#metoo has exposed 'very unpleasant side of life in NZ', says Helen Clark

Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Helen Clark and Dame Patsy Reddy at the Ministry for Women's launch of the Suffrage 125 celebrations at Government House in Wellington on Wednesday.

Helen Clark was one of many influential women at Government House in Wellington on Wednesday as Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy hosted a crowd of more than 400 people celebrating women ahead of International Women's Day.

The occasion marked the beginning of a series of events, run by the Ministry for Women, to mark 125 years since New Zealand women won the right to vote on September 19, 1893.

But in acknowledging the historic event, those gathered in Wellington on Wednesday talked about the present needs to address equality and equity issues, particularly sparked by the #metoo and #timesup social media movements.

Clark said we had begun to look under the carpet, 'exposing a very unpleasant side of life in New Zealand'.

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Reddy told the event there was still plenty to be done, and singled out the exploitation of power in workplaces.

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A crowd of about 400 women were at Government House for the Suffrage 125 celebrations in Wellington.

'There are still men in our society who think it's fine to sexually harass, rape, intimidate and bully women on gender basis. We have to deal with that.'

Change could be made with improvements to social policy to 'really make it possible for women to have family and home and career, if that's what they want'.

She said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's pregnancy was 'an amazing signal that women can have a family and a career'. But the key would be ensuring that was also possible for women on low incomes.

'Political parties can be the greatest champions of women's representation or the greatest opponents. So they've all got to be converted to champions, that's how we'll get to 50 per cent in Parliament.'

Clark believed New Zealand still had the capacity to lead the world.

Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter said it was time to build a more inclusive and fair society. She touched on improvements to paid parental leave, and enabling women to achieve pay equity by law.

'We are working hard to further our efforts in domestic and sexual violence as well as sexual harassment. The #metoo campaign continues to elevate women's voices and insist on change to how women are treated. We have been kept silent for far too long. The time's up.'

Reddy said there was plenty to celebrate this year, but also plenty that needed to be done. She singled out the exploitation of power in workplaces and demanded respect, in the spirit of Kate Sheppard.

'There's still a long way to go until all these women in the room feel equally recognised as their male counterparts.'

Revelations about sexual harassment in the law industry was 'the tip of the iceberg', she said. 'I don't think that door will be shut again, so I think it's great.

'When I was a young woman lawyer in the '80s, there wasn't really anyone around who would listen, but one of the advantages of social media is that you've instantly got a big audience.'

Other guests included Hilary Barry, Lizzie Marvelly, Mihingarangi Forbes, Rachel Hunter, Polly Gillespie and Georgina Beyer.