New Zealand’s Sixth Report on its Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
March 2006

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Contents

Foreword
Introduction
Background
Article 1: Definition of Discrimination against Women
Article 2: Anti-Discrimination Measures
Article 3: The Development and Advancement of Women
Article 4: Acceleration of Equality between Men and Women
Article 5: Sex Roles and Stereotyping
Article 6: Suppression of the Exploitation of Women
Article 7: Political and Public Life
Article 8: International Representation of Participation
Article 9: Nationality
Article 10: Education
Article 11: Employment
Article 12: Health
Article 13: Economic and Social Life
Article 14: Rural Women
Article 15: Equality Before the Law and in Civil Matters
Article 16: Marriage and Family Life
References
List of Appendices
Glossary
Endnotes

 

Foreword

It is my privilege, on behalf of the New Zealand government, to present New Zealand's sixth report on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Convention).

Successive Governments have been highly committed to the implementation of the Convention. New Zealand now has a sophisticated legal and policy framework to provide universal protection against all forms of discrimination. Laws exist to ensure the equal rights of women in all areas of life. Women have the right to receive equal pay for work of a similar nature and equal access to education and training. Women also have universal access to superannuation and government benefits. They also have equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality, and have equal rights with men in respect of their nationality of their children. Women also have equal rights to conclude contracts and to inherit and own property.

New Zealand’s focus is now on further strengthening the legal and policy framework and ensuring that women do not experience de-facto discrimination. The focus of this report is on outlining the legal, structural and policy changes since the last report as well as responding to the concluding comments made by the Committee following consideration of New Zealand’s last report.

During the reporting period considerable progress has been made in further addressing New Zealand’s obligations under the Convention. New Zealand now only has one reservation, which relates to women in combat. In practice, however, there are no barriers to women’s participation in combat roles. As soon as the necessary legislative change has been made, New Zealand will consider lifting this remaining reservation.

Areas of notable progress over the reporting period include the development and implementation of the New Zealand Action Plan for Women and the provision of government-funded paid parental leave. Changes have also been made to the Student Loan Scheme that are likely to be particularly beneficial for women. Measures to further support women’s participation in employment have also been implemented.

New Zealand, like many countries, has more work to do. New Zealand’s focus is now not only on improving equality between men and women, but improving equality between different groups of women and resolving more difficult issues such as family violence and occupational segregation. Many of these issues will not only require Government intervention, but will also require considerable long term cultural and attitudinal change.

In closing I would like to acknowledge the work of departmental officials, NGOs, and individual women who contributed to the preparation of this report, which I take great pride in presenting to the Committee.

 

Hon Lianne Dalziel
Minister of Women’s Affairs

Introduction

This is New Zealand’s Sixth Periodic Report on its implementation of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Convention). It has been prepared in accordance with the Compilation of Guidelines on the Form and Content of Reports to be submitted by States Parties to the International Human Rights Treaties HRI/GEN/2/Rev.1/Add.2). This report covers the period March 2002 to March 2006.

The report covers the key legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures adopted in the review period which give effect to the provisions of the Convention. It should be read in conjunction with New Zealand’s previous reports under the Convention as well as New Zealand’s Third and Fourth Periodic Reports under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR/C/64/Add.10 and CCPR/C/NZL/2001/4), New Zealand's Second Periodic Report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/1990/6/Add.33) and New Zealand’s 15th, 16th and 17th Consolidated Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Un-numbered).

Developments in Tokelau, to which the Convention applies by virtue of New Zealand treaty action, are also covered in an appendix to the report (see Appendix 3). As self governing states, the Cook Islands and Niue have responsibility for reporting on the human rights treaties that apply to them by virtue of New Zealand treaty action. As part of its bilateral development assistance programmes, New Zealand has assisted Niue and the Cook Islands to meet their reporting obligations under the Convention. New Zealand understands that the Cook Islands has filed a report on its implementation of the Convention.

The Committee’s Concluding Comments (A/58/38, paragraphs 405-431) on New Zealand’s Fifth Periodic Report (CEDAW/C/NZL/5, referred to hereafter as the ‘last report’) included some suggestions and recommendations. Responses to the recommendations are provided in a table appended to this report (see Appendix 1) and are also addressed in the body of this report under the article to which they most relate.

New Zealand demonstrates a high-level commitment to ensuring compliance with the full range of its international human rights obligations. New Zealand is an active contributor to the international community and party to key human rights treaties. New Zealand has the elements essential for effective protection, promotion and fulfilment of human rights, namely: democracy, the rule of law and an independent judiciary free of corruption; effective structures of governance; specialised human rights and other accountability mechanisms; and recognition of the vulnerability of particular groups and individuals.

New Zealand also has a specific commitment to promoting women’s rights at an international level. New Zealand is an active participant in the Commission on the Status of Women and promotes women’s rights in the Commission on Human Rights and in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. New Zealand also ensures that its international development assistance promotes the Convention’s purposes and principles.

Domestically, implementation of the Convention has been pursued comprehensively since it was ratified in 1985. Progress is now incremental and focused on consolidation, given the emphasis in previous reporting periods on developing the necessary legal and policy frameworks to give effect to the Convention. During this reporting period, no changes have been made to New Zealand’s legal framework because of the extent to which it had already been developed to comply with the Convention. The emphasis is now on policies that operate within the established frameworks.

In developing policies for women, the Government recognises that ensuring the well being of women and girls is essential to ensuring the well-being of all New Zealanders. Women’s issues are, therefore, frequently mainstreamed into generic policy processes and addressed through an inter-agency approach. The development and advancement of women is also an integral part of a whole-of-government strategy for improving the social and economic outcomes of all New Zealanders.

The Government’s strategic approach to improving outcomes for women is reflected in the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, released in 2004. The Action Plan sets out specific objectives for the Government to achieve in the areas of women’s economic independence, work-life balance and well-being. The Action Plan also has a strong relationship to the purposes and principles of the Convention (as demonstrated in Appendix 4). Non-government organisations (NGOs), other members of civil society and women in New Zealand communities were closely consulted during development of the Action Plan, and a summary of their views on the status of women in New Zealand and priorities for action are contained in an appendix to this report (Appendix 2).

Generic policies are in place to support outcomes for women under the Action Plan’s three key areas, and in other areas of life. In addition, where women as a whole or certain groups of women have specific needs, there are specific policies to address these needs e.g. on women’s health. This reflects the Government’s priority on addressing not only disparities between men and women, but disparities between different groups of women as well.

Considerable progress has been made during the reporting period in addressing New Zealand’s obligations under the Convention. New Zealand now has provision for paid parental leave, and the Government intends to extend further its scope and coverage. However, there are still areas in which further progress is required, particularly in the areas of violence against women and pay and employment equity. The nature of these issues means that they are more complex, inter-dependent and cross-cutting, so may take longer to resolve. The Government is committed to addressing these issues both through implementation of the Action Plan and through its other social and economic development strategies.

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Background

General

Reference should be made to New Zealand’s Core Document which gives an overview of the characteristics of New Zealand society and of the political and legal structures that are in place to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights within New Zealand, including the rights of women and girls. This overview provides the context for understanding New Zealand’s implementation of the Convention.

New Zealand was governed from November 1999 to July 2002 by a Labour-Alliance Coalition Government. The Labour Party continued into a second term after the July 2002 general election, forming a coalition government with the Progressive Party. A general election took place on 17 September 2005, and resulted in New Zealand being governed by a Labour-Progressive Coalition Government with supply and confidence agreements with two parties: New Zealand First and United Future.

Women in New Zealand

The ‘Factual and Statistical Information’ section of New Zealand’s Core Document gives a statistical and qualitative description of the composition of New Zealand’s female population. In brief:

• Women outnumber men in New Zealand across all ethnic groups except for the ‘other’ ethnic group.¹
• The ethnic diversity of the female population is increasing with numbers of Asian and Pacific women growing the most rapidly.
• Fertility rates for Māori and Pacific females are high whereas fertility rates for European and Asian females are relatively low.
• European females have a much longer life expectancy than women from other ethnic groups.
• The age distribution of the female population will change markedly over the next fifty years. By the year 2051, it is projected that 46 percent of the female population will be over 50, compared with only 29 percent in 2004. Consequently, older people’s issues will continue to disproportionately affect women as they age.

In this report, data has been disaggregated by gender and ethnicity where possible. In many cases, disaggregated data could not be obtained. This remains an ongoing challenge.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

As noted in the last report (pp.9-10), following the Beijing Conference in 1995, the New Zealand Government identified a number of key areas in which further action could occur to improve the status of women:

• mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development of all policies and programmes
• addressing the need for better data collection on all aspects of women’s lives
• implementing the Platform for Action’s recommendations relevant to Māori women and girls
• addressing the issue of women’s unremunerated work
• addressing the gender pay gap, and
• enhancing women’s roles in decision-making. 

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ARTICLE 1

Definition of Discrimination against Women

 

Introduction

There have been no changes since the last report to New Zealand’s legal framework (pp.25-26 of the last report), which provides protection against all the forms of discrimination covered by the Convention. Some procedures have been introduced, though, to ensure key human rights protections are not overridden by new laws.

In its Concluding Comments on New Zealand’s last report, the Committee recommended that New Zealand take appropriate steps to incorporate all the provisions of the Convention into domestic law. Before becoming a party to an international treaty the New Zealand Government ensures that its legislation, policies and administrative practices comply fully with the obligations that instrument contains. So while New Zealand does not have a specific piece of legislation which implements the Convention, the Government’s obligations under the Convention have been given effect by other broad human rights focused legislation.

No petitions have been made to the Committee in this reporting period under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which New Zealand ratified in 2000.

Treaty of Waitangi

References to the Treaty of Waitangi continue to be included in new legislation.

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 requires the Attorney-General to notify the House of Representatives when a new Bill appears to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. During the development of new legislation and policy, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) works closely with government departments to ensure, as far as possible, that new legislation and policy is consistent with the Bill of Rights Act. In addition, the Bill of Rights Act requires that, where possible, legislation will be given an interpretation consistent with the rights and freedoms it affirms. The Courts have also developed a number of remedies in relation to breaches of the Bill of Rights Act. A full discussion of the status of the Bill of Rights Act and relevant case law is included in New Zealand’s Third and Fourth periodic reports on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR/C/64/Add.10 and CCPR/C/NZL/2001/4). 

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ARTICLE 2

Anti-Discrimination Measures

 

Introduction

New Zealand has a sophisticated legal and policy framework providing universal protection against all forms of discrimination supported by a comprehensive and independent institutional structure to ensure its effective enforcement.

No changes have been made since the last report to legal provisions that directly relate to the rights of women (pp.25-30 of the last report). Cabinet guidelines require that, when developing policy proposals, consideration must be given to their consistency with the Human Rights Act 1993 and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. All policy papers to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees must include a statement about any inconsistencies of the proposal with the Human Rights Act and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, a summary of implications, and comment on whether and how the issues may be addressed or resolved.²

A key institution for promoting and protecting human rights in New Zealand is the Human Rights Commission (HRC). Since the last report, the Commission has undertaken work to further strengthen its ability to respond to the human rights needs of women and girls. Other relevant institutions for promoting and protecting human rights, such as the Ombudsmen and Commissioner for Children, are described in the ‘Framework for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’ section of New Zealand’s Core Document.

Human Rights Commission

HRC continues to play a central role in promoting and protecting human rights in New Zealand. HRC’s overall assessment of women’s rights in New Zealand is that there has been significant progress since the last report on women’s rights in many areas, about which New Zealand should feel proud, such as the introduction of paid parental leave. However, there remain some entrenched and complex areas, such as occupational segregation and the pervasive barriers preventing disabled people from fully participating in society, among other things, in which progress has not been achieved and to which significant commitment is needed if progress is to be made in the next reporting period.

The Human Rights Commission’s New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights

The Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 gave the HRC responsibility for developing a national human rights action plan. The New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights (NZAPHR), published on 31 March 2005, was developed over approximately two years after extensive consultation with the people of New Zealand. A specific set of actions related to women’s human rights was not developed in the NZAPHR, in light of the existing Action Plan for New Zealand Women. However, elements of the NZAPHR are relevant to women and girls, for example, actions relating to children and young people, disabled people, the right to work, the right to security and access to justice.

The Government has welcomed the contribution of the Commission and will continue to consider the development of a government Action Plan for Human Rights during 2006. However, no substantive decisions are expected before this report is submitted.

Equal Employment Opportunities Unit

The Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 also established the role of a full-time commissioner with responsibility for providing advice and leadership on EEO activities, monitoring and evaluating EEO progress and leading discussions about EEO issues including pay equity. The Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Unit, established in February 2003 to support the work of the EEO Commissioner, has a specific focus on the rights of women. Since being established, the Unit has undertaken a major benchmarking report on the progress of EEO in New Zealand: Framework for the Future. The Unit also consulted widely to prepare The Right to Work Report which informed employment outcomes in the NZAPHR (see above).

In 2004, the Government gave the EEO Commissioner responsibility to provide guidance to Crown Entities to help ensure wider equal employment opportunities outcomes across the wider state sector. The guidance has been developed in consultation with State Service Commission (SSC) and has involved Crown entities, employers, union representatives and EEO specialists in development of templates, tools and workshops to promote the ‘good employer’. A web site will be available in March 2006 in partnership with the EEO Trust to provide best practice examples.

Other key pieces of work have included: a Census of Women’s Participation in Governance and Political Life which showed that New Zealand women lag behind progress achieved in other comparable countries; The Right to Breastfeed Report; the launch of a National Equal Opportunities Network; research on discrimination faced by older workers; and a focus on women’s under-representation in vocational training. 

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Disputes Resolution

There have been no significant changes in the period under review to the structure of the Commission’s disputes resolution service (see p.29 of the last report).

The overall number of disputes about sex discrimination (including sexual discrimination) has remained fairly static, at about 13 percent of disputes each year of the reporting period. Broadly, sex discrimination makes up 6 percent of the total disputes and sexual harassment makes up 7 percent. However, women bring a range of other discrimination disputes to the Commission. For example, an analysis of all complaints by women during the reporting period shows that disputes from women generally fall into the following prohibited grounds of discrimination:

• sex (including sexual harassment): 16-22 percent of all disputes from women
• disability: 17-26 percent of all disputes from women
• race (including ethnic and national origins, racial disharmony and racial harassment): 24-34 percent of all disputes from women
• family status: 7-8 percent of all disputes from women
• age: 5-10 percent of all disputes from women.

The two main areas of disputes about discrimination by women are employment and the provision of goods and services. Employment, including pre-employment, was between 31-46 percent of disputes by women between 2002 and 2005, while the provision of goods and services was between 33-44 percent. An analysis of a sample of 75 cases of sex discrimination disputes showed that 37 percent were disputes about pregnancy discrimination.

There have been three significant disputes related to sex discrimination during the reporting period. These relate to occupation segregation and pay equity, child poverty and discrimination in the provision of education, student support and the student loan scheme. One of these disputes is under appeal and the other two are still in the preliminary stages of either dispute resolution or procedural questions. These disputes show that significant human rights issues are now before the Commission and in the public arena in ways not previously seen. Increasing advocacy by complainants and knowledge of the Commission’s dispute resolution services have contributed to this development.

Office of Human Rights Proceedings (OHRP)

Disputes which cannot be resolved or which a party does not wish to take to mediation may go directly to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. In these cases the OHRP may act for the complainant. Between 2002 and 2004 there were a very small number of cases involving sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Trends are therefore difficult to detect. However, in 2003, there were four cases – three sexual harassment and one sex discrimination. In 2004, there were five cases – four sexual harassment and one sex discrimination. In 2005, there was only one sex discrimination case.

Other

For anti-discrimination measures relevant to particular groups of women see Article 3: The Development and Advancement of Women and Article 14: Rural Women. 

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ARTICLE 3

The Development and Advancement of Women

Introduction

During the reporting period, successive governments have shown a commitment to improving outcomes for New Zealand women and for women from other countries, particularly women living in the Pacific. In New Zealand, the equality and advancement of women is recognised as essential to improving outcomes for all New Zealanders and, as such, is integrated into mainstream policy processes. In many areas, women have levels of achievement equivalent to men, and the New Zealand Government’s policy focus is now on addressing the disparity of outcomes among different groups of women, as well as removing remaining differences in outcomes between women and men.

The New Zealand Government has set high level whole-of-government goals for the development and advancement of women through its key social strategy, Opportunity for All New Zealanders. The Government’s vision for a sustainable New Zealand is underpinned by a range of cross-sectoral social strategies, including the Action Plan for New Zealand Women (see diagram below):

^{Source: Ministry of Social Development (2004) Opportunity for All New Zealanders. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development p.12.}

Ministry of Women’s Affairs

MWA is the Government agency responsible for providing policy advice on issues specific to New Zealand women. MWA contributes to the Government’s vision for a sustainable New Zealand by:

• providing policy advice on issues that impact on social and economic outcomes for women
• assisting the Government to fulfil its international obligations in relation to the status of women
• nominating appropriately-qualified women for state sector boards.

MWA also advises public service departments on how to integrate gender analysis into their policy development, and provides advice on departments’ gender impact statements. Gender impact statements are required for all papers submitted to the Cabinet Social Development Committee (SDC). Cabinet’s SDC considers the development and implementation of government social policy and social equity issues. MWA must be consulted on all proposals that relate to the economic and social status of women, especially Māori women.

MWA was reviewed, strengthened and reconfirmed as a stand-alone agency in 2003. MWA’s work is guided by the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, a five-year whole-of-government plan designed to improve the lives of New Zealand women, which was launched in 2004. 

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Action Plan for New Zealand Women

In 2002, the Government directed MWA, in consultation with other agencies, to develop the Action Plan for New Zealand Women. The Plan articulates the Government’s commitment to improving a range of outcomes for women and to reducing inequalities between women and men, and between particular groups of women. Many women and NGOs around New Zealand had input to the development of the Plan.

The Government’s vision is that New Zealand will be an equitable, inclusive and sustainable society where all women can achieve their aspirations and, in addition, Māori women, as tangata whenua (indigenous people), can progress the aspirations of their whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribe) and iwi (tribe). Other actions in the Plan aim to improve outcomes in areas that impact most significantly on New Zealand’s Pacific women, rural women, women with disabilities, ethnic women and older women.

The New Zealand Government has prioritised actions to improve outcomes for women in three interrelated areas:

• economic sustainability – to improve women’s economic independence and ability to contribute to the New Zealand economy
• work-life balance – to help women to achieve a greater balance between paid work and life outside work, and
• well-being – to improve health and social outcomes for women.

These areas reflect women’s views on what is important to them, the areas in which indicators demonstrate poorer results for women, and the areas in which government can act to achieve improvements. Completion of actions, milestones and objectives within the Plan will advance the achievement of desired outcomes for women.

The following diagram demonstrates how the Plan supports the Government’s vision for a sustainable New Zealand:

 

Source: Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2005) Statement of Intent 2005-2008. Wellington: Ministry of Women’s Affairs p.9.

Implementation of the Plan works towards the realisation of a future vision for women, and an improved economic and social outlook for New Zealand. The Plan’s implementation is overseen by a steering group of chief executives across lead government agencies. MWA monitors progress against the Plan. A review and update of the Plan will be provided to government in 2006.

Refugee and Migrant Women

Paragraph 426 of the Committee’s Concluding Comments on New Zealand’s last report made particular recommendations in respect of refugee and migrant women. As signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination the Government has a strong commitment to combating racism in New Zealand in all of its forms. The Government’s efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and xenophobia, including against refugees and migrants are discussed fully in New Zealand’s 15th, 16th and 17th Consolidated Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. That report also notes strategies and services in place to respond to the educational, health, employment and other needs of refugees and migrants including:

• the Office of Ethnic Affairs, established in 2001, which works with all ethnic people, including migrants, refugees and New Zealand-born descendents who identify with their ethnic heritage
• the New Zealand Settlement Strategy launched in December 2004 (see below)
• the Adult ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Strategy
• Language line: a telephone interpreting service launched in April 2003, which aims to support improved access to government services for people who speak limited, or no English
• ongoing development of a strategic framework for Ethnic Action and Responsiveness to Health (EARTH).

In addition, where possible, disaggregated data on the situation of refugee and migrant women, including in employment, health and education, is included under the relevant articles. The availability of such data will be improved in future with the development of the Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand which is surveying the settlement experiences of refugees and migrants to New Zealand, including in the areas of job-seeking, learning English and accessing health services.

The New Zealand Settlement Strategy

The New Zealand Settlement Strategy, launched in 2004, provides the framework within which settlement-related policy and services may be developed. The strategy establishes a government-wide framework to achieve agreed settlement outcomes for migrants, refugees and their families, so that they may achieve the following six goals:

• obtain employment appropriate to their skills
• are able to access appropriate information and responsive services
• are confident using English in a New Zealand setting or can access appropriate language support
• are able to form supportive social networks and establish a sustainable community identity
• feel safe expressing their ethnic identity and are accepted by, and are part of, the wider host community, and
• participate in civic, community and social activities.

The Settlement Strategy is realised through a wide range of initiatives managed across government. In addition, the Strategy encourages central and local government, community organisations, business and industry, and local communities, to partner each other in providing opportunities and support to migrants and refugees. 

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Disabled women

New Zealand women, and particularly disabled women, have been active participants in the development of the proposed new United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people. The Office for Disability Issues has been working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and in partnership with disabled people and disability sector organisations on New Zealand’s active contribution to the development of the Convention. The Convention addresses issues for disabled people that have been seriously neglected internationally and in New Zealand.

Other groups of women

Further information on the situation of Māori women, Pacific women, disabled women, older women and younger women, including strategies specific to their particular needs, are included, where appropriate, under each of the articles.

Reference should also be made to the last report for information on the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa (pp.38-39), the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy (p.41) and the New Zealand Disability Strategy (pp.36-38) which still continue to inform government approaches to youth, older persons and disabled persons.

Advancement of women in other countries

The New Zealand Agency for International Development/ Nga Hoe Tuputupu mai tawhiti³ is the Government’s international aid and development agency. Since the agency’s formation in July 2002, eliminating poverty has been central to NZAID’s mission, with a regional focus on the Pacific, reflecting the Government’s commitment to be a good international citizen and neighbour. NZAID places a high priority on building strong partnerships and concentrates its development assistance on activities that contribute to poverty elimination by creating safe, just and inclusive societies, fulfilling basic needs, and achieving environmental sustainability and sustainable livelihoods. NZAID’s contribution to the development and advancement of women is discussed further under Article 8, ‘International representation and participation’. 

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ARTICLE 4

Acceleration of Equality between Men and Women

Introduction

The equality of men and women is embedded in the legal and policy framework. Laws exist to ensure the equal rights of women in all areas of life such as the right to equal pay for work of a similar nature, equal access to education and training and universal access to superannuation and pension entitlements for women. Laws such as the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave) Act 2002 also exist to address any inequality that might arise from the particular needs of women, such as the need to stop work to care for children.

The Government prefers to address issues of inequality through the legal and policy framework rather than the use of temporary special measures. This ensures a more comprehensive approach to improving the situation of women and enduring outcome.

Temporary Special Measures

There have been no changes since the last report to the legal provisions providing for the use of temporary special measures (p.43 of the last report). Traditionally, the Government has used temporary special measures for the development and protection of certain ethnic groups, however, it has been more rigorous in its use of such measures following a review of them in 2004 and 2005.⁴ The Government considers that appropriate rigour around targeted programmes is vital to ensure their credibility and public acceptance. 

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ARTICLE 5

Sex Roles and Stereotyping

Introduction

A survey undertaken in 2002 showed that beliefs about the roles of men and women in society are changing. A minority of New Zealanders (18 percent) supported the traditional view that a man’s job is to earn money while a woman’s is to look after a home and family. More than 50 percent of respondents agreed that men should do a larger share of housework and childcare than they do now.⁵

These attitudinal changes are supported by a legal and policy framework that promotes the equality of men and women, and which supports maximum choice and participation by women in all areas of life. Increases in women’s educational attainment have also enhanced the type and level of work in which women can participate. Policies to support women’s participation in all areas of life are discussed under relevant articles, for example Article 10: Education. Roles of men and women in the care of children are discussed under Article 16: Marriage and Family Life. This section discusses the laws that regulate the portrayal of women in broadcasting and print media.

Censorship

All films (including cinema film, video recording, computer games and other media with moving images) must be rated, classified and labelled before they are shown to the public (except those exempted under section 8 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (the Act)⁶). Ratings and classification provide consumer information on the audience suitability of films.

The Act does not require magazines, books and other non-film publications to be classified before they are released to the public. However, such publications are still subject to the Act’s restrictions on objectionable publications⁷ as well as the Act’s general prohibitions on publications that promote or support certain acts e.g. the sexual exploitation of children or sexual violence or coercion.

While the primary agencies involved in censorship and their responsibilities have remained unchanged (see pp.44-47 of the last report), during the reporting period substantial amendments to the Act came into force. In addition to increasing the penalties associated with objectionable publications, the amendments gave the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) power to restrict or ban sexualised images of naked children and the power to restrict publications containing highly offensive language, material glamorising body modification or suicide, material showing highly risky imitable stunts and pranks, publications depicting demeaning physical conduct, and demeaning or degrading images of a person’s body and abusive sexual violence.

In December 2002, the Minister of Broadcasting established a working group which represented broadcasters, regulators, producers, academics and community advocacy groups to investigate current levels of violence on television in New Zealand in an international context. The group was also required to commission new research to inform its deliberations and recommendations. The Working Group reported to the Minister of Broadcasting in 2004.⁸ The Working Group's proposals on television violence included:

• An expansion of the educative and informative role of the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
• More choice for viewers over what they watch through better information.
• An independent and accessible complaints system that protects the rights of viewers to have their concerns taken seriously and to be acted upon if standards are breached.

The findings and recommendations of the Working Group formed part of the Government’s consideration of the future of public broadcasting in New Zealand. In February 2005, the Government released Building a Strong and Sustainable Public Broadcasting Environment for New Zealand: A Programme of Action. The Programme of Action will be implemented over six years. It contains six priorities, one of which is ‘Enhancing independence and responsibility in broadcasting’. Under this priority, the Government will conduct a review of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, including considering whether the Authority should have a broader role, in particular, so that it can promote a wider range of the public’s interests in broadcasting, such as the level of violence on television.

Maintaining Broadcasting Standards

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) is a quasi-judicial body established by the Broadcasting Act 1989. The Act imposes a duty on all broadcasters to maintain standards, including the observance of good taste and decency, the maintenance of law and order, the privacy of the individual, the protection of children, the requirement for broadcasts to be accurate, fair and balanced, and for broadcasters to have safeguards against the portrayal of persons in programmes in a manner which encourages denigration or discrimination.

Overall, the number of complaints received by the BSA has remained relatively constant since the mid - 1990s. There was a decline in complaints under the standard of good taste and decency. This continues a trend over the last past five years, with the exception of a high level of radio complaints in 2002. Only one of the thirty complaints against this standard was upheld. 

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ARTICLE 6

Suppression of the Exploitation of Women

Introduction

Suppressing the traffic and exploitation of women in New Zealand remains a focus for the Government. The Government is also continuing to pay special attention to the prevention of the trafficking and sexual exploitation of young people. It is also concerned to help illegal immigrants from being trapped into prostitution. The focus of the criminal law is on those who exploit prostitutes; whereas a harm reduction focus is applied to prostitutes themselves, rather than the sanction of the criminal law.

Since the last report New Zealand’s prostitution laws have been reformed by the enactment of a Members Bill. The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 decriminalised prostitution, and provided greater opportunities for central and local government to monitor and regulate this previously predominantly ‘hidden’ industry. The legislation also established the Prostitution Law Review Committee to review the operation of the Act. The Committee completed a report on the nature and extent of the sex industry in New Zealand at the time of the law change. The Committee’s report provides baseline information which will inform its second report on the operation of the Act, which is due by June 2008.

National and International Protection of Children

As discussed in New Zealand’s last report (p.48), New Zealand has signed and ratified:

• ILO Convention 182 Concerning the Worst Forms of Child Labour
• UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime
• Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Publish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

New Zealand has signed, but not ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. New Zealand is also a party to the Hague Convention on inter country adoptions.

New Zealand’s signing and ratification of these international treaties is consistent with the high priority that the New Zealand Government accords to human rights issues, and in particular, with the need to provide special protection to prevent the trafficking and sexual exploitation of young people.

In 2001, New Zealand developed a National Plan of Action Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Protecting our Innocence (pp.49-50 of the last report). The Plan examined the commercial sexual exploitation of children in New Zealand. The Plan also designated forty specific measures to government and NGOs. These measures are intended to respond to, and prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children (particularly prostitution, pornography, child trafficking and child sex tourism).

In 2005, MOJ and End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking New Zealand (ECPAT NZ) conducted a stocktake of the Plan of Action that provides an overview of government and NGO activity, from progress on the ratification of international conventions to the educational work of Police in schools. The specific actions in the plan have nearly all been achieved. Programmes to detect and prevent offending, and to provide assistance to victims, are ongoing.

Assistance for prostitutes

Ministry of Health (MOH) contracts the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective (NZPC) to provide a community education programme with a focus on sexual and reproductive health, and on HIV/AIDS. NZPC also provides community drop-in centres and outreach services throughout New Zealand where prostitutes can access a range of occupational health and safety support services, including sexual health clinics and needle exchange programmes. Peer education and support are also provided on a range of issues concerning the health, safety and welfare of sex workers.

Occupational Safety and Health has consulted on and produced ‘A Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in the New Zealand Sex Industry’. This is now being implemented by operators. Medical Officers of Health and OSH inspectors are interacting as required with the sex industry. An additional protection is afforded to sex workers in that their social assistance and accident compensation entitlements may not be cancelled or affected in any other way by their refusal to work, or to continue to work as a sex worker.

The Government also provides funding for training and education aimed at supporting sex workers in creating employment opportunities outside of the sex industry. There is a stigma attached to prostitution which is more difficult to avoid if there is a conviction. Under the Clean Slate Act, which came into effect in 2004, if the sex-worker received a non custodial sentence, it is likely that they would be entitled to conceal their criminal record for most purposes. Sex-workers who were sentenced to a period of imprisonment will be eligible to apply to a judge for the conviction to be removed from their record.

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Illegal immigrants and prostitution

As noted in New Zealand’s last report to the Committee, the Government has been working with the Auckland City Council and relevant local NGOs to develop solutions that assist and protect migrants working illegally as prostitutes and prosecute those involved in their trafficking and employment. It has been identified that most non New Zealand prostitutes are primarily located in the greater Auckland area and are predominantly from Thailand and China.

Under the Immigration Act 1987, work permits cannot be granted to persons for the purposes of providing commercial sexual services. The Act also prohibits holders of temporary permits (work, student or visitor) from providing commercial sexual services.

Young women at risk or involved in prostitution

The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services provide ‘bed nights’ funding to an organisation called Baptist Action in Auckland that runs a safe house for young women, at risk of, or involved in, prostitution. Youth and Cultural Development in Christchurch has a Street Youth Work Project that works with young people who are at risk of or are sex working and are under the age of 18 years. This project has a case management component and works with a ‘Harm Minimisation’ focus. This project encourages young people identified as at risk to look at options for their future. Staff work on the street three nights per week and run a ‘drop in’ service, home visits where appropriate and promote sexual health checks.

Prostitution Reform

It was noted in the last report that the Prostitution Reform Bill, a Members Bill, was before the Justice Electoral Select Committee and due to report to Parliament by November 2002. Prior to the enactment of the Prostitution Reform Act (June 2003), prostitution itself was not an offence. Rather, it was an offence:

• for a sex worker to offer sex for money in a public place, but not an offence to pay or to offer to pay for sex
• to keep or manage a brothel
• to live on the earnings of the prostitution of another person
• to procure any women or girl to have sexual intercourse with any male who is not her husband.

A conviction for soliciting prevented sex workers from working in a massage parlour, effectively forcing them to work either for an escort agency or on the streets, both potentially more dangerous environments. Street sex workers were also less accessible to health workers. A conviction could also hinder a prostitute’s ability to move out of prostitution to another occupation or business.

Three policy responses were considered:

• criminalisation (making prostitution illegal for both client and sex worker)
• legalisation (making prostitution legal under a statutory regime)
• decriminalisation (removing all laws that criminalise prostitution).

The Select Committee report notes: ‘A majority of us have taken a pragmatic approach to prostitution; we neither condone nor condemn it, but recognise its existence in society (and the enduring nature of that existence). We acknowledge that prostitution can be harmful to sex workers and that harm should be addressed by legislative and other means’.

The Bill was reported back to Parliament in November 2002 and had its second reading in February 2003. Parliament considered it as a conscience issue and therefore MPs could vote individually rather than along party lines. The Bill was very contentious and was passed sixty votes to 59, with one member abstaining.

The stated purpose of the Act is to decriminalise prostitution (while not endorsing or morally sanctioning prostitution or its use) and to create a framework that:

• safeguards the human rights of sex workers and protects them from exploitation
• promotes the welfare and occupational health and safety of sex workers
• is conducive to public health
• prohibits the use in prostitution of persons under 18 years of age
• implements certain other related reforms.

The Act prohibits inducing or compelling persons to provide commercial sexual services or earnings from prostitution and confirms the right of sex workers to withdraw their consent to provide commercial sexual services at any time.

The Act also established the Prostitution Law Review Committee, which is charged with reviewing the operation of the 2003 Act and related matters. In 2005, the Committee released its report on the nature and extent of the sex industry in New Zealand. While any attempt to establish the size of the sex industry must be viewed with caution, given that it is an industry where much of its activity has been ‘hidden’, the report provides baseline information on the number of sex workers in New Zealand at the time of the law change.

The Committee is also required to review the operation of the Act in three to five years after the commencement of the Act (by June 2008). The Committee’s review will focus on the purpose of the Act and will include an assessment of: the operation of the Act since its commencement and will consider whether any amendments are necessary.

As at March 2006, since the Act was passed, there have been eight people convicted of employing or using prostitutes under the age of 18.

Street workers

The Prostitution Reform Act did not deal specifically with street work, and some Councils have sought to control street work through local Bills. A Member’s Bill, the Manukau City Council (Control of Street Prostitution) Bill, has also been introduced to Parliament. If passed, the Bill would make soliciting in public places illegal in Manukau City. Parliament has referred the Bill to a Select Committee so that all relevant issues can be canvassed. 

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ARTICLE 7

Political and Public Life

Introduction

The profile of New Zealand women in the public and political life of the country has remained strong. Women hold four of the five most senior constitutional positions in New Zealand. However, this prominent position of women is not repeated throughout every layer of public and political life. Women are still under-represented compared with men in parliament, local government, district health boards, statutory boards and the judiciary. The Government has developed strategies to improve the participation and representation of women, including through the promotion of EEO and a Nominations Service administered by MWA which has a target of achieving 50/50 representation on government boards by 2010.

Central government

The year 2005 marked New Zealand’s 112th anniversary as the first country in the world to grant women the vote. The decision to vote is a personal choice. However, it is a legal requirement for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents over the age of 18 years to be enrolled to vote.

For the 2005 general election, New Zealand’s voter turnout rate was 76.5 percent compared with 72.5 percent in 2002. Because of the nature of the secret ballot, information on differences in participation between different ethnic groups is not directly available. Nevertheless, results from New Zealand election surveys show that there are few differences in voting turnout rates between men and women.⁹

Since the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP) system was introduced in 1996, the proportion of women in Parliament has remained stable. Following the 2005 general election women make up 32 percent of the current Parliament, compared with 28 percent following the 2002 election.

Seven of the 28 Ministers of the Crown are women, including New Zealand’s first Pacific woman Minister. This compares with eight women Ministers out of 26 at the time of the last report. Women ministers have also been appointed to non-traditional portfolios. For instance, the current Minister of Women’s Affairs also holds the Commerce and Small Business portfolios. The Minister of Police is also a woman.

In addition, women hold four of the five most senior constitutional positions in New Zealand: Governor-General, Prime Minister, Chief Justice and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Local government

There are three types of local government in New Zealand: regional, territorial (cities and districts) and unitary (which combines the functions of a regional and territorial council).

Since 1989, the overall number of women local government candidates has increased both numerically and as a proportion of the total number of candidates, against a backdrop of declining candidate numbers. As a consequence of the 2004 elections, 566 women were elected, making up 30 percent of all locally elected positions. As a proportion of candidates, 48 percent of women who stood in all elections were successful, compared with 49 percent of men.

District Health Boards

District Health Boards (DHBs), established in January 2001, determine the provision of health and disability services to 21 districts. DHBs are governed by boards that consist of up to 11 members: seven elected by the public every three years, and up to four appointed by the Minister of Health. The last DHB elections were held in 2004 at the same time as local authority elections. For the first time the elections were held under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system.

Gender breakdown of Elected District Health Board Members
21 January 2002 – 1 December 2005

Period	Gender
	Percentage of Males			Percentage of Females
	Appointed	Elected	Total	Appointed	Elected	Total
As at 31 January 2002	66.3	55.1	59.0	33.8	44.9	42.4
As at 31 December 2004	59.2	57.8	58.3	40.8	42.2	41.7
As at 1 December 2005	66.3	55.1	57.6	33.8	44.9	41.0

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Evaluation and Review

Concern about the low representation and political participation of some groups has resulted in a range of focused projects, including the:

• Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa undertaken primarily by the Ministry of Youth Development that includes full participation by young people as one of the six principles of youth development
• Chief Electoral Office Disability Action Plan undertaken primarily by the Chief Electorate Office, which identifies three key priorities to improve the accessibility of the electoral system to disabled people (namely, improved communication, more accessible voting, and staff training for disability awareness).

Select Committee review

By convention, the relevant select committee conducts an inquiry after each general election. The Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s review of the 2005 General Election is currently underway.

The Local Electoral Act 2001 has been in place for two local authority triennial elections. Following the October 2004 local authority elections, the Justice and Electoral Select Committee initiated an inquiry into the conduct of these elections including declines in voter turnout and delays in announcing some STV election results. The Committee has completed its inquiry and reported back to Parliament. The Committee made a range of recommendations relating to existing representation arrangement provisions, initiatives to improve voter turnout and election management roles and responsibilities. The Government is still considering its response to the Committee’s report.

Women and the law

New Zealand has a well developed legal system. Since the last report, New Zealand has repatriated the court of final appeal; the new court of final appeal is the Supreme Court, which sits in Wellington. The Supreme Court is headed by the Chief Justice, who is a woman. Below the Supreme Court are the Court of Appeal, the High Court and District Courts. There are also a number of specialist courts and tribunals. During the period under review, there has been an increase in the number of women appointed to the judiciary, especially to the District Courts. Twenty-four percent of New Zealand’s Judges are women. The following table records the number of Judges, by gender, as at 1 March 2006. 

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Court	Male Judges	Female Judges
Supreme Court	5	1
Court of Appeal	5	1
High Court (Judges)	24	6
High Court (Associate Judges)	5	1
Employment Court	3	1
District Courts	91	32
Māori Land Court	5	3
Environment court	6	1

Note: the above data is not available by ethnicity.

Women in decision-making

 

Public service

The number of women chief executives has slightly increased in this reporting period. As at 30 June 2005 there were nine women out of 37 Chief Executives. This compares with seven women out of 37 Chief Executives as at 28 February 2002. Women’s overall representation in the public service also increased from 56 percent in 2002 to 59 percent in 2004.¹⁰ The high proportion of female employment in the public service is mainly because the public service includes a number of occupations in which women tend to work (such as social workers, case workers and clerical staff).

SSC monitors pay and employment equity in the public service. The SSC Human Resource Capability Survey of Public Service Departments as at 20 June 2005¹¹ found an adjusted gender pay gap of 10 percent (the same as in 2004) in the Public Service compared with 19 percent (17 percent in 2004) for the employed labour force as a whole. When adjusted for both age and occupation, the gender pay gaps reduce to 8 percent (8 percent in 2004) in the Public Service and 17 percent (16 percent in 2004) in the labour force as a whole.

The Government is seeking to address issues of pay and employment equity through a five-year Pay and Employment Equity Action Plan.

Private sector

Women are considerably less likely than men to be in management or leadership positions in the private sector. As at March 2003, women held 5 percent of board directorships of companies listed on the New Zealand stock exchange. This has not changed significantly from 1995, when women held 3.9 percent.¹²

The Government is supporting women in business by lending assistance to private sector efforts on EEO and through initiatives to support women who own small and medium enterprises.

Statutory Boards

The Government is committed to the Nominations Service administered by MWA which has a target of achieving 50/50 representation on government boards by 2010. As at mid December 2005, the Nominations Service held information on over 2,439 women available for appointment to decision-making bodies.¹³ This compares with around 1,800 at the time of the last report.

A recent stocktake of government statutory boards found that women currently make up 41 percent of statutory board members. Departments with a high proportion of women’s involvement included the:

• Ministry of Social Development (MSD) - it administers eight boards with a total membership of 31, of whom 19 (61 percent) are women.
• MOH - it administers 67 boards with a total membership of 591, of whom 302 (51 percent) are women.
• Department of Internal Affairs - it administers 38 boards with a total membership of 268, of whom 130 (49 percent) are women.

School Boards of Trustees

Boards of trustees, made up of parents, management, staff, student and community representatives, govern New Zealand state and state-integrated schools. As at December 2004, there were 19,876 trustees, 52 percent of whom were female. 11,706 of these trustees were elected by parents, 49 percent of parent elected trustees were female. In addition, 80 percent of staff representatives were female.

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Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)

The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector was established in September 2003 to address overarching issues affecting the community and voluntary sector and to raise the profile of the sector within government. The Office works across government, drawing on good practice examples with the aim of achieving excellent relationships between government agencies and community, voluntary and Māori organisations.

Some central government agencies have established formal arrangements for dialogue with community and voluntary organisations in their areas of concern. This may involve dedicated liaison staff, regular information sharing, and engagement in policy development and/or resourcing for sector umbrella groups. For instance, MWA has ongoing relationships with key women groups including the National Council of Women, Pacifica, Māori Women’s Welfare League, Rural Women of New Zealand, New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women Inc, Zonta and the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges.

MWA also convenes a caucus on international women’s issues. The caucus is a forum for NGOs and government agencies to share information and enhance New Zealand’s capacity to contribute effectively to international forums.

Local authorities are now formally required to work alongside their local communities and community organisations. The Local Government Act 2002 introduces a requirement for local authorities to identify community outcomes using a process discussed with other stakeholders, and to engage the public to identify and prioritise those outcomes.

Other

For information on the participation of women in international affairs see Article 8: International Representation and Participation. 

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ARTICLE 8

International Representation and Participation

Introduction

New Zealand women actively participate in international forums. Representation by women at major international conferences, including UN conferences, has continued without discrimination on the basis of gender.

Delegations to a number of international meetings continue to be led by women Ministers, including the Prime Minister. The number of female staff in MFAT has continued to increase. There continue to be close relationships between government and civil society representatives at international meetings. For instance, civil society members have been included in delegations to meetings of CEDAW and the Commission on the Status of Women.

New Zealand has also continued to ensure that women's empowerment and gender equality are actively pursued in all international development activities.

Women in the diplomatic service

Women are playing an increasingly prominent role representing New Zealand in MFAT. As at September 2005, 53 percent of staff at MFAT were female (374 out of 711 staff). MFAT had forty women staff that identified as Māori (compared with 30 in 1997). Since the last report there have again been significant increases in the number of females in the highest policy level (Foreign Policy Officer Level 6 - FP6) and the lowest policy level (Policy Officer Level 1 - PO1): 25 percent at FP6 (compared with 18 percent in 1997) and 67 percent in PO1 (compared with 51 percent in 1997). These trends indicate increases in the number of women being promoted to senior positions within MFAT, as well as increases in the number of women joining MFAT at entry level.

Eight of the fifty Head of Mission/Post positions are held by women compared with nine in 1998. Two of these eight positions are among the most senior overseas positions available, namely Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; and High Commissioner to Australia in Canberra. There are twenty women in Deputy Head of Mission/Post positions compared with 17 at the time of the previous report. This increase is consistent with the general upward movement of women in MFAT.

One of the six members of MFAT’s senior management group is a woman. In addition, eight of the twenty-five Director positions in Wellington are held by women.

MFAT continues to provide career development courses for its female staff. Recently, MFAT has focused on enhancing its family friendly policies in line with legislative changes and organisational needs. In 2005 MFAT established a working party to consider work-life balance issues, including hours of work, workload, and the impact on staff of postings overseas. In early 2006, MFAT will also complete the public sector-wide Pay and Employment Equity Review. The purpose of the review is to verify that MFAT’s policies, practices and culture ensure that women and men have equitable share of rewards, participate equitably in all areas, and are treated with respect and fairness.

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International conferences and organisations

Women continue to represent New Zealand at international conferences as both official and non-official members of government delegations, without discrimination on the basis of gender. The rules that guide the composition of New Zealand delegations to international conferences do not feature any gender-based restrictions, and women have consistently led, supported and advised such delegations throughout the period of this report. Examples of women-led delegations in 2005 include New Zealand’s delegations to the APEC Leaders’ Summit, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the East Asia Summit (led by the Prime Minister) and delegations to the UN World Summit and the 60th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly.

New Zealand women continue to be involved in an advisory capacity on standing bodies dealing with international issues. There are, for example, currently three women represented on the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control.

The New Zealand Government welcomes, where appropriate, the inclusion of non-official representatives (including women representatives of NGOs) on government delegations to international meetings, in recognition of the breadth and specialist knowledge that they can contribute. It is generally expected that non-official members of official delegations should meet their own costs. However, where the Government has requested their inclusion because of the special expertise they may bring to the delegation it may consider meeting their costs. Women were included as non-official representatives in numerous New Zealand delegations, including to the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia, the UN Climate Change Conference (both in 2005) and ongoing negotiations on the UN Convention on Disabilities.

New Zealand women also participate in a number of international organisations and roles. Government support for New Zealand candidates for international bodies is based on the merits of the individual’s candidature and without discrimination on the basis of gender. Procedures for the nomination of candidates for expert bodies are kept under review.

In addition to participating as leaders, experts and advisers at international conferences, women in New Zealand have the opportunity to comment on a range of relevant international issues as part of the Government’s broader consultation process with civil society.

Foreign policy and women’s issues

New Zealand engages actively in advancing the implementation of women’s rights internationally. The promotion and protection of women’s rights are core priority areas of New Zealand’s international human rights policy. For example:

• New Zealand is active in annual meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women and promotes resolutions on women and gender issues at the Commission on Human Rights and the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
• New Zealand advocates protection of women’s sexual and reproductive health rights in international forums and supports the UN Population Fund’s and the International Planned Parenthood Fund’s work on these issues.
• New Zealand supports resolutions on violence against women and the work of the Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on this issue.
• New Zealand has supported follow-up to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, on the importance of increasing women’s participation in peace processes and the reconstruction of civil society.
• Human rights issues are mainstreamed in New Zealand’s bilateral diplomacy. New Zealand’s Missions overseas raise human rights concerns on a regular basis with their host governments.

Development assistance

The New Zealand Agency for International Development:/Nga Hoe Tuputupu mai tawhiti (NZAID) was established in July 2002. NZAID is the agency responsible for managing New Zealand’s official development assistance. NZAID has a central focus on eliminating poverty in developing countries through working with partners to achieve sustainable and equitable development and a core geographical focus on the Pacific region.

NZAID aims to increase overall human well-being by developing and expanding the capabilities, freedoms, and choices of women and men, girls and boys to improve their own lives and the well-being of their families, communities, and societies. NZAID has been updating its Gender Policy to reflect this.

NZAID promotes and integrates human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural - in all its work. NZAID aims to ensure that New Zealand’s international obligations, including CEDAW, and commitments made at Beijing and Cairo and in the UN Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals remain at the heart of international development and all NZAID’s work.

The strategic approach of NZAID is to ensure that women's empowerment and gender equality are actively pursued in all its development programmes and through policy engagement with partner Governments and in international and regional fora. Examples of New Zealand’s development assistance support for gender equality and women’s empowerment include:

• Funding for the implementation of CEDAW in the Pacific region through capacity building support to partner Governments, such as the Cook Islands and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Pacific. The UNIFEM programme aims to strengthen governments’ capacity to implement CEDAW and support civil society efforts to contribute to monitoring and reporting on CEDAW.
• Ongoing support to activities promoting and broadening the understanding of gender equality in the Pacific region. This includes support to Aia Maea Ainen Kiribati (AMAK), the umbrella organisation for women's NGOs in Kiribati and to the Kiribati Counsellor's Association.
• Assistance to the Vanuatu Women’s Centre’s (VWC) Advocacy Training Programme for men. This is run with the support of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and has provided VWC with funding for a training course aimed at challenging and changing men’s attitudes to women.
• The launch in March 2004, of a US$3 million maternal and child health project in Binh Dinh, Vietnam, one of the largest NZAID funded projects outside the Pacific. The project is being implemented by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Department of Health of Binh Dinh province.

NZAID will develop an implementation plan to operationalise the updated gender policy and continue to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in all its development assistance programmes, partner engagement and policy dialogue. 

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ARTICLE 9

Nationality

Introduction

New Zealand women have equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality, and equal rights with men in respect to the nationality of their children. Last year, the Government amended the Citizenship Act 1977 to recognise the value of New Zealand citizenship. The changes mean that from 1 January 2006, a person cannot travel to New Zealand on a temporary permit solely to give birth and gain New Zealand citizenship for the child born in this country. By restricting citizenship by birth to the children of citizens and permanent residents, the Act’s new provisions ensure that citizenship and its benefits are limited to people who have a genuine and ongoing link to New Zealand.

Until the end of 2005, most children born in New Zealand (or in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau) are automatically New Zealand citizens at birth (with few exceptions). From 1 January 2006, children born in New Zealand (or in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau) will acquire New Zealand citizenship at birth only if at least one of their parents:

• is a New Zealand citizen, or
• is entitled to be in New Zealand indefinitely in terms of the Immigration Act 1987(i.e. a residence permit holder or Australian citizen), or
• is entitled to reside indefinitely in the Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue.

Most people giving birth in New Zealand will not be affected by the change to the legislation. It is estimated that between 100 and 600 newborns each year (about 0.2 percent – one percent) will not be New Zealand citizens because of the changes. In these cases the newborn will become a citizen of the country of one of the parents, according to that country’s laws.

In New Zealand, ‘nationality’ is a legal term distinct from ‘immigration status’. Immigration to New Zealand occurs under the New Zealand Immigration Programme (NZIP) which consists of three streams: Skilled/Business (60 percent of the NZIP), Family Sponsored (30 percent) and International/Humanitarian (10 percent).¹⁴ Men and women are treated equally in terms of their eligibility to migrate to New Zealand under these three streams. However, the Refugee Quota under the International/Humanitarian stream includes 75 places specifically for ‘Women-at-Risk’.¹⁵

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ARTICLE 10

Education

Introduction

The Government recognises that if women are to sustain a reasonable standard of living and provide for, or help provide for, the future of their families/whānau, they require access to a good level of income and the skills and knowledge that will help them maximise their financial resources. The achievement of higher qualifications improves women’s opportunities to gain sustainable employment.

Women have equal rights to education at all levels. New Zealand women overall continue to have slightly lower qualification levels than men owing to historical differences in levels of participation in education.¹⁶ However, over the last thirty years women’s participation in education has risen.¹⁷ Indeed, women are now gaining qualifications at higher rates than men, and in younger age groups, women with tertiary education qualifications outnumber men.¹⁸ However, there are differences in the levels of qualifications held by different groups of women.

The Government has developed a number of strategies and policies since the last report to improve access and participation at all levels of the education sector. While these strategies and policies are gender neutral, the Government ensures that its policies and approaches are responsive to the educational needs of women and girls, including women and girls from different cultures or with disabilities.

The Government is also aware that education policies are not only relevant to women’s abilities to gain sustainable employment, but may also support them in their other roles in life. For example, increased funding for early childhood education is making childcare more affordable which has a positive impact on working mothers or mothers wishing to enter the workforce.

Providing women with more opportunities and choices in education is also important for addressing occupational segregation in New Zealand.

Access and Participation

 

Early childhood education (ECE)

Participation in early childhood education (ECE) has increased from 91 percent of children beginning school in 2001, to 94 percent in 2004. Enrolments of younger children have also increased.¹⁹

There is little difference in the participation rates of boys and girls in ECE. Of the total number of children participating in ECE in 2004, 51.1 percent were boys and 48.9 percent were girls.²⁰

The Government has committed to increasing participation in and improving the quality of ECE under its ten-year Strategic Plan for early childhood education: Pathways to the Future: Nga Huarahi Arataki, released in October 2002. In Budget 2005, expenditure on ECE increased so that, in 2008-09, $694 million will be spent on ECE. This is an increase of 140 percent since 1999-2000.

These funding increases will have a direct financial benefit for children and their families. From 1 July 2007, three and four-year-old children who attend teacher-led early childhood education services will be eligible for twenty hours free education each week. This is a step towards the Government's vision of low-cost early childhood education for all.

Primary and Secondary education

The ratio of male to female students participating in schooling has remained steady over the past few years at about 51 percent to 49 percent.²¹

There have been no changes since the last report to the provisions relating to compulsory schooling and free education in New Zealand (see p.65 of the last report). New Zealand also continues to support Teen Parent Units in schools to cater for teenage parents.

The Government’s goals for improving access and participation in schools are articulated in the Schooling Strategy. The Strategy will guide, and provide focus for, policy and activities across the schooling sector from 2005 to 2010. It aims to improve social and academic outcomes for all students, by focusing attention on those factors that make the biggest difference for student learning.

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Tertiary education

Women now participate in tertiary education at higher rates than men (16 percent of women compared with 12 percent of men in 2004).²² The participation rate of Māori women in tertiary education is particularly high at 22.3 percent.²³ Participation by Pacific women in tertiary education has also grown considerably over the last few years. The number of enrolments by Pacific women grew by 84.3 percent between 1999 and 2003, while enrolments by Pacific men grew by 59.2 percent.²⁴ It is likely that the introduction of private training establishments and wānanga²⁵ has contributed to these increases in participation – Māori women and Pacific women have had a high uptake in these types of institution.²⁶

There is little difference between males and females in the level of tertiary study at which they are enrolled. Of all tertiary students enrolled in 2004, 27 percent of students of both sexes were enrolled in degree courses and 6 percent were enrolled in post-graduate courses.²⁷ A higher percentage of women (29 percent) studied at bachelors level than men (26 percent), however 55 percent of men were enrolled in level 1-3 certificate compared to 51 percent of women.²⁸

The Government’s strategic approach to tertiary education continues to be the Tertiary Education Strategy 2002/2007 (see p.69 of the last report).

Industry training and apprenticeships

Women’s uptake of Industry Training and Modern Apprenticeships continues to be considerably lower than men’s. In September 2005, 26 percent of industry trainees and 8 percent of modern apprentices were women.²⁹ Female industry trainees tend to enter service and care-related industries such as hospitality and community services.³⁰ Several of the industries which employ high numbers of women such as hairdressing, community support services and social services are not included in the modern apprenticeships scheme, contributing to women’s lower levels of participation in modern apprenticeships.

Presently there are over 8,000 modern apprentices. The Government is committed to funding 14,000 modern apprenticeships by the end of 2008.

Other post-compulsory education and training schemes

The Government also supports further education through:

• Skill enhancement: a programme targeted to young Māori and Pacific peoples to provide vocational training pathways into employment or further education. The programme is targeted at youth aged 16 to 21, but older people can also participate.
• Training opportunities: a programme that provides foundation and vocational skills training at levels 1 to 3 on the National Qualifications Framework. Eligibility for the programme is restricted to jobseekers that have a lack of foundation skills and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
• Youth training: a programme that aims to provide foundation and vocational education and training at levels 1 to 3 of the National Qualifications Framework. It is targeted at young people who have recently left school with no or very low qualifications.
• Continuing education: this covers second chance education for adults returning to school as well as adult community education programmes run in schools or tertiary institutions.
• Foundation learning: the Government is developing programmes to improve educational outcomes for those with foundation learning needs i.e. in the areas of literacy, language and numeracy.

The above schemes are all available to men and women equally. Women have participated in all of the above programmes throughout the period under review. Outcomes for female participants in the Skill Enhancement, Training Opportunities and Youth training programmes have been positive. For example, in 2003, 46 percent of women who participated in the Training Opportunities programme moved into employment and a further 19 percent had moved into further employment two months after leaving the programme.³¹

Strategies to improve access and participation for specific groups of students

The Government continues to have specific strategies in place to address the learning needs of Māori and Pacific students (see p.67 of the last report). The Government also offers Māori Medium Education and Pasifika Medium Education in some schools, as well as full Māori-language immersion schooling. The following paragraphs describe strategies focused on students with special needs and those from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Special education

Special Education means the provision of extra assistance, adapted programmes or learning environments, specialised equipment or materials to support young children and school students with accessing the curriculum in a range of settings. These services are provided through the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Group Special Education. In 2004 female preschoolers and students made up approximately 30 percent of the overall number of children and young people that these services were provided to. The same level of provision was recorded in 2002.³² Note the same criteria to access services are used for both girls and boys.

The Education Review Office (ERO) evaluated the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2001 in schools between September and December 2002. The evaluation found that schools provide a range of measures to meet the educational needs of students with disabilities. Responses concerning accessing services for female, Māori and Pacific students with disabilities indicated that most schools had taken diversity issues into account to some extent. Schools were aware of the importance of having suitable resource people to support students with disabilities and of the need to have identified avenues for communication and/or consultation with Māori and Pacific communities.

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Refugees, migrants and other non-English speakers

Among at-risk learners are those from Non-English-Speaking Backgrounds (NESB). Those most at risk are those who are not literate in their first language.

To meet the needs of NESB students the Government funds English for Speakers of other languages (ESOL) training.³³ The Government has also employed ten Refugee and Migrant Educational Co-ordinators who work directly with schools, parents and NESB students to promote the belonging and well-being of migrant and refugee students and their families in school. The positive correlation between successful engagement of families and the achievement of students has been confirmed in a number of research studies.

The Government also recognises that limited English-language competency can act as a barrier to the effective participation of adults in New Zealand society. In response the Government launched the Adult ESOL strategy in 2003. The Strategy’s key areas for action in adult ESOL education are:

• better co-ordination and collaboration
• enhancing access and affordability
• expanding provision and increasing quality
• ensuring the diversity of learner needs are matched with appropriate provision.

Initial funding for the first steps of the Strategy has focused on providing ESOL study grants for refugees and underemployed migrants with skills in priority areas, research into effective practice, developing an information resource in community languages and providing ESOL specialists in migrant resource centres. This complements the fully-funded assistance already available to adults. This includes free enrolment (as mature students) in schools for refugees; the ESOL Home Tutors Service (a volunteer service), and free ESOL assistance for unemployed migrants and refugees.

Research undertaken by DOL into the experiences of refugees found that refugee women find it harder to access English language education than men.³⁴ Improving the accessibility and affordability of ESOL services under the Adult ESOL Strategy will, therefore, help improve economic and social outcomes for refugee women.

Curriculum

Te Whāriki continues to be the MoE's early childhood curriculum policy statement (p.71 of the last report). This curriculum, supported by the Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices, covers the range of desired learning for young children, and emphasises a gender-inclusive curriculum with appropriate resources, equipment, programmes and role models.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework sets out the broad elements fundamental to learning and teaching in New Zealand primary and secondary schools. The Framework states that learning and teaching programmes will be gender-inclusive, non-racist and non-discriminatory, and that they will seek to foster these attributes in students.

Following the release of a curriculum stocktake report in 2003, the New Zealand Curriculum is undergoing a redevelopment to better meet the diverse needs of students in New Zealand schools. A draft curriculum will be available in early 2006.

Health and Physical Education (including sexuality education)

The requirement for state and state-integrated schools to provide health and physical education, including sexuality education classes, has not changed since the last report (pp.71-72 of the last report). A review of sexuality education for secondary school level students is taking place during 2006. One component of this review will assess whether the needs of groups such as Māori, Pacific and disabled women are being adequately met through current sexuality education.

The National Qualifications framework

The same conditions exist for the achievement of qualifications for all learners in New Zealand. Over the last decade, the National Qualifications Framework has been introduced based on a concept of seamless education, allowing credits to be accumulated during and beyond the secondary school years. This has positive implications for life-long learning, and transportability. In addition, the introduction of a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) system allows recognition of indirect evidence of achievement without requiring additional learning. This also has positive implications for women and ethnic groups.

A new qualification system, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), introduced in 2002 has replaced the previous secondary school certification system. The three levels of the NCEA correspond to levels 6, 7 and 8 of the national curriculum, and include industry-based standards as well as achievement standards.

The current qualifications system is regularly reviewed to consolidate coherent life-long learning pathways across the education framework. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority therefore continues to enhance its capacity to monitor trends, assess implications, and develop strategies to respond quickly and appropriately to the qualification needs of the New Zealand community. This regular review ensures currency in meeting the social and economic needs of New Zealand society.

Attainment levels

Young women are, on average, achieving higher qualification levels in secondary education than young men. In 2004, 73 percent of all female school leavers had qualifications higher than NCEA level one, compared with 65 percent of all male school leavers.³⁵ 

The proportion of Māori and Pacific students with little or no formal attainment has declined considerably over the past decade although a significant disparity between Māori and non-Māori students, and between Pacific and non-Pacific students remains. In 2004, young Māori women (50 percent) and Pacific women (67 percent) were less likely than European women (78 percent), Asian women (89 percent) and women from other ethnic groups (79 percent) to leave school with qualifications higher than NCEA level one.³⁶

Young women are more likely to hold a tertiary qualification than young men. In 2004, 22.8 percent of women in the 25-34 age group held a tertiary qualification (bachelor degree or higher) compared with 20 percent of men.³⁷ In contrast, at older ages men are still much more likely than women to hold higher educational qualifications.

European women and women of Asian or other ethnic groups are more likely to hold a tertiary qualification than Māori women or Pacific women. However, the potential to narrow the tertiary attainment gap between different groups of women exists because from 1991 to 2001 the proportion of Māori women with any qualification increased from 45 percent to 59 percent. Over the same period the proportion of Pacific women with a qualification increased from 51 percent to 67 percent.³⁸

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Gender differences in subjects and fields of study

Statistics on enrolment in secondary subjects as at 1 July 2004 showed that gender imbalances in curriculum choices continue. Girls predominate (more than 55 percent) in many languages, most visual and performing arts, most social sciences, biology/human biology and earth sciences, food and textile technology, text and information management, and tourism. Boys predominate in maths with calculus, physics, graphics, computer programming and most technology subjects, sports studies, outdoor education, fishing/farming/forestry and industrial trades. Boys also make up 58 percent of those taking communication skills, 56 percent of those taking remedial English and 61 percent of those taking remedial studies. These gender imbalances have continued through into 2005.³⁹

These differences in subject choices tend to match the patterns of achievement of boys and girls. The 2003 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) Study⁴⁰ of 15-year-olds across the OECD found that male New Zealanders scored, on average, 14 points higher in the PISA mathematics assessments than did their female counterparts. As with PISA 2000, New Zealand girls continued to score much higher than boys (28 points) in reading. New Zealand boys, however, scored slightly higher (6 points) than girls in science. New Zealand boys and girls performed equally well at problem-solving.

However, from a historical perspective, gender differences in subjects are becoming less marked. For example, in 1991 young women made up 75 percent of students enrolled in School Certificate home economics; by 2001 only 70 percent of candidates for the now renamed food and nutrition examinations were young women. In 1991 young women made up just 14 percent of students enrolled in School Certificate technical drawing. By 2001, 26 percent of candidates for the now renamed graphics examination were young women.⁴¹

At tertiary level there are also distinct differences in the fields of study chosen by men and women. Women are more likely than men to study health and education related subjects, while men are more likely to study engineering, agriculture, architecture and building.⁴²

Women and girls have free choice in the types of subjects they pursue. However, while these gender imbalances in subject choices and fields of study persist they will continue to impact on men’s and women’s choices about careers and thus contribute to the degree of occupational segregation in New Zealand.

Access to scholarships and study support

Female students have the same rights as male students to seek government-funded scholarship awards. These include scholarships awarded on the basis of performance in exams administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, as well as other awards.⁴³ Female students may also apply for scholarships offered by other organisations, although eligibility for such scholarships may depend upon the student undertaking a particular field of study or other criteria.

Women also have the same rights as men to receive government student loans and are judged on the same basis as men as to their eligibility for government-funded student allowances.

Student allowances

The Government has made changes to the Student Allowances scheme since the last report, which has helped reduce students’ reliance on the Student Loan scheme. From 1 January 2005, student allowance parental income thresholds were increased, which meant that more students qualified for an allowance. Parental income thresholds will now also be adjusted annually to accommodate shifts in average incomes. In addition, from 1 January 2006 the amount of money students can earn before their allowances are affected has increased and additional support is provided to students from families with more than one child in tertiary education and to students with separated parents.

Student loans

In 2004, 60 percent of those with a student loan were women.⁴⁴ The gap between the proportion of male and female borrowers broadly matches the gender balance in enrolments (see table below).

Distribution of Student Loan recipients by gender 2002-2004

Student genders	Calendar Year
	2002		2003		2004
Female	85,720	56.9%	91,151	58.3%	93,953	59.8%
Male	64,806	43%	65,099	41.6%	63,079	40.1%
Total	150,526	100%	156,250	100%	157,032	100%

Source: Study Link

The median level of student loan was NZ$10,404 as at June 2005.⁴⁵ These figures are not available by gender, but men’s median debt in 2001 was 6 percent higher than women’s.⁴⁶

Recent research has shown that women tend to repay their loans over a similar period to men.⁴⁷ Although women earn less on average, they are more likely to have higher earnings from part-time work during their studies, and to complete their studies and to achieve higher qualifications than men.⁴⁸ Women are also less likely than men to make no progress in repaying their loans.⁴⁹ Higher qualifications can lead to higher incomes relative to the level of debt. The exception to the trend of women and men repaying their loans over a similar period are women with larger debts (greater than NZ$25,000) who tend to take longer to repay their loans than men.

In its Concluding Comments, the CEDAW Committee expressed concern about the potentially unfavourable impact on women of the Student Loan scheme and recommended that the Government review it. At the domestic level, the New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) has made a complaint to the New Zealand HRC alleging that the Student Loan scheme discriminates against women. As part of the complaint process, mediation has occurred between government officials and the NZUSA. Since then, the Government has announced changes to the Student Loan scheme, as detailed below.

To reduce the financial impact of student loans, the Government has announced changes to the Student Loan scheme that will take effect from 1 April 2006. The first of these changes means that borrowers living in New Zealand will have no interest (or further interest) charged on their loans. The second change provides an amnesty period on penalties for borrowers living overseas who are in arrears with their payments. The provision for interest-free student loans is likely to be particularly beneficial to women as they form the majority of student loan borrowers and will no longer be disadvantaged by increasing student loan debt if they stop paid work to have children.

The Government's goal of further reducing student debt will also be supported by improving and enhancing StudyLink's financial information service, which helps students make the best decisions about their student finances. This goal will also be supported by new scholarships and study awards.

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Patterns of employment of women across the education sector

Women continue to dominate the ECE sector, where 99 percent of teachers are women. The pay conditions of ECE teachers are improving with the Government having committed to phasing in pay parity for kindergarten teachers with primary teachers by June 2006 and increasing funding to early childhood education and care services. Classroom teachers in the primary and secondary sectors have a unified pay system. Pay scales are identical. The points at which teachers enter the scale and the maximum salary they may attain are determined by their qualifications. Both primary and secondary teaching is now considered graduate professions.

Women also continue to make up the majority of teachers in schools. In April 2004, women made up 70.1 percent of teachers in schools, while men made up 29.9 percent. This has changed only slightly since 2000, when women made up 69.4 percent of school teachers. 80.5 percent of primary teachers are women, compared with 55.7 percent of secondary teachers.⁵⁰

The number of female managers and female principals in schools has increased since the last report. In April 2004, women made up 61.7 percent of managers in schools compared with 58 percent in 2000. In April 2004, women made up 41.2 percent of principals compared with 35.2 percent in 2000. Women are more likely to be managers or principals in primary schools than secondary schools.⁵¹

Overall, female teachers have a lower median salary than male