For the first time in New Zealand’s history, a majority of lawmakers are women.
New Zealand lawmaker Soraya Peke-Mason from the liberal Labour Party was sworn in to parliament on Tuesday, replacing former New Zealand House of Representatives speaker Trevor Mallard, who left to become the country’s ambassador to Ireland.
With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in parliament to 60 women to 59 men.
Photo: AP
“Whilst it’s a special day for me, I think it’s historic for New Zealand,” Peke-Mason told reporters.
The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50 percent female representation in their parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union data showed.
Other nations include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Globally, about 26 percent of lawmakers are women, the data showed.
New Zealand has a history of strong female representation.
In 1893, it became the first nation to allow women to vote.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the nation’s third female leader, and women currently also hold a number of other top roles including chief justice of New Zealand’s Supreme Court and governor-general.
“I’m just really pleased that my daughters are growing up in a country where women being equally represented in public life is just normal,” said New Zealand lawmaker Nicola Willis, deputy leader of the conservative National Party.
New Zealand lawmaker Marama Davidson, coleader of the liberal Green Party, was more blunt.
“About blimmin’ time,” she told reporters.
Ardern cautioned that the situation for women in many other countries was precarious.
“As we step forward, it feels as if we watch so many women experiencing a rapid slide backwards in progress,” she said.
However, reaching gender parity could prove only transitory.
Opinion polls indicate that New Zealand’s conservative parties, which have a lower proportion of female lawmakers than their liberal rivals, are poised to make gains in next year’s general election.
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