In our Countering Misogyny webinar in July, NCW's Influence and Decision Making Action Hub hosted a brave and inspiring discussion on the horrendous misogyny faced by women.

Panellists Sara Templeton, Miningarangi Forbes, Ali Mau and Kate Hannah shared their stories and insights into this resurgent area of concern for women in Aotearoa New Zealand. But it's clear there much more work we need to do.

The National Council of Women New Zealand, Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa (NCWNZ) joins with Abortion Law Reform New Zealand (ALRANZ) in condemning the United States Supreme Court judgment that overturns Roe v Wade.

“This is a massive set-back for women’s reproductive rights and we feel for American women and the grief and anguish they must be experiencing," NCWNZ President Dr Suzanne Manning said. "Banning abortions won’t make abortions disappear. It will only drive abortion underground, increase risk and escalate major health issues for women. Poor women, women of colour, disabled women and LGBTIQ people will be the worst affected."

Making a Splash

National Council of Women of NZ - Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa Conference
19 Feb 2021

All members are invited to attend the one day, online conference being hosted by the Southland Branch. The programme for the day can be found here.

Registration is as simple as emailing [email protected] with:

• Your name and "NIM" (individual members)
• Your branch, the names of your attendees, and indicate the voting delegates (branches)
• Your organisation name, the names of your attendees, and indicate your voting delegate (organisational members)

For more information, see the members communications that will be sent out during the next week. 

Here at Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa/The National Council of Women NZ, we are often inspired by the fabulous young women who do things to support our Gender Equal campaign.

These students from Mount Aspiring College in Wanaka took part in a Young Enterprise Scheme, selling homemade clay earrings, and then donated 10% of their profits to Gender Equal. We are appreciative and impressed. You can read more about them here. 

In the North Island, Taradale High School students Marjolaine and Hannah organised a local charity wash as part of a social studies 'social action' unit, and donated their profits to Gender Equal. This sort of flaxroots support for our mahi leaves us grateful that there are so many people who care. 

Thank you to these students, and to all our other supporters and donors. We couldn't do it without you. 

Fifty years after the Equal Pay Act of 1972, and 125 years after the first meeting of the National Council of Women NZ/ Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa called for Equal Pay for all genders, there is still a pay gap where women are paid on average 9% less than men (based on the median hourly rate). The gap between a Pasifika woman and a Pākehā man is more than 27%.

To push for more momentum on this critical equality issue, 35 organisations (including women's organisations like NCWNZ, unions and BusinessNZ) have joined forces in a new campaign: Mind the Gap. NCWNZ Board member, Carol Beaumont, was interviewed by RNZ The Detail on this important kaupapa. You can read about it and listen to the interview here.

Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa/The National Council of Women of NZ and UN Women Aotearoa wrote a joint letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Nanaia Mahuta, adding our voices to those of other women's groups calling for continued and extended action to support women and girls in Afghanistan. Our letter can be read here.

We have received a reply from the Minister, in which we were pleased to hear that our government is continuing to take action in this humanitarian crisis. These actions have included "issu[ing] visas to a number of vulnerable Afghan nationals, including human rights defenders, women judges and those from ethnic minority communities at risk", providing targeted assistance to the UN Population Fund (UNPF) and Children's Fund (UNICEF) for services for women and girls, and making statements in international fora, calling for the protection of women's rights in Afghanistan. You can read Minister Mahuta's letter here. 

Interactions like this between civil society/NGOs and the government are important, to provide transparency on the government's actions and to give clear indications to the government on what civil society considers important. We are an interconnected global village, and gender equality should not be a privilege only available to a lucky minority.  

National Council of Women branches around the country have been celebrating Suffrage Day 2021, some by reaching out to the media. We celebrate the mahi of our knowledgeable writers along with the media journalists and editors who help us tell our story to the world. Check out these articles written by Southland branch writers for the Southland Times, and by Whanganui writers for the Whanganui Chronicle and the River City Press: 

Are we there yet? The road to women's rights is long but we will get there (Margaret Cook)

Imagine life without fear of being judged (Rebecca Amundsen)

Hope for the inclusion of all cultures in New Zealand (Lyn Devery)

Ongoing work by women's organisations part of equality solution (Vanya Bailey)

Empowering women is a step towards nondiscrimination (Bev Chesney)

The ongoing struggle for women's rights in New Zealand (Carla Donson)

125 years of National Council of Women of NZ (Jenny Saywood - 16th Sep 2021, p. 8)

NCWNZ calls on government to increase its support for Afghan women on Suffrage Day 2021

On the 128^th anniversary of New Zealand women being the first in the world to win the right to vote, the National Council of Women Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa is concerned at the fragility of women’s rights around the world, and how easily rights that have been hard-won over decades can be erased, the President of NCWNZ, Dr Suzanne Manning, said today.

“We are particularly concerned at the situation in Afghanistan, where there are reports of ongoing human rights abuses, of women losing their basic right to education and employment, being excluded from society and forced to retreat into their homes,” Dr Manning said.

“We are calling on our government on Suffrage Day 2021 to announce additional measures to support women and girls in Afghanistan, and for the evacuation of at-risk Afghanis – especially women and girls who were associated with Aotearoa New Zealand’s mission in Afghanistan,” Dr Manning said.

“We support the call by numerous organisations and leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand for the government to increase the number of Afghanistan refugees we admit, to prioritise applications from women and girls, and to expedite the processing of Refugee Family Support visas and Critical Purpose Visitor visas.”

“We are also adding our voice to the voices of women leaders around the world who are calling for the government of Afghanistan to refrain from violence against women and girls and to uphold the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan,” Dr Manning said.

Even as we recognise our suffrage history and the work of suffragists and wāhine toa before us, we must also acknowledge that there is still much work to be done to achieve equality and better lives for women in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

For further information contact:

Dr Suzanne Manning, President, NCWNZ

[email protected]

022 655 6512