The National Council of Women NZ - Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa is delighted that the immense contribution women make to our community and society has been recognised in the recent Queens Birthday Honours, where women received 52% of the awards.

On average, women have been awarded 49% of the Queen’s Birthday Honours over the past five years, Suzanne Manning, President of NCWNZ, says. “These awards acknowledge the voluntary and often unsung contribution women make in so many areas of New Zealand life,” Dr Manning said.

“NCWNZ congratulates the 89 women who received awards, and especially those who are associated with the Te Kaunihera Wahine, such as Carol Beaumont, an NCWNZ Board member, and other women who belong to organisations that are affiliated with NCWNZ.

“We are pleased, too, that for the first time a person receiving an award has been identified as intersex.”

See more for an analysis of the Awards by sex and category; For media enquiries please contact 022 655 6512

Applications for NCWNZ Aspiring Board Member now open

Role:  Aspiring Board Member
Term: 8 months, until Conference February 2022
Location: National position 
Closes: 31 May 2021

Applications are invited for the Aspiring Board Member position until Conference at February 2022.

Do you believe in a Gender Equal New Zealand? If so, this is an exciting opportunity to join the board of New Zealand’s iconic gender equality organisation founded by Kate Sheppard - the National Council of Women New Zealand - as an Aspiring Board Member. Building on our 125 year history of advocating for social change, we’re in the midst of re-positioning ourselves to finish the job Kate started, and you could be a part of our new movement.

The Aspiring Board Member opportunity provides people with governance potential and ambition the opportunity to participate on a board and gain governance experience. It also provides the NCWNZ board with exposure to new talent, ideas and experiences. We are looking for an action-orientated professional committed to our cause and our organisation, with proven skills in financial management/strategy, including reporting, audit oversight and budgeting.

It is desirable to have any of:

• Skills in business enterprise, growth and investment
• Skills Fundraising, sponsorship and revenue diversification 
• A tertiary qualification in a finance and commerce-related field
• Membership of NCWNZ or knowledge of the organisation

In addition to governance, you will also contribute to the operations of NCWNZ, especially in the area of finance, audit and risk. 

Our current pro bono board meets monthly by zoom, and the commitment from each board member averages around 8 hours per week. 

The Board wishes to reflect the diverse nature of our population. Applicants representing tangata whenua, as well those representing minority ethnic groups are desired. For more information see the NCWNZ Skills and Diversity Matrix Policy 

To apply, please send a cover letter with a short explanation of why you would like to be considered for the role (no longer than 500 words) and your current CV to [email protected] by 31 May 2021.

Download this advert here

In 2020, UN Women launched its report, “Women´s Rights in Review 25 years after Beijing”, a comprehensive stock-take on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which remains the most comprehensive agenda for gender equality ever agreed. Despite extraordinary global challenges today, the report proves that positive change is possible, as shown by the success of women’s collective action to obtain accountability for crimes against them and the flourishing of feminist movements across the world. 

As was advised to members recently, the Board and Conference Committee have had to postpone the 2020 NCWNZ Conference and AGM. We have rescheduled the conference for Saturday/Sunday 27/28 February 2021. This takes account of the holiday season while still allowing the conference committee to finalise further details and allow branches to have a meeting before conference.

The Board decided on 11th November, that despite the best efforts of our small conference organising team of volunteers, we are unable to proceed with the NCWNZ Conference on 20 & 21 November. We thank them for their efforts thus far.

The National Council of Women of New Zealand has released the second Gender Equal NZ Gender Attitudes survey.

The research, undertaken every second year by Research NZ, aims to provide an ongoing gauge of attitudes towards gender in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The National Council of Women of New Zealand congratulates all recipients of the 2020 Queen’s Birthday honours, and welcomes the even balance in the awarding.

“It’s important to consider what we celebrate and award at this level – as it reflects what we value in society,” says National Council of Women of New Zealand President, Lisa Lawrence.

“The impact of COVID-19 on women and existing gender inequalities has been almost entirely lacking in the public discourse. Budget 2020 has made a huge investment in rebuilding – what is not clear is whether the specific needs of women are recognised and whether there is a clear commitment to measuring implementation to ensure that the investments announced start to address gender inequality” said Lisa Lawrence, President of the National Council of Women of New Zealand.

“In the lead up to the Budget the Minister of Finance indicated that we needed to respond, recover and rebuild so that New Zealand absolutely can 'Be the country we have always said we want to be'. Today he talked of the need to hit the reset button. We want this too.” 

“Our benefit system is having to be tweaked and augmented to get us through this crisis, but once we have landed in the new normal we will still be living in unequal communities.”

That from the President of the National Council of Women New Zealand, Lisa Lawrence who believes that we need to tip the table and start afresh.