Gender equality in New Zealand

Gender equality is the notion that all men and women should receive equal treatment in all aspects and that one should not be discriminated based on their gender. Gender equality is a human right and this is recognised by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).[1] The right to be free of discrimination on the grounds of sex is found pursuant to Article 2 of the declaration.

Gender equality is increasingly framed as being central to the realization of both modernization and economic efficiency, and its achievement presented as a key to good governance.[2] As a result, the New Zealand government has implemented institutional mechanisms to promote the advancement of women and gender equality. In 2014, New Zealand was ranked 13th out of a total of 142 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report which ranks countries in terms of gender equality in the population under four heads: economic participation, health, education and political empowerment.[3]

Albeit, New Zealand has committed to support the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other key United Nations organizations in agreeing to uphold the UDHR. It has participated in human rights deliberations at the United Nations General Assembly and in the annual session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and proposes to support the rights of women, children and indigenous people.[4]

Further, New Zealand ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on the 10th January 1985, and its optional protocol on the 7th September 2000. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is responsible for administrating the CEDAW and its Optional Protocol. The committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women makes recommendations on any issues affecting women that the state should address. As of April 2015 the committee has made 29 general recommendations on issues affecting women that states should devote more attention to.[5]

Overview

In the World Economic Forum’s annual report on the global gender gap, New Zealand was ranked in 13th place in 2014. The Global Gender Gap Index ranks countries on the gap between men and women in regards to health, education and economic and political indicators.

New Zealand is party to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the OECD’s final report on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship it was found that women in New Zealand do more unpaid work than paid work, gain more tertiary qualifications than men and women-owned new enterprises outperform men-owned enterprises.[6]

Nonetheless, despite the gap between wage equality slowly closing in, the report found that the government funding allocated to reduce gender inequality in New Zealand is on the low side in comparison to other countries in the OECD.[6]

History

Throughout history, gender inequality has generally affected women more so than men. As a result, there has been a lot of controversy in respect of the matter and activism since the 19th century.

New Zealand has had a long history in promoting women’s equality. It was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote in the 19th century. Previously, women were unable to vote until 1893 and were not able to stand for parliament until 1919. The first woman to win at an election was Elizabeth McCombs in 1933. Iriaka Ratana was the first Maori woman MP in 1949 and Dame Jenny Shipley was the first woman to be prime minister in New Zealand from 1997 to 1999.

Legislation for gender equity

The legal framework in New Zealand provides comprehensive protection against all forms of discrimination covered by the CEDAW.

In 1973 The Domestic Purpose Benefit (now the sole parent or jobseeker support)[7] was introduced for all parents caring for dependent children without the support of a partner (mainly women). The Accident Compensation Amendment Act 2010[8] also extended compensation to non-earners, benefiting women who do full-time unpaid work in the domestic home.

New Zealand has also enacted a number of legislative means to provide for equal pay for women, outlawing sexual discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace and proposes to set out rights in regards to equal employment for career progression in the workplace.

Legislation in respect of gender equality in the workplace include the Equal Pay Act 1972,[9] the State Sector Act 1988[10] and the Human Rights Act 1993. [11][12]

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990[13] also promotes the rights and freedoms of all New Zealand citizens regardless of gender.

Developments and present status

In the past century the gender gap in New Zealand has been slowly closing in and there has been an increase in women’s rights and feminism. The government is making steady progress and it is evident that the fundamentals for equal rights are all in place: democracy, the rule of law and an independent judiciary. The government has also implemented effective structures of governance, specialized human rights and other accountability mechanisms, and has recognised the vulnerability of particular groups and individuals.

Although New Zealand consistently ranks in the top half dozen of countries in the world when it comes to equality between men and women, it is not complacent in terms of gender equality. New Zealand women still do not experience the full equality guaranteed by the law. Across the economy women’s skills are under-used in leadership and women continue to earn less than men – even if they have the same qualifications, and similar job descriptions. Family violence also continues to be a cause of considerable disquiet.

However, many of the remaining gender gaps in New Zealand do not appear to be a conscious disregard to the law (as there is comprehensive legislation in place), rather it is largely based on subconscious prejudice and factors like occupational segregation.[14]

Political and public representation

New Zealand has had a high level of participation by women in public life and this is evident from the modest female representation in politics and the judiciary. However, women continue to be under represented in parliament. Currently, there is a 31% female representation in parliament.[15]

At present there are no adopted quotas and targets to increase the number of women to ensure the equal representation of women in all publicly appointed bodies by the New Zealand Government. Rather, the government has developed a policy of ‘soft targets’ to promote equal representation. This was criticized by the Human Rights Commission as being insufficient as there is no dedicated machinery to guide it.[16]

Employment and the workplace

The government’s current goals and priorities in terms of employment equality for New Zealand women are linked to its broader goal of improving New Zealand’s prosperity in the economy. This is to allow women to have more choices and opportunities to utilize their strengths to maximize social and economical success.

However, the New Zealand workforce shows a distinguished pattern of occupational segregation. It is evident that a substantial proportion of men and women are working in occupations dominated by their own gender.

With regard to pay equity, the domestic gender pay gap in New Zealand when comparing full-time workers is rather low in comparison to other countries. The gender pay gap in New Zealand was calculated to be 9.9% in 2014, which was the lowest in the Asia Pacific Region.[17]

In terms of New Zealand labour force participation, the female unemployment rate is statistically higher than that of men (with the unemployment rate being the highest for Māori and Pacific women). Women generally have higher rates of participation in all categories of unpaid work – within and outside of the household.

Section 21 of the Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of sex (including pregnancy and child birth), marital status and family status.[11]

Education

In the 2014 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, New Zealand was ranked number one (equal with several European countries) for educational attainment. This was assessed on several factors including – literacy rates, enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education.[18]

Generally, in education, women tend to outperform men and women tend to fare better in participation.

In New Zealand, there appears to be very few gender-based disparities in terms of education. However, there appears to be persistent disparities for both female and male students of Maori or Pacific ethnicity, and students from low socio-economic communities.[14]

Family Assets and Resources

Section 77 of the Administration Act 1976[19] provides for equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters and there is no evidence of discrimination in practice, or under any informal customary systems.

New Zealand women have the right to non-discrimination in the ownership and access to land. The Maori Land Act 1993[20] provides for gender equality in the control and use of land and resources. In terms of non-land assets, there are no restrictions on their equal rights to property, regardless of marital status.

Further, women also have the equal right to financial services pursuant to the Human Rights 1993.[11]

Health

Health Services offered in New Zealand are gender-blind and women can access the same comprehensive range of services as men, as well as having a range of services in place specifically designed for women’s health needs – such as maternity services and population screening programmes.[14]

On average, women have better health outcomes than men and women generally have a higher life expectancy. However, there are areas in which New Zealand does not fare so well in terms of health. New Zealand has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the OECD with the Maori teen pregnancy rate being rather high.

Domestic violence

The Domestic Violence Act 1995[21] addresses domestic and family violence against women and pursuant to the act domestic violence can be charged as a criminal offence.

In New Zealand the government has implemented specialist family violence courts and means-tested legal aid services which provide referral and advocacy as well as applicant support and outreach for victims of domestic violence. The New Zealand government has made steady progress in implementing fundamental criminal justice reforms that strengthen victim’s rights and aims to provide greater protection for those at threat of family violence – most of whom are women.[14]

The social attitudes in New Zealand currently remain an impediment to combatting domestic violence and as such, is one of the major barriers in achieving gender equity in New Zealand. In essence the relatively strong legal framework is not always effectively implemented and domestic violence continues to be a challenge for New Zealand society. It is estimated that only 18% of family violence cases are reported to the police and 84% of those arrested for domestic violence are men.

However the attitudes towards family violence in New Zealand are in the midst of change as a result of a sustained national campaign - The Campaign for Action on Violence within Families, which aims at changing social attitudes towards family violence. The government has also implemented similar programmes designed specifically for Maori, Pacific and migrant women which are endorsed by their communities.[14]

Moreover, the reported rates of domestic violence in New Zealand actually appear to be rising (though this may reflect a lower tolerance of such violence and a greater willingness to report).[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ , United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
  2. ↑ , The New Politics of Gender Equality, Judith Squires
  3. ↑ , Global Gender Gap Report 2014
  4. ↑ , NZ and the UDHR
  5. ↑ , Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - General recommendations
  6. 1 2 Gender inequality in New Zealand, OECD report 22/04/2012
  7. ↑ , Work and Income NZ, Domestic Purpose Benefit
  8. ↑ Accident Compensation Amendment Act 2010
  9. ↑ , Equal Pay Act 1972
  10. ↑ State Sector Act 1988
  11. 1 2 3 Human Rights Act 1993
  12. ↑ Legislation for gender equity, National Equal Opportunities Network
  13. ↑ New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The status of women in New Zealand, CEDAW report 2010
  15. ↑ The 2014 New Zealand General Election: Final Results and Voting Statistics
  16. ↑ [], Human Rights Commission (2011), p.14
  17. ↑ New Zealand women
  18. ↑ Global Gender Gap Report 2014, New Zealand
  19. ↑ Administration Act 1976
  20. ↑ Maori Land Act 1993
  21. ↑ Domestic Violence Act 1995

External links

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