Gender equality is the notion that each gender should receive equal treatment in all aspects of life, and that one should not be discriminated based on their sex. Gender equality is increasingly framed as being central to the realisation of both modernisation and economic efficiency, and its achievement presented as a key to good governance. In , New Zealand was ranked 9th out of a total of countries in the Global Gender Gap Report which ranks countries in terms of gender equality in the population under four heads: economic participation, health, education and political empowerment.
The Global Gender Gap Index ranks countries on how far women are behind men in regards to health, education and economic and political indicators. Instances where women have rated ahead of men, are not counted as inequality. In the OECD's final report on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship it was found that women in New Zealand do more unpaid work than men and new women-owned enterprises outperformed those formed by men.
(mh=ztOxcTZiFfpziFy2)5.jpg "Woman Auckland")
They also found that women achieve more tertiary qualifications than men. Despite the gap between wage equality slowly closing, the report found that the government funding allocated to reduce gender inequality in New Zealand is on the low side in comparison to other countries in the OECD.
New Zealand has had a long history of promoting women's rights. It was the first nation in the world to give women the right to vote in the 19th century. Women were unable to vote until and were not able to stand for parliament until The first woman to win an election was Elizabeth McCombs in The settlers brought the expectation that women are wives, mothers and homemakers, while men are supposed to support their wives and children financially. Historical inequalities for men include the prohibition of homosexuality for men until the homosexual law reform bill in and military conscription.
The committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women makes recommendations on any issues affecting women that the state should address. As of April , the committee has made 29 general recommendations on issues affecting women that states should devote more attention to. In The Domestic Purpose Benefit now the sole parent or jobseeker support was introduced for all parents caring for dependent children without the support of a partner.
