How New Zealand Became an Impressive Leader in Women’s Rights
A country with a strong feminist history yet an imperfect present
There exists a place in this world where the sitting PM has a baby — and no one seems to mind. Doesn’t sound like Germany or the USA? That’s right, it’s neither. Rather, we are talking about New Zealand, a country of 5.1 million souls far away in the South Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand has dominated the headlines for its progressive policies for years. Jacinda Ahern herself, the Prime Minister, has made it her mission to tackle gender inequalities. After the birth of their child, she and her partner broke with outdated gender roles in front of the whole world. Now she wants that for all women.
Sounds too good to be true? Sadly, yes.
Although a true showcase country in terms of feminist attitudes, New Zealand also has its difficulties. In this article, we look at both sides: on the one hand, the impressive history of New Zealand women, and on the other, injustices we are all familiar with.
New Zealand, pioneer country for women’s suffrage
First of all, did you know that New Zealand — along with the Cook Islands — was the first country in the world to allow women to vote? To this day, many New Zealanders are very proud of the revolutionary ideas of the past.
But let’s start at the beginning. That is, the beginning of New Zealand’s women’s rights movement.
In New Zealand, men have been allowed to vote without major restrictions since 1879. For those who did not see voting as a natural privilege for men, this was an outrage. Social equality was urgently needed. So in many countries of the world — and thus also in the colonies of the British Crown — women joined forces and collected signatures. Quite early on, a petition achieved women’s suffrage at the local level. New Zealand’s leader: Kate Sheppard, an English-born wholehearted women’s rights activist.
Sheppard, whose face can be seen on the $10 bill today, acted as president of the National Council of Women. She not only fought for the right to vote, but also, for example, the abolition of typical constricting women’s dresses. Numerous petitions, writings and demonstrations later, she and other suffragettes achieved a huge goal: the introduction of active suffrage for women in 1893.
By international standards, that was early. Here’s an overview of the introduction of the active right to vote for all women (without excluding ethnic minorities etc.):
- Germany: 1918
- USA: 1920
- United Kingdom: 1928
- Spain: 1931
- France: 1944
- Italy: 1946
- China: 1949
- Switzerland: 1971
- South Africa: 1994
These are just a few examples. In Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bhutan, women have only been allowed to vote since the 2000s. In Saudi Arabia, there are elections at the municipal level, in which women have recently been allowed to participate — albeit with minimal political influence.
But back to New Zealand. The active right to vote here also included Maori women. In the next move, activists continued to fight for passive suffrage (that is, the right to be elected). It was introduced in 1919, and the first woman entered the New Zealand Parliament in 1933.
Certainly, the efforts of New Zealand activists at the time supported progressive movements around the world. And that world became a different place when the women around Kate Sheppard stood up for their rights.
The status quo in New Zealand today
In October 2022, it was announced that women had taken a majority in the New Zealand Parliament —still an exception worldwide. Either way, important offices have always been held by women as much as by men.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Of course. But even in New Zealand, all that glitters is not gold. Even in the women’s rights superstate, more effort is needed. Why? Because we must not forget one thing: Perfect justice may be a utopia, yes.
But we must strive for it. Always.
And just because one country does things better than others, we do not have a fully just society there. We may only speak of a more just society.
Let’s take a closer look.
As in other places, the gender pay gap exists in New Zealand: women earn around ten percent less money than men for the same type of work. The percentage is not as high as in Germany, for example, true. But it’s there. The gender pay gap is a thing — also in New Zealand.
Furthermore, parental leave (up to one year) and paid parental leave (up to 18 weeks) are limited. As a result, work and family are not so easy to reconcile in New Zealand either — also because there is a lack of childcare facilities.
And last but not least, New Zealand ranks worst of all OECD countries in one area: domestic violence. Already in childhood or teenage years, a high number of New Zealand women have experienced some form of (sexual) violence. Why is that? I have not found a satisfactory answer in my research. But of course, as everywhere else, it has to do with the exploitation of power.
What needs to be highlighted, however, is that the government addressed this issue with a globally unique law. Victims of domestic violence can take an additional ten days paid leave. And thanks to flexible working time models, those affected can thus find the time and strength to deal with the situation and initiate change.
A law that will hopefully be more than just a drop in the ocean.
In summary, New Zealand can look back proudly on its women’s rights movement in the 19th century. To this day, the country has preserved the spirit of the activists of that time. This is especially evident in the current prime minister, who, together with her partner, is a true role model.
But as we saw, today’s New Zealand is also struggling with serious problems. The high incidence of domestic violence gives pause for thought.
How can it be that in New Zealand, of all places, abuse of power against women is such a huge problem?
This is definitely a question I want to look into more.
Nevertheless, I think it’s great that New Zealand doesn’t just keep things quiet. Countermeasures are being taken, even if they don’t tackle the root of the problem.
And here we are once again at a point that never gets boring: What is the root of the problem?
We as a society have to find out the answer, deal with it, fight it.
Because the root of the problem is not country-specific. Rather, it lies in the shadows of our social interaction, of social justice, which is waiting for improvement everywhere — not just in New Zealand.
