Research needed into women Honour List recipients

While my heartfelt congratulations goes to all those New Zealanders who received a New Year Honour, I’m personally disappointed that women were under represented says, National's Women's Affairs spokeswoman, Dr Jackie Blue.

"While women make up just over half of the population, a little over one third of the awards went to them. We need to know why this is the case.

"The only Order where the number of women receiving an award approached 50% was the Queens Service Medal for Community and Public Services.

"As women make up the bulk of the community voluntary sector and are the unsung heroes, this was pleasing to see.

"Otherwise the trend seemed to be, the more prestigious the award, the less likely women were recipients.

"This was evident in the Distinguished Companions and the Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit, where women represented only 17% of the group.

"Even our highest honour, the Order of New Zealand awarded to 20 living New Zealanders, currently has only six women recipients.

"There may be a number of factors that have contributed to the poor representation, ranging from a failure to identify worthy women for nomination, a reluctance by women to put their name forward, or women not reaching their full potential.

"For a Government that supposedly champions women’s causes, this is an area that needs to be addressed.

"I would be urging all women’s groups to encourage women to put their names forward for consideration."

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