Ministry launches new website

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs today formally launched a new-look website with many new features and resources.

The site  – www.mwa.govt.nz – has been built with assistance from the State Services Commission (SSC) and is the first site by another government agency to use the open source code and content management system SSC is making freely available to the whole state sector. 

“We were delighted to be the first government agency to use the Government Web Guidelines compliant version of the content management system Plone which SSC has had developed by 3months.com,” said Ministry Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner.   “As a small government policy agency it was great to have the support of the Commission and to contribute to something which should be of great benefit to other public sector organisations.”

The site contains much new content, including features that users of the previous Ministry site said would be useful.   

“The top two items requested were ‘information on women in New Zealand’ and ‘research / statistics on women in New Zealand’,” said Shenagh.  “When we were building the new site, we tried to reflect that interest with a new Women in New Zealand section. It includes a great timeline which gives an overview of the history of women in New Zealand, and brief information presented under the headings people tend to ask for - such as Pacific women, or women with disabilities.

“For statistical information on all women in New Zealand we link to the excellent and up-to-date information on women on the Statistics New Zealand site and other government sites. This is part of trying to take a whole-of-government approach – if another part of government has produced the information and already has it available on the web, we link to it rather than recreate it on our site.”

Shenagh also thanked stakeholders such as the National Council of Women, PACIFICA, the Māori Women’s Welfare League and Rural Women New Zealand that had helped with user feedback.

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Appointment of Acting Chief Executive of CYFS

2:12 pm MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE STATE SERVICES COMMISSIONER

Appointment of Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Child, Youth And Family Services. The State Services Commissioner, Mark Prebble, today announced the appointment of Shenagh Gleisner as the Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services. "Shenagh will start from the time Paula Tyler leaves the job," Mr Prebble said. Ms Gleisner will be in the role until a new chief executive is appointed. Shenagh Gleisner is currently the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Women's Affairs. She is a trained social worker with extensive management experience.

Carolyn Risk has been appointed as the Acting Chief Executive of the Ministry of Women's Affairs for the period that Ms Gleisner is away from the Ministry.

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Celebrate Suffrage Day: Vote!

The best way women can celebrate Suffrage Day this year is to vote on Saturday, says Ministry of Women’s Affairs Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner.

This Monday (19 September 2005) is the 112th anniversary of New Zealand becoming the first country in the world to grant women the vote.

“We can all be proud that New Zealand was the first nation in the world to grant women the vote in 1893,” said Shenagh Gleisner, “but we should never be complacent about that right.   Rights are only secured by using them, and I urge all New Zealand women to exercise that right by voting on Saturday.”

Ms Gleisner said that while reliable figures were not available for the percentage of women who registered to vote - or who voted - other evidence pointed towards New Zealand women still being less politically engaged than New Zealand men.  

“Surveys conducted regularly over the last decade to measure people’s knowledge of how MMP works, for instance, have consistently shown women are less well informed on these issues in general than men.  

“The best way to celebrate 112 years of suffrage would be for more women to vote and more women to be elected on Saturday,” said Ms Gleisner.

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International Women’s Day

Ministry of Women’s Affairs Chief Executive Shenagh Gleisner will spend International Women’s Day (8 March) reporting back to communities in Southland on how their input influenced the Action Plan for New Zealand Women.

“As a policy agency we need to work closely with women’s organisations and communities to ensure we understand their needs and concerns,” she said.  “Only then can we develop policies that work for ordinary New Zealanders.”

Last year on International Women’s Day people from all over New Zealand came to Wellington for the launch of the Action Plan by the Minister, Hon Ruth Dyson.

“The launch was attended by more than 350 people who had contributed to the plan in various ways, but there are hundreds more around New Zealand who could not come to the launch,” said Shenagh.  “Since then I have held nearly 20 meetings around the country, reporting back to communities on the Plan.”

Ms Gleisner said that although one year was too short a time to judge the success of the five year whole-of-government plan, there had been some significant developments in the past year that benefited many New Zealand women.

These include the introduction of paid parental leave; major improvements to the levels of family income assistance (the Working for Families package); a commitment from government to implement the recommendations of the taskforce on pay and employment equity in the state and health sectors; and increased child care subsidies.

Research undertaken during the year would also contribute to the success of the Plan she said.

“For instance, research commissioned by the Ministry on the influences of maternal employment and early childhood education on young children’s development is very relevant to the current debate about mothers returning to the paid workforce.

“That report, which reviewed relevant international and New Zealand research on the subject, concluded that maternal employment in itself has no significant negative or positive effects on children – it’s the quality of child care and early childhood education that counts, not whether or not the mum is in paid work.

“Two other research projects in which we are currently involved will also contribute significantly to our understanding of Pacific women’s economic well-being and of the experience of women who set up and run their own businesses.”

International Women’s Day was a good time to celebrate the continued progress towards achieving equality of opportunity for women, and to consider what still needs to be done said Ms Gleisner.  

“Change is usually incremental and often takes years to fully achieve, so it’s easy for people to assume it would have happened without the contribution of thousands of women throughout the community or the commitment of government to understand the barriers still faced by women - and overcome them.  That’s something I hope people will reflect upon on International Women’s Day.” 

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Self employment a mixed bag for New Zealand women

Research undertaken by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development sheds light on the experience of women who own small and medium-sized enterprises.

The contribution of women in enterprise to the New Zealand economy is significant and growing. New Zealand women are becoming self-employed at over twice the rate of men, yet most of these businesses start smaller, remain smaller, and generate lower incomes than businesses owned and operated by men. 
To understand why - and what could be done to help women entrepreneurs succeed -  the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MWA) and the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) have been talking to New Zealand businesswomen as part of research into women who own small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“We really wanted to understand the barriers women face when growing their businesses,” said Cherie Engelbrecht from Women’s Affairs.   “This is so we can provide better advice to government on policy options to stimulate business growth in SMEs owned and operated by women.”

Denise L’Estrange Corbet – a successful fashion designer based in Auckland – opened a tiny shop 16 years ago, with her partner Francis Hooper – World on High Street. Since then, Denise and her partner have shot to prominence, creating a stir on the international fashion circuit.  They now have stores in Auckland, Wellington, and Sydney and have won many fashion awards.

Their clothes are exported to Italy, Japan, Taiwan, USA, UK and France and have been purchased and displayed by the Auckland Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and Victoria Museum in Melbourne.
‘I feel success is what you make it – to believe in yourself and to work towards your goals no matter what obstacles may be put before you,’ she says.

‘You are given one chance to get it right, so you must strive for that, if only to prove to yourself that you can make it, that you are a success.’
The Government’s Action Plan for New Zealand Women identifies economic sustainability, work-life balance and well-being as three inter-related areas designed to improve outcomes for women.  The research conducted by MWA and MED on women in enterprise focuses on the area of economic sustainability in a bid to improve the overall economic independence of women in New Zealand.

The research involved focus groups and phone interviews with businesswomen across the country including fashion designers in Dunedin, women running a range of different businesses in Auckland, client managers from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and people involved with Māori women’s business development. Because there was a particular focus on Māori women’s experience, a Māori women’s economic reference group was used to help guide the project, and the project also drew on other recent research on women in enterprise both here and overseas. 

So how are the experiences of women going into business similar to, or different from, those of men and from women in other countries? 
Internationally, entrepreneurship is dominated by unskilled women or very skilled and already wealthy women.  Among those who are highly educated and skilled, the incentives for going into business may be small because they have other career options, unless the potential value of the business opportunity is substantial. 
Women’s and men’s businesses display quite distinctive patterns in terms of size, growth, earnings and industry location.  Women-owned businesses tend to use fewer resources than men’s, generate less income, employ fewer people and, although more women these days are setting up businesses in non-traditional areas, they still tend to be primarily concentrated in the service, retail and property sectors.
Internationally, women-owned businesses are becoming more diversified and increasingly women can be found in every industry sector.  Some of women’s biggest gains in non-traditional sectors overseas include construction and real estate, transportation, advertising, business consulting and computer services.

Jodyanne Kirkwood, one of the few academics to study the motivations of New Zealand businesswomen, found no major differences between women and men in their motivations for entrepreneurship.  Men and women tend to have similar drives for going into business, the most common of these being to seek independence, achievement, flexibility and money.  But for many women, business activity is part of a broader livelihood strategy and a desire to balance work with family commitments. 

Research indicates that women tend to take a more ‘integrated’ approach to business taking into account the impact on their partners and families as well as their own motivations.  Men, on the other hand, are more able to separate their family and business activities, and are more likely to be driven by profit.  Women appear more driven by a sense of fulfilment, personal satisfaction and service.

Although Māori women in business remain significantly under-represented amongst the self-employed, the number of Māori businesswomen is growing at a faster rate than Māori businessmen.  The dynamics between business activity and family responsibilities may however be more acutely felt by Māori women as they have additional aspirations and responsibilities for their whānau and hapu as well as individual financial goals.

Māori women appear to start their own businesses for much the same reasons as non-Māori women, but have additional motivations.  Māori businesswomen interviewed said that they wanted to provide inspiration for other Māori women such as role modelling and proving that Māori women can do it, as well as to contribute to the advancement of Māori through such means as creating employment for whānau, reusing ancestral land and participating positively in the community.

The New Zealand Time Use Survey 1998-99 found that women carry the major responsibility for unpaid work in New Zealand. Many women in SMEs report leaving paid employment because of a perception that self-employment would give them the flexibility to manage both paid and unpaid responsibilities.  Yet many found their flexibility actually diminished rather than increased.  Business activities such as doing ‘bookwork’ were ever present in home life and encroached upon ‘family’ time.  

Jodyanne Kirkwood’s study of New Zealand businesswomen (2004) concluded that many women entrepreneurs end up ‘working the nightshift’ as well as all day, and that entrepreneurship had not provided them with the ability to more effectively manage their work and family lives.  Hence, as in the international literature, flexibility for New Zealand business women in terms of balancing work and family life may be somewhat of a myth.  Rather self-employment can make balancing work and family work life even more difficult than when working in a paid employment role. 

The availability of affordable, quality childcare can alleviate some of these pressures.
These days it would appear that women entrepreneurs are using childcare and working more from home.  A number of government initiatives already underway may enable women to move into business more for the opportunities it offers than because of necessity or frustration with paid employment.  These include policies such as increased funding for childcare and out-of-school care subsidies, better child support and promotion of work-life balance.

In New Zealand there are many business assistance programmes that SME owners can access.  The government funds a wide range of business support programmes including BIZ (a specialist business information service provided free of charge via a nationwide network of information centres), E-Business Guide, Enterprise Training and Market NewZealand.com.  At the basic level it appears that women are taking advantage of these development programmes, however programmes aimed at higher levels of growth seem to be less effective.  This could be one reason why women’s businesses are remaining smaller than men’s.

These assistance programmes can provide valuable support, particularly when facing the challenges of setting up a small business.  Women in SMEs cite similar barriers to growth as men, including managing compliance costs and accessing finance.  Due to the multiple and sometimes disparate roles many SME owners must play, capability can also be stretched.  Negative attitudes amongst New Zealanders to business can also sometimes discourage potential business owners from considering self employment.

The presence of consistent differences between men’s and women’s businesses over time and across countries however, suggests that women’s businesses may experience constraints over and above those experienced by SMEs in general.

Community and market stereotypes of women and men in business are one such constraint, including women’s own perceptions of themselves as ‘non-entrepreneurs’. There is some evidence that in general women are more risk averse than men.  Of the women interviewed for the review, one woman commented that women tend to be more risk averse due to a “fear of failure”.  Lower levels of skills and experience in running a business, as well as lower levels of accumulated wealth and a lack of positive role models can often result in lower levels of confidence in their abilities to establish and manage businesses. 

Businesswomen interviewed as part of the review stated that internal issues such as lack of confidence were sometimes even more difficult to overcome than the more tangible barriers.

Difficulties in accessing or finding information on business networks and markets, plus competing demands on time for family and community responsibilities over and above those of men can also hinder opportunities and success.  However, business networks, management capability and role models appear to be the more important contributing critical factors for female business success.  It is these barriers which government will help to address as part of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women.

Overseas, social networks have often been identified as an important factor in business success.  In New Zealand, businesswomen interviewed noted the importance of a number of key success factors including having a business plan, the need to invest in professional and personal development, actively seeking professional advice and networking.  For Māori women, this also included the need for a ‘Māori mentor’.

Some recent research, however, indicates that when standardised for size, industry, level of resources invested and risk, women’s businesses are no more likely to fail than men’s.  In fact, where women have a good business idea, knowledge of and experience in an industry, managerial and financial planning skills, access to high quality networks and high quality information, as well as high quality child care, their businesses are just as likely to succeed.

Likewise, studies of Australian businesses found that after controlling for industry, age of business, risk and the number of days the business operated, there were no significant differences in the performances of the male and female-controlled SMEs.

Overseas policy frameworks that underpin the structures and programmes for supporting women’s businesses recognise the significant and potential contribution of women to the economy, including women exporters, whilst acknowledging the ‘unique’ barriers they face in realising their potential.  Several EU countries, while also emphasising economic goals, appear to give more emphasis to cultural and social goals, including changing society’s attitudes to women’s enterprises and increasing women’s visibility to the public and to each other.

The experience of New Zealand women in SMEs and government SME related policy appear to be in line with those of other countries.

Identifying and reducing unnecessary constraints on women’s business and supporting their businesses to grow could greatly enhance overall economic performance.
While many New Zealand women in enterprise are already flourishing, others have yet to find their path.  With more support from communities, government and networks, the contribution of women in enterprise to the
New Zealand economy will continue to grow.  MWA and MED will use the research to help government develop policies that will reduce barriers and help women continue to grow successful businesses.

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Action plan for New Zealand women comes to Southland

Southlanders who made submissions on the proposed Action Plan for
New Zealand women will get to hear how their views influenced the final Plan.

Ministry of Women’s Affairs CEO Shenagh Gleisner is in Invercargill on International Women’s Day, Tuesday 8 March to speak to local people about the Action Plan.  

The meeting will be held at the Southern Institute of Technology, Otarewa Room, Hansen Hall in Invercargill from 7:30 – 9:30pm.  Those interested in hearing about the Plan are welcome to attend.

The Action Plan was launched by the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hon Ruth Dyson, exactly one year ago and is a five year, whole-of-government plan targeting areas that can improve the quality of women’s lives.

“The launch was attended by more than 350 people who had contributed to the plan in various ways, but there are hundreds more around New Zealand who could not come to the launch,” said Ms Gleisner.

“As a result we have decided to visit a number of regions and report back to those who were so helpful in providing ideas and advice.”

The Action Plan for New Zealand Women focuses on three key areas:
• improved economic independence of women in New Zealand
• greater work-life balance in New Zealand
• improved quality of life for all New Zealand women.

The Ministry’s role in achieving these outcomes is to identify trends and emerging issues affecting women; to lead policy work and thinking on these issues; and to influence the policy work of others.

Shenagh Gleisner said that as a policy ministry, Women’s Affairs recognised that to effect change it had to work closely with others involved in both policy and implementation and had to be rigorous in its analysis and monitoring.

For this reason there was a strong emphasis in the Action Plan on working with others - including women’s organisations and other government agencies – and on research, monitoring and evaluation.

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UN summit on Status of Women

New Zealand will seek to ensure women’s rights remain a priority at the 49th Session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) starting in New York tonight (NZ time).

The meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration which adopted a Programme for Action for the global advancement of women. New Zealand’s delegation is being led by Women’s Affairs Minister Ruth Dyson.

“New Zealand strongly supports that programme and the international commitment to women’s rights. That may sound a bit obscure, but the Declaration, and the obligations and scrutiny that go with it, do influence the way policies for women are developed around the globe.

“International obligations under the Beijing Declaration and the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) have helped guide New Zealand’s progress in areas such as pay and employment equity. They also provide critical protection for the basic human rights of women.

“Reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration this week will help keep gender equality central to the wider United Nations agenda and, ensure appropriate attention when the UN celebrates its 60th anniversary later this year and reviews the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals, which deal more broadly with human rights.“

The New Zealand delegation includes unusually both public servants and representatives of civil society.

“We believe that the advancement of women can only occur when governments work closely with non-government organisations. We are one of only a few countries that regularly includes women from the wider community in our delegations.

“These representatives bring invaluable perspective, reminding us that while we are negotiating international agreements, they need to have meaning for ordinary women.”

While in New York Ruth Dyson also took part in the Commonwealth ‘Beijing+10’ Ministers’ meeting, on Sunday 27 February, and will have a number of bilateral meetings with other delegations attending CSW.

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