To all New Zealand women,
Today, 116 years ago, New Zealand women were finally given the right to vote. New Zealand was the first country to have universal suffrage, and for that we should be proud. Since 1893 women have come a far way. Elizabeth McCombs was the first women in Parliament in 1933, and the number has been rising ever since (mainly anyway). Women were able to freely work outside the home without being socially shunned. New Zealand has had 2 female Prime Minsters, our last Governor General was female, our current Chief Justice, Dame Sian Ellis is a female and the number of females is increasing in high ranking jobs and in leadership positions. Women have secure property rights in divorce, can seek abortion if they wish and can even get civil - unioned to other women! Oh how sweet our life is. But in reality, it is not.
Women are still not equal in this country. Women are still treated as second class citizens! I don't care who says women are treated equally in this country. THEY ARE NOT! Women
only make up 33% of the legislature, yet they make up 51% of the population. In the current government only 8 out of the 28 ministers are female! For a western country, for a country where all citizens are ment to be equal, for a country that thinks they are ahead of the pack, we are far behind! This current economic crisis shows the country just how little women are valued in this current government. In the last 3 months alone 15,000 women have lost their jobs. 2/3 of all people made redundant are women. This Wednesday in Parliament Labour's Women Affairs spokesperson, Sue Moroney asked Women's Affairs Minister Pansy Wong what she was doing to create more jobs for women. She said she was building a cycleway. A cycleway! What the fuck Wong, how is that helping NZ women! Why don't you start doing some actual work for once!
only make up 33% of the legislature, yet they make up 51% of the population. In the current government only 8 out of the 28 ministers are female! For a western country, for a country where all citizens are ment to be equal, for a country that thinks they are ahead of the pack, we are far behind! This current economic crisis shows the country just how little women are valued in this current government. In the last 3 months alone 15,000 women have lost their jobs. 2/3 of all people made redundant are women. This Wednesday in Parliament Labour's Women Affairs spokesperson, Sue Moroney asked Women's Affairs Minister Pansy Wong what she was doing to create more jobs for women. She said she was building a cycleway. A cycleway! What the fuck Wong, how is that helping NZ women! Why don't you start doing some actual work for once! "That is a pathetic response on the eve of Women's Suffrage Day and a clear admission from the Minister that she has sat back and done nothing," said Sue Moroney. "This Government has failed women twice-over in tough economic times - not only have they consigned them to the jobless scrap heap by their inaction on job creation, but they have also stopped pay equity in its tracks in an attempt to prevent women in paid employment from getting fair pay.
Pay equity is another thing that is pissing me off. Why are NZ women paid 12% less for the same work as men! It is soooooooo ridiculous in this day and age that this gender pay gap even exists. By the end of their first year of work, women are on average paid 4% less than their male counterparts and within 5 years are paid 14% less. I hope, though I doubt, Pansy Wong listens to the 15,808 people who signed Sue Moroney's Pay Equity petition, being tabled in the house on Tuesday. I hope that she re-instates pay equity investigations. Women deserve it. This country deserves it. After all Wong said just yesterday is a press release that the:
Elimination of violence against women, tackling the pay gap - which has been stalled at 12 percent since 2001 - and the promotion of women in leadership are three priorities of the Ministry that will honour the spirit of the Suffrage movement for the benefit of all New Zealand women.
So why doesn't she get active and actually work towards them!
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