Executive summary

To inform the Action Plan for New Zealand Women (the Plan), the Ministry of Women's Affairs, in partnership with the National Council of Women of New Zealand, the Māori Women's Welfare League and PACIFICA, conducted an extensive consultation process to obtain the views of women around New Zealand on priorities for government action to improve the circumstances of women. This input, combined with an analysis and reviews of the status of New Zealand women conducted by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, provided the foundation for the development of the Plan.

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Consultation process

In December 2002, the Ministry of Women's Affairs (the Ministry) released a discussion document, Towards an Action Plan for New Zealand Women, which included the government's goals, the policy principles guiding the work of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and specific issues affecting Māori women. The document also provided an assessment of women's circumstances in New Zealand against three key inter-related themes, which included a range of topics:

• Economic sustainability - including adequacy of income, access to paid employment and education, and employment outcomes
• Balancing work, family and community - including caring for children and other dependants and building strong communities
• Well-being - experiencing lifelong good physical and mental health, being safe from violence and meeting the special needs of different groups of women.

Against this backdrop, and after the discussion document's release, the Ministry was charged with overseeing a national consultation process to gather women's views for input into the Plan. The discussion document sought public feedback on women's issues and priorities, and possible actions that could improve women's circumstances in New Zealand. The consultation process included:

• formal consultation meetings (20) held by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in partnership with the National Council of Women of New Zealand, the Māori Women's Welfare League and PACIFICA
• meetings (10) between Ministry officials and several interest groups
• focus group meetings (6) with representatives of target groups of women
• public submissions (267) in response to the discussion document.

This report summarises the input received through the consultation process in relation to issues, potential solutions and the range of successful initiatives currently operating in communities.

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Key issues

The key issues for women were grouped under the three major topics provided for discussion throughout the consultation process. While the issues articulated are seen to apply to all women at various levels, specific groups of women also identified key issues from their perspective.

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Economic sustainability

Economic sustainability refers to a woman's ability to independently provide for herself and her dependants. This topic included paid work, unpaid work, income, financial circumstances of sole parents, superannuation and education.

In relation to economic sustainability, women considered the following issues to be of particular importance:

• achieving pay equity
• valuing women's unpaid work
• women's ability to choose between prioritising their involvement in the paid workforce and family responsibilities
• addressing the inequities that arise for women as a result of prioritising family and community responsibilities over paid work
• providing support services to women in the paid workforce
• addressing the long-term impact of student loans on female students (in terms of future work patterns, the associated labour market inequity, and financial barriers to starting a family)
• the inadequacy of social welfare assistance, especially for sole parents, and the need to provide more realistic minimum income levels
• the need for women's working patterns to enable them to make private provision for retirement
• fostering women's participation in higher education and developing their skills
• providing resources to enable women's participation in enterprise.

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Balancing work, family and community

New Zealand research identifies a growing tension between work commitments and family responsibilities as a major concern for both men and women. With women typically assuming the major responsibility for caring for the family, they are under increasing pressure as more women enter the paid workforce.

The common views from all contributors regarding balancing work, family and community responsibilities follow:

• women continue to bear the major responsibility of raising families - there is a lack of recognition for that role and the fact that this responsibility should be more equitably shared with men
• women's participation in the unpaid workforce is under-valued
• women's constraints when making choices about whether to participate in the paid or unpaid workforce are unrecognised, particularly the financial constraints in relation to unpaid workforce participation, and the lack of services that support paid workforce participation
• there is not enough emphasis on the importance of families/whānau and relationships
• there is an assumption that women want to participate in the paid workforce, and that all women are in a position to choose
• women who choose to work in the voluntary sector need to be recognised for shouldering community responsibilities for those who choose not to undertake voluntary work
• having more women in leadership and decision-making positions would be one means of generating more strategies to balance work, family and community responsibilities.

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Well-being

Well-being encompasses the health and social aspects of women's lives. Contributors to the consultation processhighlighted the following issues:

• a focus on women's well-being in isolation from that of men may provide an artificial separation and not be in women's overall best interests
• it should not be assumed that all women can achieve well-being, as this may not be the case for women with severe disabilities or those who are severely ill
• the diversity of women in New Zealand must be taken into account in relation to well-being
• there is wide support for a gendered approach to health
• contributors identified a range of focus areas for women's well-being, particularly mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and safety from violence.

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Key issues for Māori women

• social equality and economic independence
• service delivery 'by Māori for Māori'
• increasing the number of Māori women in leadership and decision-making positions
• cultural identity
• employment
• participation in the enterprise economy
• safety, particularly from domestic violence
• sexual and reproductive health.

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Key issues for specific groups of women

Pacific women:

• recognition of Pacific peoples' family values
• accessibility of the cultural heritage of Pacific communities
• recognising and valuing the role Pacific women play in their families and wider community
• Pacific women's need to participate in all aspects of decision-making and society
• Pacific women's need to be safe from harm.

Migrant and refugee women:

• the effect of the separation of families arising from migration
• the particular circumstances of family members resident in refugee camps
• in the context of the above points, migrant and refugee women's aspirations to reunite families.

Women on a low income:

• affordability and accessibility of services
• the need for lower expectations in relation to participation in full-time paid employment
• the need for greater recognition and value (including financial support) for the other contributions that women make to society.

Rural women:

• the recognition and valuing of the role of rural women in their families and communities
• recognition and valuing the diversity of women
• improving access to resources and services
• protection of the natural environment
• women being safe from harm.

Women with disabilities:

• the need to operationalise the New Zealand Disability Strategy, particularly:
• Objective 14: Promote the participation of disabled women in order to improve their quality of life
• Objective 15: Value families, whānau and people that provide ongoing support to women with disabilities.

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