A renewed focus on women’s and gender issues around the world has provided a backdrop for New Zealand’s first women’s charitable fund, writes Auckland Foundation CEO Dellwyn Stuart, who launched the fund last November.

New Zealand has long been one of the first nations to see the light when it comes to gender equality issues. Our forward-thinking approach to gender relations was recently underlined by the strong support for Jacinda Ardern’s announcement that she will soon be a new mother as well as our PM.

This largely positive reaction is a sign that we have a unique opportunity today to move forward and break down the last remnants of a world designed by men, for men. It is clear we can do more in New Zealand for women and girls who carry the burden of poverty, and doing more would benefit our communities as a whole.

It’s not too long ago we saw the Roast Busters scandal, in which a group of young men used social media to boast about getting underage girls drunk so they could gang rape them. Or, more recently, the Wellington College episode where rape ‘jokes’ led to girls at three local colleges staging a protest.

One in four New Zealand women will experience violence in their lifetime. Violence against women knows no social or cultural divides. However some women are at greater risk that others, including young women and Māori women.

According to the New Zealand Family Violence Clearing House’s 2017 data snapshot, up to one in three New Zealand women will say they experienced sexual abuse as a child, and 20% of female secondary school students say they have experienced unwanted sexual contact in the last 12 months.

Statistics show only one in ten sexual abuse crimes are reported. Three of those cases go to court and of those, only one case is likely to get a conviction.

Poverty also effects women disproportionately. Sole-parent families are much more likely to be in severe housing deprivation and a quarter of all of New Zealand’s mothers head up households alone.

Twelve per cent of women say they can’t join the workforce because they can’t find childcare – and when women can get to work, they are paid an average of 9% less than male colleagues, even though women achieve 61% of the tertiary qualifications in New Zealand.

A recent report [PDF] found that women make up 29% of management positions, but 46% of non-management positions. At the top, less than one in five board members of New Zealand listed companies are women, fewer than in Australia. The report estimates that having equal gender represenation in leadership could be worth $881 million to our economy.

The Auckland Foundation, of which I’m CEO, launched New Zealand’s first women’s fund at the end of 2017 as a response to all of these issues. Since then we have built up a significant following and collected 50+ like-minded members – women and men – who are making donations, large and small, one-off or regular. We have formed a community of givers and change makers who will share ideas on how to make an impact based on the strength of women and the dreams of girls.

We launched the fund with our ‘100 Women’ campaign, posing the question, ‘what if we were 100 women?’ and featuring some of the statistics I’ve mentioned above.

On the other side of the story, it’s extremely exciting to think about the impact we can make when working together. And when giving is targeted to women and girl’s issues, we believe we’ll see a ripple effect for whole families and communities.

At the Auckland Foundation, we have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support shown by so many New Zealanders – before we have even distributed a cent.

Many people are looking for a way they can contribute their time, experience and resources and make a positive difference for those facing challenges. The Women’s Fund can provide connection and meaning that we need in our lives, while making a difference for others.

Our early success backs up the research around women’s giving, which tells us that because women tend to view money and use money differently, we also give money differently. Giving collectively and socially appeals to many women’s desire to create relationships and work together, providing powerful evidence of the potential of women and girls to make positive change happen in their communities.

It is estimated internationally that only around 9% of philanthropic funding goes specifically to girls and women. Girls and boys, men and women: we experience life differently, face different challenges. When we develop programmes and make grants to create change, gender needs to be considered. One size often does not fit all.

In 2018, when we celebrate the 125^th anniversary of women’s suffrage, the Women’s Fund will champion taking gender into account when philanthropic grants are considered and programmes are developed.

Mark New Zealand’s 125^th anniversary of world leading suffrage this International Women’s Day by making an investment in positive change for gender equality and join New Zealand’s first women’s fund.  www.womensfund.org.nz

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As New Zealand prepares to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage there is plenty to celebrate – but as the #metoo movement shows, there is still much to be done, says Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy

On the 19th of September, 1893, my predecessor Lord Glasgow, officially signed the bill giving women the right to vote.

Reading the bill today, there’s no real indication of its momentousness. Its title is simply “The Electoral Act” and the instrument giving the vote to women is one short line on the first page “Qualifications: male or female”. With those few, rather plain words, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant universal suffrage.

For a piece of legislation that was going to alter the role of women in society in such a significant way, the bill contains precious few mentions of them. On page four, it helpfully defines the word ‘person’ as including ‘women’, just in case we were in any doubt. From then on, it mostly concerns itself with the minutiae of organising elections – nominating candidates, counting the votes, the disposal of ballot papers.

The 1893 Electoral Act may not be a very exciting read: Government bills are not noted for their razzamatazz. But as a statement of gender equality, it was a world-beater. One small country, at the bottom of the world, had legislated to give women the same rights as men in choosing who would represent them in parliament.

Many will be familiar with stories from the campaign that led to the passing of the bill: Of the previous unsuccessful attempts at legislation, passed by the lower House then stymied by the members of the legislative chamber. Of Kate Sheppard’s ‘monster petition’ that saw women mobilising nationwide to gather thousands of signatures. Of Sir John Hall’s theatrical presentation of the petition to parliament, unrolling it like a carpet across the floor of the House.

These stories are all part of our history. That final suffrage petition now sits beside He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi at He Tohu, rightly regarded as one of our most important documents.

That’s quite an accolade for something that Kate Sheppard glued together in her kitchen, rolling it around the end of a broom handle to keep it manageable.

By enfranchising women, New Zealand laid the foundation for the gender equality we experience today. It also spurred on suffrage movements around the world. The fact that there was somewhere in the world where women were legally able to vote gave heart to the suffragists where campaigning was longer, harder, more bitter and in some cases, more deadly.

The launch of this anniversary season gives us the opportunity to look back on 125 years of achievement for women. New Zealand has become one of the most gender-equal countries in the world and women undertake an incredible diversity of roles in our society. Women serve as police officers, firefighters and in our defence forces. They are successful business people, leaders in education and public service. We have a woman governor-general, prime minister and chief justice – and not for the first time. There is plenty to celebrate.

There is also plenty remaining to be done. In the last year, we have heard women’s voices raised in a way we haven’t heard for a long time and their anger is palpable.

There are still real problems in workplaces and in the way power is exploited by those in positions of responsibility. The women who have chosen to talk publicly about their experiences of sexual harassment under the #MeToo banner cannot be ignored.

We will never gain true equality by continuing to do as we have always done and we will not be able to address issues of harassment and sexism by remaining silent.

This is not just about the high-profile cases that have made it into the media. We all know it’s more pervasive than that. We also know it’s not just an issue that solely affects women. For the benefit of everyone, our workplace cultures need to change. Together we need to raise our voices to challenge entitlement, abuse of power, bullying and harassment, and demand that respect be shown to everyone.

It seems to me that this year, we are being called to demonstrate the spirit of Kate Sheppard, the suffragists and the men like Sir John Hall, who supported them. By standing up for what they believed in, they changed our world. There’s no reason to believe that we can’t do the same.

Kia ora, kia kaha, kia manawanui, huihui tātou katoa.

The above is an abridged transcript of the speech delivered at Government House yesterday to launch Suffrage 125: Whakatū wāhine. 

This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit KiwiSaver plan that only charges members what it costs, nothing more. Simplicity is New Zealand’s fastest growing KiwiSaver scheme, saving its 12,000 plus investors more than $3.8 million annually in fees. Simplicity donates 15% of management revenue to charity and has no investments in tobacco, nuclear weapons or landmines. It takes two minutes to join.