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Thank you Jean for the warm introduction and thanks to you all for the opportunity to share this evening with you. 

I would like to especially acknowledge the incoming District 16 Governor
Anne Walker Long. Congratulations Anne, you have a great organisation to work with.

Thanks also to the past governors here tonight, and greetings to Mayor Jono Naylor.

One of the things I like about Zonta is that you combine the ability to see the big picture with the ability to act in very practical ways both locally and internationally. 

That desire to see the big picture is reflected in the topic I've been asked to talk about tonight, which is ‘the key issues facing women in New Zealand in the 21st century'.

Women in New Zealand in 2050

I'm only going to speak for about ten minutes, so rather than give you the speed dating version of what New Zealand women really need, I thought the best way to cover the topic would be to ask what the world would look like mid-century if we achieved everything that's currently on the agenda.

I chose 2050 because it's a date that at least some of us in this room will reach, and it's a date when our children and grandchildren will be experiencing the legacy we leave them. 

The first thing is that by 2050 there should be no Minister of Women's Affairs and no Ministry. Our work should be done.

I'm not so naive to believe that all problems would have been solved, but the main inequalities between the sexes would have disappeared and gender issues would have faded into the background. 

So what would be different?  

Well, for a start, we would not be reading stories about appointments that had ‘woman' in the headline, because another woman in a leadership position would be entirely unremarkable.

I would also like to think that the news would not be filled with stories of rape, and of family violence. We may never completely eliminate violence from our society, but I do believe that in the 42 years between now and 2050 we can change people's attitudes and behaviour to the extent that such violence is never tolerated, and to the point where all offenders are quickly held accountable and every victim is supported.

In that world we would also not be surprised to book a plumber and find a young woman on our doorstep. 

In fact, in workplaces we would not only find roughly equal numbers of men and women in most jobs, we would also find much more flexible working arrangements, with both men and women varying their hours so both could take an equal share in childcare and in caring for us - the venerable elders who will be so esteemed for our wisdom and contribution. We are well on our way; the Flexible Working Hours bill came into effect on 1 July.

We would be a lot richer as a nation because we were fully using the talents of all our people - and we would also be happier because everyone would have the opportunity to be the best they could be.

I don't know about you, but I want my children and grandchildren to live in that world and I don't believe it is an unrealistic vision for women in New Zealand.

Women in New Zealand - Where we have come from

If you think that's too much to expect in another 42 years, then think about how much things have changed in the past 42.

It may sound negative, but I think the easiest way to gain an impression of how far we have come is to mention a few things that women would not have experienced in New Zealand 42 years ago in 1966.

For a start, you would not have enjoyed equal pay for equal work. The Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1972 and was not fully phased-in until 1977. At that point it was illegal to pay a woman less than a man for the same work, but more than 30 years later we still have a pay gap of around 12 percent.

Of course, everyone knows about equal pay, but did you know that in 1966 you would not have had the legal right to live apart from your husband?  That right did not come until the passing of the Domicile Act in 1976.

And how about not being able to pass on New Zealand citizenship to your kids? Women did not enjoy the same nationality rights as men until 1977.

You also would not have seen a single woman leading a major business and you could not have voted for a major political party led by a woman - that opportunity did not arise until Helen Clark won the Labour Party leadership in 1993.

And you would not have had any right to return to your job after having a baby - unpaid maternity leave did not come in until 1980, and parental leave - giving men similar rights - until 1987. Paid parental leave was introduced by this government in 2002 and 20 hours free Early Childhood Education was introduced to support families last year.

Oh, and you couldn't have been a professional jockey before 1977 either, just in case anyone here ever had that ambition.

I could go on, but I think you begin to get the idea. We have actually come a very long way in the past 42 years. The world was a very different place for women in 1966 and it can be a much better place still in 2050 if we continue to focus on the really important changes that we still need to bring about.

Those changes include:

• Getting many more women into positions of leadership, especially in the boardrooms of New Zealand businesses where women's absence is still notable.
• Having zero tolerance of family violence and sexual violence and changing the behaviour and circumstances that allow that violence to exist.
• Making it easier for both girls and boys to choose the jobs that suit them, rather than seeing some jobs as ‘women's work' or ‘men's work'.
• Making sure that no part of society falls behind, whether it is solo mums struggling to bring up kids or boys struggling to pass NCEA English.
• Making sure we value women in all their roles, including their roles as mums and caregivers.

Zonta - Continuing leadership and influence

Government has a role to play in making this happen, but so do organisations like Zonta. Government can legislate, we can push to get government agencies to work together, and we can help change attitudes through programmes like the ‘It's not OK' campaign targeted at family violence. Government can do a lot, but we can never be as close to the community as an organisation like Zonta, and we can't advocate for change with the same authority that you bring.

Zonta has done so much for women in New Zealand and around the world since you were founded nearly 90 years ago. You have helped bring about changes that have improved the lives of millions of women. There's more to do, but you already know that, because you are an organisation of doers.

Thank you for your work so far; thank you for your vision of improving women's lives through service and advocacy; and thank you for what you are still to do. I look forward to continuing to work with you. 

 

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