Dr Judy McGregor, NZ HRC
April 2008: A new report by New Zealand’s Equal Opportunity Commissioner reveals slow progress towards equality of women and sets out a number of challenges to promote female participation in governance, professional and public life.
A lawyer, academic and former newspaper editor, Dr Judy McGregor is currently the Equal Opportunity Commissioner with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission.
Earlier this month she released the New Zealand Census of Women’s Participation 2008, which builds on similar Census reports in 2004 and 2006.
The Census reports on the gender composition of the boards of private companies, statutory bodies including Crown companies and other Crown entities. It also charts women’s representation and status in politics, the judiciary and law, universities, media, science, sport, police and trade unions.
New Zealand has a reputation for gender equality. Is this reflected in your latest report?
The report publicises the tremendous progress that New Zealand has made in government appointments to statutory bodies, which currently stands at 42% female representation. However, the perceived predominance of women in key leadership positions such as Prime Minister, Helen Clark, Speaker of the House, Margaret Wilson, and Chief Justice, Sian Elias, disguises the fact that the high profile of a few outstanding achievers does not accurately reflect the status of all women in New Zealand.
What are some of the barriers to participation that women continue to face in the public and private sector?
The traditional barriers include women’s interrupted career paths when they choose to take time out for families and the occupational segregation of women into certain jobs that have lower pay, such as teaching, nursing, social work and the caring professions. In the private sector where New Zealand women are only 8.65% of the directors of the Top 100 companies there is clear evidence that “old boys” networks are locking women out of the boardroom. While societal attitudes are changing, women still suffer systemic discrimination in getting to the top in professional and public life.
Are there areas where women are making progress?
Women have made huge gains in labour market participation (now at 46% of the total in NZ) and are 52% of school boards of trustees and 43.38% of representatives of district health boards. More than a third of Cabinet, 35%, is female and a third of the Members of Parliament are women. However, the figures for women at the top in science, sports management, the media and law and as public service bosses are pretty dismal.
What are some of the report's key recommendations?
The 'Agenda for Change' asks the Government to fulfil its promise made internationally of 50% of women on statutory boards by 2010. It also recommends that the 60 top 100 companies in the private sector without a single woman on their boards urgently prioritise female appointments. We also want harder targets set for women’s promotion in the police, the state services and local government. Major women’s NGOs are also urged to promote women’s leadership.
How have previous Census reports been used to build awareness and effect change?
The Census report is a major benchmark report used by the news media nationally and internationally. We believe that what gets counted gets done. More than 5,000 hard copies are distributed to politicians, policy makers, corporate sector, women’s groups, public agencies, researchers and students. A further 6,000 copies are downloaded electronically. New Zealand’s sixth periodic country report to CEDAW used the Census report as a core reference document and the three alternative reports from NGOs also quoted it extensively.
