New Zealand
House of Representatives
Data on women
empty
Basic information > About parliament
Speaker
Speaker
Adrian
Rurawhe
(Male)
Year of birth
1961
Additional information
Elected on 24 Aug. 2022.
Secretary general
Secretary General
David
Wilson
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
6 July 2015 - 5 July 2029
Appointed on 7 May 2015 for a seven-year term effective from 6 July 2015; re-appointed on 3 May 2022 for a further seven-year term effective from 6 July 2022 (i.e. until 5 July 2029).
Appointed on 7 May 2015 for a seven-year term effective from 6 July 2015; re-appointed on 3 May 2022 for a further seven-year term effective from 6 July 2022 (i.e. until 5 July 2029).
Members
Current number of members, by sex
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Age
Average age of all members
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Chlöe Swarbrick (Female)
Oldest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
68
Oldest member
Ian McKelvie (Male)
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
Total per sex
Total of male
Total of female
Total per age interval
18-20
0
31-40
41-45
46-50
51-60
61-70
81-90
0
91 and over
0
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 5 | 28 | 16 | 24 | 37 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total <= 45: 49 | Total >= 46: 71 | ||||||||||
| Male | 0 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 |
| Female | 0 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
Reserved seats and quotas
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Elections > Historical data on women
Women's suffrage
Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote
Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1886
National or local
Suffrage: National or Local
Local
Notes
Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
All men except for Maori were granted the right to vote in 1852 with the Constitution Act
Women’s right to vote
Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1893
National or local
Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage
Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes
Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
All men except for Maori were granted the right to vote in 1852 with the Constitution Act; In 1886 women were granted the right to vote in local elections.
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election
Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1919
National or local
Stand for Election: National or Local
National
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament
Year in which first woman entered parliament
1933
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker
Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
2005
Specialized body - Women's caucus
Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians
(August 2010)
Formal or informal
Formal
The caucus is open to male MPs
No
The caucus is cross-party
Yes
Notes
All women MPs are invited to join at the beginning of each Parliament. Membership is open throughout the Parliamentary term. The caucus is co-chaired by one member of the Government and one member of the Opposition, selected by the membership.
Part of the parliament’s recognised inter-parliamentary organisation membership (through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) also includes women Members of the IPU New Zealand Group – including the parliament's representative on the IPU Bureau for Women
The Caucus develops a programme of objectives and events annually and communication of work undertaken is supported by the Office of the Clerk.
Part of the parliament’s recognised inter-parliamentary organisation membership (through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) also includes women Members of the IPU New Zealand Group – including the parliament's representative on the IPU Bureau for Women
The Caucus develops a programme of objectives and events annually and communication of work undertaken is supported by the Office of the Clerk.
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
Yes
Activities
Issues dealt with by the caucus
- Forced and underage marriage and immigration and visa issues related to forced & underage marriage (including getting legislation through the House)
- Female genital mutilation
- Gynaecological health
- Breast cancer
- Sexual harassment and violence (including of women MPs)
- Family and intimate partner violence
- Support for victims of domestic violence
- Empowerment of women and girls
- Male champions for gender quality
- Women’s leadership, economic, & political empowerment (suffrage), including increasing women’s political participation and advocating sport as a vehicle to grow leadership skills
- Supporting increased numbers of women in the Pacific parliaments (mentoring programme)
- Increasing the numbers of women educated and working in the STEM sectors
- Female genital mutilation
- Gynaecological health
- Breast cancer
- Sexual harassment and violence (including of women MPs)
- Family and intimate partner violence
- Support for victims of domestic violence
- Empowerment of women and girls
- Male champions for gender quality
- Women’s leadership, economic, & political empowerment (suffrage), including increasing women’s political participation and advocating sport as a vehicle to grow leadership skills
- Supporting increased numbers of women in the Pacific parliaments (mentoring programme)
- Increasing the numbers of women educated and working in the STEM sectors
The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
Yes
The caucus has a communication plan
No