Climbing on: rules, values and women’s representation in the New Zealand parliament

With its early enfranchisement of women, an active women’s movement, a relatively sympathetic political culture and, since 1996, proportional representation, Aotearoa New Zealand would appear to be a near-ideal country for women’s equal parliamentary representation. Even under plurality rules, there was a higher proportion of women MPs in New Zealand than in similar countries.1 The adoption of a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system initially accelerated the movement of women into Parliament, as had been expected, but then progress stalled. This chapter analyses women’s achievements under an unfriendly electoral system and the subsequent mixed successes of proportionality.