Women Lawmakers Outnumber Men In New Zealand For The First Time
For the first time in history, women make up a majority of parliamentarians in New Zealand.
On Tuesday, Soraya Peke-Mason was sworn into the House of Representatives. She stepped in for Trevor Mallard. After becoming Ireland's ambassador, Mallard left. The gender balance in Congress was shifted as a result of this.
Liberal Labour Party member Peke-Mason told AP, "Whilst it's a special day for me, I think it's historic for New Zealand." There are currently 60 women and 59 men in parliament. With this change, New Zealand becomes the latest nation to have a parliamentary body comprised of at least 50 per cent women.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union lists the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and other countries.
Up until 1919, women in New Zealand were not legally allowed to run for parliament.
Elizabeth McCombs was elected as New Zealand's first female member of parliament in 1933. New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote, which they did in 1893.
Dame Cindy Kiro, the current Governor General of New Zealand, and Dame Helen Winkelmann, the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, are both women.
“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,” Nicola Willis, the deputy leader of the conservative National Party, told the AP.
Nicola Willis, the deputy leader of the conservative National Party, told the AP. New Zealand's current prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is the country's third female prime minister.