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Gender and Political Leadership in New Zealand
Dr Jennifer Curtin
Politics and Public Administration Group
17 November 1997
Introduction
On 3 November 1997, Jenny Shipley became Prime Minister-elect in the
New Zealand Parliament, thereby set to become New Zealand's first woman
Prime Minister, 78 years after women were granted the right to stand for
Parliament. Jenny Shipley herself has been in Parliament since 1987 and
has been a senior Cabinet Minister in the National Government since its
election in 1990. Her portfolios have included Social Welfare, Health,
Women's Affairs and Transport. Her rise to the coveted position of 'first
among equals' could easily be considered meteoric.
While the prospect of a woman Prime Minister is in itself of interest,
perhaps more significant is the fact that now both major political parties
in New Zealand, Labour and National, have woman leaders. Helen Clark,
Leader of the Labour Party, was elected in 1981, made Minister of Health
and Housing in 1987 and become a frontbench Cabinet Minister in 1989.
Helen Clark was also chosen as Deputy Leader in 1989, while Labour was
still in power. She was only 39 years old at the time. Her rise to power
has also been labelled dramatic.
The Representation of Women in New Zealand
Prior to the 1996 election, New Zealand had a first past the post (FPP)
electoral system. Systems such as FPP and preferential voting (used here
in the House of Representatives) involves selecting individual candidates
for single-member electorates. Compared to systems with lists or multi-member
electorates, preselection positions in single-member systems are scarce,
(especially safe seats). Research indicates that women are much less likely
to be selected as candidates under the single-member system than under
proportional electoral systems. Political parties tend to go for the political
norm, which is usually a man while women, if selected, are disproportionately
chosen for unwinnable or marginal seats.(1)
Because of this trend, the 1993 figure of 21 per cent of women represented
in the New Zealand Parliament is considered exceptionally high for a country
with a FPP electoral system. Women's representation has been higher in
New Zealand than in other countries with similar sorts of electoral systems
(single-member systems as used in the lower houses) and political cultures
(see Table 1). Apart from the United States all are based on the Westminster
model. More recently, Canadian women have also defied the structural barriers
and passed the 20 per cent mark.
Questions have been raised as to why New Zealand women's experience
of political power is different in this regard.(2) Understanding why it
is different might also help to explain the rise of women to the highest
ranks in the New Zealand Parliament on both sides of the political spectrum.(3)
While it was often assumed that women attracted fewer votes than men,
this argument has been proved somewhat erroneous in the New Zealand context.
Analysis has shown that Labour women candidates in New Zealand perform
better than Labour's male candidates in terms of attracting votes. In
contrast, men representing the National Party performed significantly
better than women candidates for National. This trend is only evident
between 1975 and 1984 and may be exacerbated by the fact that National
more so than Labour, tended to run women in marginal seats and perhaps
that conservative voters may have been more hesitant to vote for women
candidates.(4) Overall, during the 1978-1990 period, the National Party
stood one third fewer women as candidates than did the Labour Party (although
in 1990 there were the same numbers of women members on both sides of
the house).
One explanation put forward as to why women have managed to attain 21
per cent representation in New Zealand is that over time women have carved
out an entrenched but recognised position within both major parties. Since
the inception of the National Party in 1936, women's sections have been
in existence, and have become increasingly active in encouraging more
women to stand for nomination. There is also a woman's Vice President
position within the party, and in 1982, Sue Wood was chosen as Party President.
Within the Labour Party, two places are reserved for women on the Council
of the Labour Party and the Women's Council, revived in 1975, is a formal
part of the party structure. The Council has played a pivotal role in
providing support and training for women seeking candidate selection.
In 1984, Labour selected a woman as president (Margaret Wilson), and her
next two successors were also women (Ruth Dyson and Maryan Street). Various
commentators credited Helen Clark's election as Deputy PM and later, leader,
in part to the strength of women within the Labour Party.
In addition, both the major parties have sought to extend their appeal
to women in the electorate, and increasing the representation of women
in Parliament has been seen as one means of achieving this. In a 1993
survey, two thirds of respondents thought there should be more women in
Parliament. The adversarial aspect of the relationship between the two
major parties means that both Labour and National are keen to exploit
this voter preference. Certainly neutralising the gender factor was one
of the reasons suggested by the media as to why a woman was chosen to
replace Jim Bolger.
Survey research conducted in 1993, which compared the popularity of Helen
Clark with then National Party Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, found
it impossible to generalise about gender bias in voters approval and disapproval
of women politicians.(5) While it is too early to tell how the New Zealand
public will view their two female political leaders, both Ms Clark and
Mrs Shipley have a reputation for strength and determination. Such qualities
have no doubt facilitated their rise in their respective male-dominated
parliamentary parties. New Zealand commentators suggest that, paradoxically,
the public does not always accept strength and determination as positive
qualities in women leaders.(6) Nevertheless, Helen Clark's popularity
has increased since her selection as leader of Labour in 1993.(7) This
might also become the case with Jenny Shipley, as the public get used
to the idea of a woman Prime Minister.
Conclusion
A proportional representation electoral system now exists in New Zealand,
which has led to a further increase of women in the legislature in 1996.
While the first past the post electoral system used in New Zealand until
1993 hindered the achievement of parity between women and men in Parliament,
both Labour and National women have created and utilised institutional
structures within their parties to facilitate their entry into Parliament.
During the 1980s and 1990s, gender has become an increasingly important
factor for voters, arguably something which both National and Labour have
recognised most explicitly through their selection of women leaders.
- E. McLeay, 'Women and the Problem of Parliamentary Representation:
A Comparative Perspective', in H. Catt and E. McLeay, Women and Politics
in New Zealand, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 1993, pp.
42-43.
- ibid., p. 52.
- New Zealand also had a woman Governor General from February 1990 to
March 1996.
- R. Hill and N. Roberts, 'Success, Swing and Gender: The Performance
of Women Candidates for Parliament in New Zealand, 1946-1987', Politics,
45 (1).
- J. Vowles, P. Aimer, H. Catt et al., Towards Consensus, Auckland
University Press, Auckland, 1995, p. 159.
- ibid., p. 159.
- In October 1997 Helen Clark's approval rating was 33 per cent compared
to Jim Bolger's 13 per cent (Christchurch Press 6 November 1997).
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