2 October 2012

Media Release

NCWNZ congratulates new CEO of Women’s Affairs

The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) congratulates Dr Jo Cribb on her appointment as Chief Executive of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

NCWNZ President Elizabeth Bang said, “Dr Cribb has wide knowledge of the areas in which New Zealand women need to continue gaining momentum, and her strong solutions based background will be a real asset in leading the Ministry’s research and policy work.”
Elizabeth Bang said that there are several important areas in which New Zealand women are disadvantaged including the lack of pay parity; women are under-represented in Parliament and in senior decision making roles; they receive less skills training than men; they often suffer financially when relationships break up and family violence is still a problem.

The international committee monitoring the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recently heard the reports from the Government and Non-Government Organisations of New Zealand and has made recommendations on principal area of concern. Among these, the NZ Government has been asked to introduce measures to desegregate gender thematic subjects to ensure that women and girls equally access non traditional thematic subject areas.

“This is important because most New Zealand women work in low paid traditionally ‘female’ jobs,” said Elizabeth Bang. “NCWNZ is holding its biennial Conference in Dunedin this weekend with the theme ‘Women and Work: No Barriers’. The Conference will be a platform for discussion and action in addressing occupational segregation and helping to diversify and expand career choices for women.”

Elizabeth Bang said that NCWNZ has a good relationship with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and looks forward to working with Dr Cribb and her team.

ENDS

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