There were 151 honours award in the 2024 New Years list. Men received 50% with 76, women received 49% (74) and transgender 1% (1). Of the higher awards (ONZ to MNZM) women received 52% (56), men 47% (50) and transgender 1% (1). This was because women received 61% (30) of the ONZMs compared with men receiving 37% (18) and transgender 2% (1).

Tēnā tātou katoa,

Every time I have sat down to write this kōrero for you, NCWNZ members, I have been pulled away by something else that arrives in my email! Often it is an invitation to be involved with a group or event that aligns with our kaupapa, which is a positive sign. An example is our recent invitation to meet with the Commission of Inquiry for COVID-19: lessons learnt. I attended this meeting with VP Betty Ofe-Grant, Raewyn Stone, and Rayane Al Faraj, and we shared the 2020 position paper that had input from members across NCWNZ. the organisation. It shows the worth of us collecting our stories at the time. The Inquiry members asked thoughtful questions and listened well to what we had to say. I personally was very proud of the input that we were able to give, representing a wide range of women in Aotearoa. This is our organisation’s purpose, so it felt good to be able to fulfil that purpose.

The NCWNZ Safety, Health and Wellbeing Action Hub valued having two speakers on endometriosis at its last meeting for 2023.

Endometriosis affects about 1 in 10 NZ women with a huge impact on lives. Supporting education, resources and a national plan for endometriosis is consistent with our support for a life-course approach to women’s health that was outlined in the submission the Hub prepared on a Women’s Health Strategy as part of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) legislation.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Hauraki-Waikato

The 2023 election result has brought new women into Parliament but sadly not in sufficient numbers to reach equality. Final election results show that there will be 123 seats in Parliament, instead of the usual 120. The overhang is caused by (a) Te Pāti Māori winning more electorate seats than it would otherwise from its share of the party vote, and (b) result of the Waikato by-election.

This increased total representation for Te Pāti Māori marks the beginning of a political career for Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, 21, the youngest woman ever to win a seat in Parliament.

On the 7th of November, the Australian High Commission invited NCWNZ to celebrate the Melbourne Cup during their annual fundraiser event. The event was attended by Suzanne Manning, President of NCWNZ, Harita Gandhi, treasurer of the Wellington Branch, and Rayane Al Faraj, intern for NCWNZ.

There were 205 female executives from ‘Japan Women’s Innovative Network’ (J-WIN) who participated in online diversity, equality-equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) training sessions delivered by Dr Betty Ofe-Grant, Aleisha Amohia, Lorri Mackness, Carin Sundstedt, Sarah-Jane McCosh and Rayane Al Faraz. This is the second year of NCWNZ-facilitated diversity training administered to J-Win.

On 25 September 2023, National Council of Women of New Zealand President Dr Suzanne Manning was joined by Minister for Women Hon Jan Tinetti, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo, and Emanuel Kalafatelis, Managing Partner at Research New Zealand, to launch the fourth survey in the series of Gender Attitudes NZ Surveys. See the recording of the online event on the NCWNZ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PisTqmZ0ro.

On Wednesday 13 September, representatives of the National, Green and Labour parties joined a political panel to discuss key international issues for women, including our relationships with trade partners, international aid, and feminist foreign policy.

The Feminist Foreign Policy Political Panel was made up of

• Vanushi Walters (Labour),
• Golriz Ghahraman (Green), and
• Gerry Brownlee (National).

The Panel was chaired by one of Radio New Zealand's leading journalists, Susie Ferguson. She expertly set the scene for a dynamic and constructive discussion, with panellists outlining political views and party policies on foreign policy.

The Auckland Branch and the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Action Hub collaborated for the Suffrage Day Event held in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The National Council of Women worked with Auckland Council to celebrate the auspicious occasion of 130 years since women won the right to vote. This is the first year of a new partnership working with Te Rōpū Wāhine, Auckland Council’s Women’s Collective Network, and it is an exciting partnership working with local wāhine toa. The event was held, as in recent years, at the Suffrage Memorial - Te Hā O Hine Place. Speakers included the Auckland President, Barbara Myers, Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Challen Wilson, and included karakia and koreo from Ngati Whatua. Over a hundred and thirty attended the sunny lunchtime event that celebrated achievements including the Life Membership awarded to Jane Prichard.

In September, 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 2023: “A Gender Lens on the General Election.”