Government to develop action plan for women
The government will develop a plan of action to address the challenges facing New Zealand women, Women’s Affairs
Minister Ruth Dyson said today.
Launching the discussion document, Towards an Action Plan for New Zealand Women, at a function at Parliament attended by
more than 300 people, Ms Dyson said the plan would identify a clear vision, set of goals and framework for action to
improve women’s lives.
“We live in a time of enormous social change. Increasing ethnic diversity, growing numbers of young women from Maori and
Pacific populations, smaller families, diverse family structures, an ageing population, and the changing roles and
expectations of both women and men are just some of the things we need to take into account.”
Ruth Dyson said the discussion document had three key themes for women: economic sustainability; balancing work, family
and community responsibilities; and general well-being.
“We need to recognise the special place and role of Maori women, as tangata whenua and as the heart and soul of their
whanau, hapu and iwi.
“We need to address the persistent inequalities that continue to face many groups of women, such as Pacific, rural,
migrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, and low-income women.
“We also need to tackle women’s family and whanau responsibilities. We have worked hard in this country for women’s
participation, particularly in the paid labour market. What we haven’t done yet is get the right balance between paid
and unpaid work.”
Ruth Dyson said the Ministry of Women’s Affairs was working with the National Council of Women and Maori Women’s Welfare
League to develop and run consultation meetings on the action plan around the country in February and March 2003.
At the same function, Ruth Dyson also launched The Status of Women in New Zealand 2002, the government’s 5th report to
the United Nations committee on the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
“The report measures this country’s progress against the United Nations yardstick of women’s universal human rights. It
highlights our achievements and reminds us of the work still left to do”.
Ms Dyson will present the report to the CEDAW committee in New York in July 2003. She said the government’s achievements
for women since the last report in 1998 included: introducing paid parental leave, following serious concern from CEDAW
about the government’s lack of action throughout the 1990s; putting pay equity back on the agenda and consulting widely
on the best way to reduce the gender pay gap; amending human rights legislation to provide a non-discrimination standard
for the government; publishing the Time Use Survey, providing robust information on the paid and unpaid work of women
and men; amending the Matrimonial Property Act to treat de facto and same sex couples similarly regarding the division
of relationship property; implementing Te Rito: New Zealand Family Violence Prevention Strategy; and requiring papers
submitted to Cabinet to include gender analysis and a gender implications statement.
Copies of The Status of Women in New Zealand 2002 and Towards an Action Plan for New Zealand Women (full version and
summary), are available from: the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, PO Box 10 049 Wellington, email:mwa@mwa.govt.nz. The
documents will be available on the website: www.mwa.govt.nz from 6.00pm, Wednesday, 4 December.
NB: Maori Women’s Welfare League president Kitty Bennett and National Council of Women president Beryl Anderson will
also speak at tonight’s launch. The MWWL report to CEDAW on the status of Maori women, and the non-government
organisations’ non-Maori report to CEDAW, will be available at the launch.