Tēnā Tatou
By the time you receive this newsletter most award panels will have completed their recommendations for 2023, this is a busy time for Trustees and our operations team who put an enormous amount of effort behind the scenes.
We have had an unprecedented number of applications this year (over 700 across all awards). On behalf of the Board, I extend our thanks to Awards Officers and panel members who volunteered their time to coordinate and assess applications, and also Award sponsors who provide the funds to support the education pathways of women.
On September 19th we celebrated 130 years of Women’s Suffrage in Aotearoa, New Zealand and acknowledged the legacy of women who fought for our right to vote. As the general election in October approaches, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on some NZ Parliament firsts:
1893: Women gain the right to vote in New Zealand
1919: Women can stand for Parliament – Rosetta Baune, Aileen Cooke and Ellen Melville were the first women to do so
1933: Elizabeth McCombs is the first woman MP
1947: Mabel Howard is the first woman Cabinet Minister
1949: Iriaka Rātana is the first Wāhine Māori MP
1972: Whetū Tirikatene-Sullivan is the first Wāhine Māori Cabinet Minister
1984: Fran Wilde is the first woman party Whip
1996: Pansy Wong is the first Asian MP
1999: Georgina Beyer is the first transgender MP and Winnie Laban is the first Pasifika woman MP
1997: Jenny Shipley is the first woman Prime Minister
2005: Margaret Wilson is the first woman Speaker of the House
2022: Women have the majority of seats (61) in New Zealand Parliament for the first time