The Green Party is supportive of policies that will end gender-based discrimination for all women and mana wāhine. Economic fairness, including equal pay for equal work, adequate income support, and support for unpaid work (such as care work, often undertaken by women) are important levers to address the overrepresentation of women in low-income brackets. Diversity, inclusion, and representation for women should be fostered in all spaces. Women should be able to live without fear of violence, and have access to adequate support should they experience violence, including sexual and/or intimate partner violence. The Green Party will continue to support women’s bodily autonomy through improved healthcare services for women, and increased accessibility to contraception, including abortion services.
Vision
Equality between genders, so that all people enjoy their fundamental human rights and freedoms without discrimination on the basis of gender.
Values and Principles
Policy decisions relating to women must be consistent with the following values and principles:
- Honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The decolonisation of gender relations and supporting the leadership and equity of wāhine Māori are essential steps towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Ecological Wisdom: Women’s empowerment should be a cornerstone of action to address environmental issues, including internationally.
- Social Responsibility: Women are a diverse group and require tailored programmes and policies to achieve equality. Intersectional relationships between gender and other factors (including ethnicity, disability, and class) should be recognised, so that all women are included and valued and fully participate in our diverse communities.
- Appropriate Decision-Making: Women offer important perspectives, and our economy and society serves people more effectively when there is equal gender representation in leadership and decision-making roles. Structural barriers to women's participation in economic and social leadership should be addressed, and the needs and experiences that are specific or common to women should be given as much recognition and respect as are the needs and experiences of men.
- Non-Violence: Women should be safe from gender-based violence, and their freedom should not be restricted by the threat of violence.
- Economic equity: Our current economic structures discriminate against women, both actively and implicitly, and should be transformed.
Strategic Priorities
The Green Party’s strategic goals include:
“As a Party we strive to create a more connected, compassionate and equal Aotearoa, free from structural biases that discriminate against groups and individuals. We want an Aotearoa that draws on our shared wisdom to meet the needs of all.”
Actions in this policy that will help achieve this include:
- Ensure that the needs of marginalised women are identified and prioritised in Government policies, with input from affected communities. (1.1)
- Ensure fair processes for resolving pay equity claims. (2.1)
- Ensure our income support system recognises the value of caring work, and enables everyone to live in dignity and participate fully in society. (3.5)
- Ensure all girls and women, including mothers, are able to receive an education that meets their aspirations and enables them to find meaningful work. (4.1)
- Work with wāhine Māori to design and implement programmes and policies to elevate the mana of wāhine Māori and reduce existing social and economic disparities between Māori and non-Māori women. (6.1)
- Support sex work being legal and regulated under civil rather than criminal law, including migrant sex workers. (8.1)
Connected Policies
Freedom and opportunity for women will require removing all forms of discrimination, taking in: Education, in the Workforce, Justice, and Health, including reproductive health. Women are also supported in our Household Livelihoods Policy. The specific needs of wāhine Māori are connected to our Kaupapa Māori Policy. Rainbow women also have specific needs.
