The Impact of Women’s Political Leadership on Democracy and Development in New Zealand

In 1893 New Zealand became to first self governing country in the world in which all women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections, following the landmark Electoral Act. As a result New Zealand’s world leadership in women’s suffrage became a central part of a social laboratory for other democracies.

The 1990s was an outstanding time for women’s appointment to positions, particularly with the change in the electoral system to Mixed Member Proportionality, which opened up political space for women. Women have held each of the country’s key constitutional positions: prime minister, governor general, speaker of the House of Representatives and chief justice.

The paper interrogates how Mixed Member Proportionality has impacted women’s participation in politics and examine the contribution of women after a period of social and political change and how this has translated into women’s voting and representation.

Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat