iwi throughout New Zealand forged links to work together to have autonomy and a say through political means. Māori women were particularly influential at this time.

Ann Robertson is thought to be the first women to address parliament in 1884.

The Supreme Court ruled in November 1888 that a married woman could not hold a hotel licence to be a publican.

In 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to allow women to vote. This included both European and Māori women. Elizabeth Yates became the first female mayor in the British Empire in 1893.

Early 20th century

In 1919 women were allowed to run for Parliament, and Elizabeth McCombs became the first women elected to the Parliament in 1933.

In the 1920 to 1950 period, there were significant changes in public policy that gradually extended economic citizenship to women. Attention at first focused on single women; later there were improvements for married women as well. Initially, families were the focus of benefit, so that the living wage applied only to married men with families to support. No women on their own were entitled to unemployment relief. Policy shifts partly reflected changes in the occupational profile of women from domestic to industrial employment.

1940s – 1970s

Early twentieth-century party leaders were reluctant to allow women rights beyond basic suffrage, but wartime sped up change. By 1972, the Second Wave of Feminism and the changing attitudes of some party leaders resulted in women gaining more opportunities to become MPs and by 2001 an unprecedented number of women held leadership positions in the New Zealand Parliament.

World War II made women more visible and more essential. The absence of service men lead to the first women police officers completing their training in 1941. On October 26, 1942, the Women Jurors Act was passed which for the first time allowed women between the ages of 25 and 60 to have their names placed on the jury list on the same basis as men. Elaine Kingsford was New Zealand's first female juror and she sat on a case at the Auckland Supreme Court in 1943. Mary Anderson became the first woman to sit on a Magistrate's Court Bench in 1943 and then in 1946 she and Mary Dreaver, a former Member of the House of Representatives, became the first women to be appointed to the Legislative Council.

In 1949, Iriaka Rātana became the first Māori woman to win a seat in Parliament. By the late twentieth century there are many examples of women influencing politics and the legal system. One significant event was the 1975 Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper protesting ongoing Māori land alienation. She was 79 when she led this march commonly called a hīkoi (march) from the top of the North Island to Wellington to submit a petition to the prime minister, a walk of 1000 km.

Addressing inequalities for women came into play in New Zealand in the early 1970s with the Equal Pay Act 1972. This requires employers to pay men and women the same wages for the same work.

The protests of another Māori woman, Eva Rickard, over land also took place in the mid 1970s. Rickard was protesting land that was confiscated during World War II but then not returned as per the agreement. Later Rickard stood for Parliament for the Mana Motuhake Party and also formed her own party, Mana Māori.

1980s – 2000

A woman created much unintended publicity over a controversy in 1984 when telephone tolls operator Naida Glavish (of Ngāti Whātua) answered calls with the Māori language greeting ‘Kia ora’. Her supervisor insisted that she use only English greetings, Glavish refused and was demoted.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs was established in 1985, and is known in 2020 as the Ministry for Women.

In 1990 Dame Catherine Tizard, a former mayor of Auckland, became the first woman governor-general and held the post until 1996. Dame Silvia Cartwright became the first woman High Court judge in 1993.

In 1997 Jenny Shipley became the first woman prime minister of New Zealand. Prior to becoming prime minister, Shipley held several portfolios, including women's affairs, but was best known for social welfare and health, where she oversaw radical and sometimes controversial reforms driven by Ruth Richardson's policies. After leaving Parliament, Shipley became a company director in Auckland, she also became Dame Jenny Shipley in 2009. Whilst Shipley was prime minister for only two years, she held some strong and influential views on what constituted leadership. For Shipley, leadership meant that when things happen, you pick yourself up and make the best of the situation.

In 1999, Helen Clark became the second woman (and first elected woman) prime minister of New Zealand. Clark served three terms in office and was prime minister until 2008. When Clark resigned as Labour Party leader in 2008, she joined the UN and in 2017 the Richtopia list named Clark as the third most influential woman in the world. Clark ran for the position of Secretary General in 2017 though was unsuccessful. Clark says herself that while she did not find there was a glass ceiling in New Zealand to break, she met one in the UN where countries were just not used to women leaders, like New Zealand was.

2000 to present

In 2001 Dame Silvia Cartwright became governor-general, which for the first time in New Zealand's history meant women held four of the country's top political and legal positions of prime minister (Helen Clark), opposition leader (Jenny Shipley), chief justice (Sian Elias) and attorney-general (Margaret Wilson).

In 2017, Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand's third female prime minister. She was re-elected in 2020.

In January 2019, women made up 40.8% of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament. There are 120 members, 49 of whom are women. In the 2020 election the percentage rose to a new high with close to 48% women. The Labour party won 64 seats and has 55% women. The Green party won 10 seats and has 70% women. In the ceremonial role of Usher of the Black Rod at State Opening of Parliament, Sandra McKie was appointed, the first time a woman performed these duties in the 128-year history of this event.

In 2020, the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 governs parental leave entitlements along with providing protections of rights of employees during pregnancy and parental leave.

Upon the swearing in of list MP Soraya Peke-Mason on 25 October 2022, parliament was for the first time in history represented 50% by women.