Kiwis Want Gender Equality But Survey Warns New Zealand Risks Falling Short

New Zealanders overwhelmingly want gender equality, but Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa National Council of Women of New Zealand’s latest Gender Attitudes Survey shows that any progress we’ve achieved in the last 132 years since universal suffrage risks being slowed by complacency, harmful attitudes, and government actions that run counter to public demand.

Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa National Council of New Zealand (NCWNZ) has watched with serious dismay as the Government's pay equity decisions were rushed through Parliament without the crucial consultation our democracy demands. It is yet another way the Coalition has demonstrated its determination to wage war on equal rights for women.

A response from NGOs around New Zealand to the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found that, despite our international commitments to achieve equality for women and girls in all areas, New Zealand is falling short – and in some cases going backwards. 

NCWNZ is asking its membership and all New Zealanders to urge their local MPs to close the Gloriavale Institutions. The Abuse in Care Inquiry has shown that women and children are still at risk.

Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) has joined in an Aotearoa intercommunity partnership – which includes Alternative Jewish Voices, the Federation of Islamic Associations (FIANZ), and Palestinian-led advocacy group Justice for Palestine – to recognise and respond to the escalating needs of women in Gaza.

As International Women’s Day draws near, closer to home Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa National Council of Women of New Zealand is using the event to encourage further progress in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Men must join the action in greater numbers for gender equality in Aotearoa New Zealand to be achieved, results from the latest Gender Attitudes Survey show.

“We need everyone to step up as allies. It’s time for action and with collective effort, we can make a real difference,” National Council of Women New Zealand President Suzanne Manning said today, releasing the report at an online event with Minister for Women Jan Tinetti and EEO Commissioner Karanina Sumeo.

The National Council of Women of New Zealand, Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa, is today releasing the results of questions posed to political parties on gender equity and women’s issues.

“The survey identifies issues of importance to New Zealand women and enables voters to compare the positions stated by parties on those issues ,” Dr Suzanne Manning, President of NCWNZ, said today.

Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa National Council of Women of New Zealand supports the peaceful protests against anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. The events being organised in Wellington and Auckland will give a platform and legitimacy to her inflammatory hate speech which has no place in Aotearoa New Zealand.

On March 8th we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and in 2023 we mark the 130th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand, but women in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world still don’t have access to equality. What is holding us back?