The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has pledged to put “all the things left to achieve gender equality at the top of my list” as the country marked 125 years since it became the first in the world to give women the vote.
In a speech in Auckland’s Aotea Square the prime minister honoured the tens of thousands of women who, in 1893, signed a suffragists’ petition to demonstrate the breadth of support for their cause.
“I believe within the ordinary stands the extraordinary and it’s thanks to these women that I am here today,” she said. “I choose to honour them by putting all the things left to achieve gender equality at the top of my list.”
Despite opposition, the legislation allowing women to vote was passed by both houses of parliament that same year and became law on 19 September.
Ardern also guest-edited a special edition of the New Zealand Herald and dedicated a large section to women in business and sport. She also wrote a personal essay dedicated to those behind the 1893 suffrage movement, including her relative, Kate Wiltshire.
Tonight Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joins the New Zealand Herald editorial team as the guest editor of the 125th Suffrage edition #Suffrage125 #NZHSuffrage pic.twitter.com/jpcMhYKSMB
— nzherald (@nzherald) September 18, 2018
“We have a history we can be proud of in Aotearoa,” Ardern wrote. “Every family will have a tale of a pioneering woman, a ‘wāhine toa’. But these women also exist today and their strength is manifest in our daily lives. It’s to them we owe progress.
“Lifting wages, closing the gender pay gap, living free from violence, having the choice to be a carer, to have a career, be a mother – those are uppermost on my to-do list. Our extraordinary women deserve no less.”
Timed to coincide with the anniversary, a bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday will also make it easier for workers in female-dominated professions to claim fair pay.
Acting minister for women Eugenie Sage said the bill was “one piece of the puzzle” in closing the gender pay gap. “Discrimination has led to lower pay for many female-dominated industries, despite having similar working conditions and skill requirements to comparable male-dominated occupations,” she said.
A number of special projects commemorating the event have also been launched, including the Herald featuring 125 profiles of women across New Zealand history, and noted.co.nz will showcase an interactive homage to the words of movement leader Kate Sheppard.
AM Show host Amanda Gillies said while much had changed since 1893, the country was still behind in the push for equality. “We have to continue the fight for equal rights, for equal pay, for a place on the board and to be the CEO,” she said. “We still aren’t on the same page as men, there’s still a belief for many that at the end of the day it’s a man’s world.”
A recent report had placed NZ 33rd out of 35 countries for women in leadership, on boards and in senior management roles.
The country had a female prime minister and governor general, but Gillies said that needed to be the rule and not the exception.
“We need to continue to speak out, we need our voices to be heard all the time. New Zealand is home to amazing, strong, powerful women leaders who can make change, just look at what Kate Sheppard did.”
