PWC has been working at pace this calendar year coordinating the NWCNZ submissions process: researching opportunities, distributing Action Items, editing and lodging written submissions, and supporting oral submissions. As I type this update the 20th written submission for 2025 is in progress, with the Education Action Hub responding to the Proposal to replace NCEA. NCWNZ submissions are made publically available on our website, see Submissions - National Council of Women of New Zealand.

In addition, our oral submissions will total seven. The very recent three are:

• the Economic Independence Action Hub on the People's Select Committee on Pay Equity (see separate article by Rosemary Du Plessis);
• the Safety Health and Wellbeing Action Hub on the Healthy Future (Pae Ora Amendment Bill (S25.19 on the website), and
• the Online Safety Coalition (convened by NCWNZ) on the Inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders encounter online (see S25.17 on the website).

Rosemary Du Plessis – on presenting to the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity

I presented the NCWNZ oral submission during the third hearing of the Committee on Monday 25 August, as lead writer Irene Ryan was unavailable. Although actively involved in the full submission, coordinating the Ōtautahi Christchurch Branch response and as an Economic Independence Action Hub member, it was a bit daunting to present to such a high-powered set of women, and to condense our key points to the allocated fifteen minutes in total -- and we needed to leave time for questions/discussion.  For submissions and recording see:

• NCWNZ Submissions: NCWNZ Submissions;S25.15_ORAL_People's_Select_Committee_on_Pay_Equity.pdf and  S25.15_People's_Select_Committee_on_Pay_Equity.pdf
• Select Committee recording: YouTube https://share.google/CR4YgbDYcvab71f2z see 2.09.50 - 2.29.06

Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025

On 6 May 2025, the Government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 under urgency, replacing the 2020 legislation without consultation or a Regulatory Impact Statement. This abrupt legislative change discontinued 33 active pay equity claims—some close to settlement—and made future claims significantly harder to pursue. The new law raised the threshold for female-dominated work to 70% over 10 years (previously 60%), introduced a 10-year bar on repeat claims for the same employees, and gave employers greater control over claim eligibility and the right to opt out of multi-employer claims. It also restricted the selection of comparator occupations, making it harder to demonstrate pay inequities across sectors, and prohibited review clauses in settlements—undermining long-term accountability.

On Tuesday 26 August 2025, the Hamilton Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand hosted a well-attended Meet the Candidates evening at the Waikato Cathedral Church of St Peter, 51 Victoria Street. The event drew 33 local government candidates and a strong audience of engaged voters.

Sarah Thomson, one of the women mayoral candidates

At 7 am on a fresh Dunedin winter’s morning, 100 young women from the local secondary schools gathered at The Edgar Centre, Dunedin’s premier sporting area, to listen to six inspiring young women who have followed diverse paths to achieve real success in their fields.

The aim of this breakfast is to show students that, even though you face apparently insurmountable obstacles, there is often an unexpected pathway to success.

On Friday, 15 August 2025, NCWNZ members had the pleasure of attending the Inside the Glass Cage: Online Misogyny in Aotearoa New Zealand exhibition at Te Auaha Gallery in Wellington. This was a collaboration between researchers Tracey Nicholls, Suze Wilson, Sarah Riley and Rochelle Stewart-Withers, with artist Richard Brown, to show the results of the Marsden-funded research project that is in its first year.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is not the only international treaty that recognises rights for women. Members of the International Action Hub are writing a series of articles on the many different international treaties to which New Zealand is a signatory and how this impacts women and girls.

The United Nations' Convention Against Torture & Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by UN General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984 and entered into force on 26 June 1987. New Zealand ratified the CAT on 10 December 1989.

The Optional Protocol to the CAT seeks to prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment through the establishment of a system of regular visits to places of detention carried out by independent international and national bodies. It was adopted by resolution A/RES/57/199 on 18 December 2002 at the 57th session of the UN General Assembly and entered into force on 22 June 2006. New Zealand ratified the Optional Protocol on 14 March 2007.

In July, the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand, Graduate Women Wellington, and Zonta Club of Wellington, came together to co-host the Annual Women's Debate 2025: "Parity in Politics."

The panel, moderated by award-winning journalist and broadcaster for RNZ Susie Ferguson, featured:

• Susan Freeman-Greene, Chief Executive of Local Government New Zealand
• Tory Whanau, Mayor of Wellington City
• Rebecca Matthews, Wellington City Councillor
• Afnan Al-Rubayee, Senior public servant and community leader

This year's debate resulted in a powerful kōrero about the challenges and barriers women face in local government and what is being done to address these and make a #GenderEqualNZ in our local politics.

Kia ora och hej from Sweden,

I have spent some time with family and friends here over summer, and rather cunningly I might add, avoiding the worst of winter at the same time. I also took the opportunity to meet with Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer.

Patriarchy ends here

They are an umbrella organisation, like ours in many ways, and it was very interesting to hear about their work and priorities to promote gender equality in Sweden. One of their many strengths is analysis and they do a thorough annual report on the government budget from a gender lens. This year’s budget did not get a good report card.

Sweden has a really strong reputation for gender equality, but like many, are feeling the effects of the global context for women and girls changing for the worse. One - of many - interesting projects they are part of focuses on democracy: MOTERIS, Protecting the Civic Space of Women and Girls. This project is a collaboration between fourteen European Union countries and includes both monitoring progress as well as capability lifting. This is in response to decreased funding, access and lack of voice for women organisations focused on preventing gender-based violence, protecting reproductive rights or combatting the impacts on women of prostitution. (See the press release on the launch of this project here - .pdf file. Also see, the European Network of Migrant Women Facebook reel here.)

A few Board members were buzzing as they had just come from a camp for girls and young women discussing topics like feminism and sisterhood. A successful and inspiring time for often disenfranchised young women, now in its second year. Fittingly it’s hosted where the Swedish suffrage movement really kicked off, Fogelsta, only down the road from where I grew up.

Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer is Sweden’s representative to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and highly value international collaboration. They also - and rightly so - highlighted that we have to work with men as allies to make lasting change.

I shared some of NCWNZ background, including some of the current issues in New Zealand. They were impressed to hear how early we got the vote, and that we are often invited to make oral submissions - apparently something not at all common in Sweden. They were interested to hear about our gender attitude survey and we will share the result with them after the 2025 results are launched on Wednesday 17 September in Wellington.

Good morning, my NCWNZ sisters,

On this Women’s Equality Day (some parts of the world), my heart is full with gratitude for the bonds we share. I see the grit and the beauty in each of you, a profound humility born from a life well-lived, and a deep compassion that brought us together in this circle—a circle that houses the incredible women of National Council of women worldwide.

We carry the sacred memories of those we have lost that built our heritage and in doing so, we honor their legacy with our strength. We have walked through valleys and climbed mountains together, and through it all, you have shown me what it means to be truly resilient.

Despite near-gender balance in the work force, women paramedics in Aotearoa New Zealand report a cycle of harmful workplace interactions — including bullying, sexual harassment, and misogyny - sustained by inadequate employer responses and a culture that discourages reporting.

These accounts come from my recent Masters study involving 148 women paramedics who shared anonymous survey responses. Their stories revealed a pattern of harmful behaviour, mostly by male colleagues - many in senior clinical or management positions- as well as some senior women colleagues and male patients.

While these behaviours had serious personal consequences for women, the perpetrators often faced no repercussions. Furthermore, inadequate responses from employers and a workplace culture that discouraged reporting allowed this behaviour to continue — pushing some women to take sick leave, reduce their hours, or consider leaving the profession altogether.

One respondent described the difficult choice women often face:

“It has been established that this behaviour is acceptable by men, and the women who don’t play along are isolated and bullied and the men who are the main offenders all hold positions of authority. So we as females have two choices, play along and be harassed, or don’t and be bullied.”