New Zealand 's Early Embrace Of Women 's Voting Rights Essay

The recently formed Women 's Christian Temperance Movement (WCTU) took up the campaign for the vote in 1885. The movement was strongly linked to church and had the motto ‘For God, Home and Humanity.’ The WCTU had previously been involved in a temperance movement and this was one of the main reasons they decided to campaign for the vote. According to Wood “social climate had the greatest effect on mobilising women into a combined effort to rid themselves of laws that discriminated against them. Drunkenness and crime were two major reasons why women made the move to throw off the shackles that prevented their recognition as equals with men. The vote became imperative if the lot of women and children were to improve. ” The women 's vote did have many purposes, but improving the low moral level of society at that time was easily the most important. Many believed that female franchise would lead to the purification of New Zealand society and the Christianisation of politics. It was believed that women had a stronger, nobler vision for a pure society which would lead to higher levels of sobriety and morality in New Zealand. The suffragists promoted the vote as a way that women could have social control over undesirable elements in the population.

Many women were pushing for full equality, but some agreed to settle for voting. This was a clear step back and damper on work previous women had made. If all women were not in support of the right to vote, how would they ever succeed? Anti suffrage ads began to appear everywhere. Men and surprisingly, women were not all in support of women having the right to vote. The ads were degrading towards women and were starting to appear worldwide as this was not just an issue seen in the United States. In 1890 the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was created and a worldwide campaign for women’s suffrage was born.

Before the Suffragettes, women were not able to vote and the move for women to have the right to vote really started in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women’s Suffrage. Fawcett strongly believed that women should have the right to vote but also believed in peaceful protests, patience and logical arguments. She felt that if any violence occurred then men would believe that women could not be trusted and therefore should not have the right to vote. She also made the argument that if women were made responsible for sitting on school boards and paying taxes that they should be part of the process to make the laws and should have the same rights as men. A main argument of hers was that even though some women who were wealthy mistresses of large manors and estates employed gardeners, workmen and labourers who were able to vote but women still could not, regardless of their wealth and social class. However, the progress of Fawcett was very slow and although she converted some of the members of the Labour Representation Committee (The Labour Party) but the majority of men felt that women would not understand how parliament functioned and therefore should not take part in the electoral

Allowing women to vote, wage increases, employment and parental leave have been major winning battles for women in Australia and all around the world, but the fights not over yet. Equal representation in politics is a new critical battle that must be tackled head on. It is essential for women to be able to express their opinions on the political course of Australia.

During the late 1700s, women were not seen as being equal to men. They were imaged as one who stayed at home and took care of the kids. No one ever imagined a woman voting. Some women actually supported the fight in allowing blacks to vote. During the time the 15th amendment passed, many women who supported Women’s Suffrage were disappointed in which they were excluded in the idea of allowing “everyone” to vote. Before the Civil War, the movement for Women’s Suffrage started to pick up steam, but had become lost due to the interruption of the Civil War. One of the acts that stood out the most for Women’s Suffrage was the Seneca Falls Conference in 1848. This was organized by two American activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. They were the first to organize a conference to address Women’s rights and issues, and with sixty- eight women and thirty two men, they signed “The Declaration of Sentiments”, a document that was similar to the Declaration of Independence, but directed towards women’s rights. Getting suffrage for women was not an easy campaign. During 1890- 1919, many states were in a mix on their decision on suffrage for women. Some agreed with equal suffrage, others partial, and the rest wanted no suffrage at all for females as displayed in Document 6. Women’s Suffrage finally became a reality when it was ratified as an amendment (19th) in

The Women’s Suffrage Movement of the 1920’s worked to grant women the right to vote nationally, thereby allowing women more political equality. Due to many industrial and social changes during the early 19th century, many women were involved in social advocacy efforts, which eventually led them to advocate for their own right to vote and take part in government agencies. Women have been an integral part of society, working to help those in need, which then fueled a desire to advocate for their own social and political equality. While many women worked tirelessly for the vote, many obstacles, factions, and ultimately time would pass in order for women to see the vote on the national level. The 19th Amendment, providing women the right to vote, enable women further their pursuit for full inclusion in the working of American society.

Women’s Suffrage issues became prominent in America’s culture when women began leaving their traditional roles as homemakers. Women became more involved in their communities by seeking jobs and fulfilling leadership roles in which they could improve society. In the 1830’s, thousands of women were involved in the movement to abolish slavery. The first organized gathering devoted to women’s rights in the United States was held in July of 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Stanton would draft a “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions,” based on the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming, “All men and women are created equal” (History.com).

The first country to allow national-level voting rights to women was the self-governing British colony of New Zealand, which in September 1893, passed the Electoral Bill. “National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA)...campaigned for a constitutional amendment for universal suffrage…and for other women’s rights, such as changes in divorce laws and an end to employment and pay discrimination” (“Women’s Suffrage Movement”) The NWSA wanted to take away all discrimination between women and their rights for any requirement or objective. Women’s rights were given through trials and hardships, but they never gave up. When the women won with the Prohibition, the men would sell behind the government and these men were known as

Women’s suffrage is commonly known as women’s right to vote and the ability to stand for electoral office. The match-up between men and women was never close to being fair in the beginning. Women weren’t allowed to do anything men were. It all started in 1840, when Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were banned from attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London. (Francisco 1997.) This fired them to rally a Women's Convention in the United States. They eventually hosted this convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York where Ms. Stanton wrote "The Declaration of Sentiments," which created an outline of the events to come in the next upcoming years (Lott 1999.) In

The initial fight for women’s suffrages begun as early as the 19th century, while some historians believe that Mary Smith initiated this political crusade when she presented the first women's suffrage petition to Parliament in 1832 (Bartley, 2003). By 1900, women were allowed to own and keep property after marriage through the Married Women’s Property Act that was written by Richard Pankhurst in 1870, although it was heavily altered after it went through Parliament. Despite this, it was was a major milestone for women’s rights. In addition, they were granted the first equal pay resolution thanks to Secretary of the Women’s Trade Union League, Clementine Black, in 1883 (Lambert, n.d.). Successful attempts for women’s suffrages continued in the

The 19th of September in 1893 marks the day that history changed forever for the women of New Zealand. On this particular day the governor of New Zealand, Lord Glasgow signed a new election act into law. This new election act allowed women the right to vote in any parliamentary elections. New zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to give the women the freedom of the vote. This new law did not come easy, women from all over the country fought for their rights and put up with a long battle to freedom. This achievement was awarded by the suffrage campaign lead by Kate Sheppard. From 1891-1893 the suffrage campaigns throw many petitions towards the parliament to grant them the vote. In 1891 more than 9000

Political ideologies are the beliefs, morals and ethics held on what is the optimum way of governing a country (Jost, Federico, & Napier, 2009). They have long guided the elected governments behaviour, particularly in effect to Social Policy decisions; determining what policy initiatives will be elected and what is the best way of implementing such policies. New Zealand has had various political ideologies brought in by different governments; such as Social Democracy, Social Liberalism, Neo liberalism, Neo Conservatism and Conservatism. For the basis of this Essay, the focus will be on two of the most significant influences; Social Democracy and Conservatism. Both ideologies have had period 's of dominance in New Zealand 's Social policy history where they have impacted the general functioning of society. Their view of the state, and general morals have been strongly reflected in the policy initiatives there exponents have brought in. For Social Democracy, it being the 1938 Social Security Act and the various implementations of Keynesian Economic Management in the 1940s and 1980s; and for Conservatism, the Pensions for miners and returned servicemen, and the introduction of private prisons. The both having considerable impact not only on New Zealand society but the development of more progressive forms of political ideology. It will be argued that the resulting policies from the Social Democracy and Conservatism ideologies most notable influence is

Social change in Britain has been achieved primarily through the hard work of organized political groups. These groups created events to recruit and educate supporters of social equality to join them in fighting for progress. The Women’s Suffrage Movement between 1866 and 1928 in Britain is no exception to this trend. The reason for the great efficacy of these political groups, including the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union, was the women who pioneered the groups and fought alongside them to create the change that they believed in. The goal of these political groups was finally realized in 1928 with the passing of the Representation of the People Act. However, the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain would not have been successful without the influential actions of several significant women. In addition to the overall necessity of female leadership for British Women’s Suffrage, the central efforts of Millicent Fawcett, Lydia Becker, and Emmeline Pankhurst particularly played a large role in the movement’s success.

     Throughout the history, women were being discriminated against by ignoring or not paying much attention to them when it comes to dealing with political issues. One in particular, was the controversial issue regarding women’s right to vote. By the end of the 1880’s feminist movements did not meet their expectations due to lack of support from women themselves. “ If by the end of the 1880’s the suffragists had reached something of a stalemate, by the end of 1890’s and early 1900’s the movement had entered a completely new phase. This was largely the result of new factors in the situation: the growth of support for women’s suffrage amongst women themselves, and the increasing importance of the labour movement in British politics” (Banks, p.121). For these women, voting was becoming more like a powerful tool to be recognized in the society and understand the importance of voting and to also participate actively in the campaign. Women suffragists finally reached their goal, in which women at the present are getting more involved in politics by running for office and being leaders of the society. One good example is present senator Hillary Clinton. This former first lady is one of the top senators in the United States today. She fought

New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893, however, since then we have dropped to 27th when it comes to gender representation in government, out of 188 countries. One of the many reasons as to why women are under represented in parliament can be linked to the issue of the political obstacles that face women. This is when they want to be in parliament, women whom are in parliament, and the many women who this is not an option for due to lack of opportunity. Women have to face this “masculine model” of politics and government. Men are dominant in parliament, meaning that political life revolves around male norms and values (Shvedova). This can be extended, politics is very much about competition and confrontation. Rather than politics being