New Zealand

House of Representatives

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
123
Women
56
Percentage of women
45.5%

Speaker

No information available

Secretary general

No information available

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2023-12)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 11 14 7 24 10 1 0 0 68
Female 0 4 6 14 8 17 5 0 0 0 54
Totals per age interval 0 5 17 28 15 41 15 1 0 0 122
Total <= 45: 50 Total >= 46: 72
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
4.1% 0.8% 3.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
18.0% 10% 8.2%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
41.0% 21% 19.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Voluntary political party quotas.

Sources: Individual political party statutes.

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1933

Notes: 1933: Before 1945 so no detailed entry

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
2005

Women’s suffrage

Women’s right to vote
1886
Restricted or universal suffrage
No information available
Women’s right to vote
1893
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: 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
1919
Restricted or universal
No information available

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No