Policies for women lacking: critics
New Zealand’s upcoming general election has the rare distinction of providing a choice of two female candidates as the country’s next leader in a poll that could be decided by the female vote, writes Praveen Menon ,of Reuters.
THERE is growing criticism within New Zealand that neither incumbent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern nor challenger Judith Collins have policies to address the fact that women — who make up half the 5 million population — have been disproportionately negatively affected by the Covid19 pandemic.
‘‘There has been a frightening silence, to be honest,’’ National Council of Women president Lisa Lawrence said.
Some analysts believe the oversight could cost Ms Ardern, who polls show is on track to win the election, a chance to become the country’s first leader to govern outright since electoral reform in the 1990s, rather than as part of a coalition.
Alarm bells pealed in August when official data showed about 90% of people who left their jobs in the April to June quarter, at the peak of the country’s Covid19 lockdown, were women.
While the unemployment rate for men fell 3.6% that quarter, the women’s measure surged 4.4%.
The data crystallised a global trend of ‘‘shecession’’, with the sectors worst hit by the pandemic, such as hospitality and tourism, dominated by women.
In response, both Ms Ardern’s Labour Party and Ms Collins’ National Party have put the maledominated infrastructure industry at the heart of their recovery plans, promising more construction and jobs.
Ms Ardern referred to ‘‘double duty’’ in a recent leaders’ debate, saying a building boom would both employ skilled workers and create new training programmes — encouraging women to join the sector.
‘‘These are highskilled, highwage jobs that have good prospects attached to them,’’ she said.
‘‘Why shouldn’t our women take them up?’’
Yet with women representing less than 3% of the construction industry workforce, and few commitments for teaching, healthcare and caregiving professions, where women form majority of the workforce, critics say it is far from enough.
‘‘All of the economic responses and stimulus packages seem to be about ‘shovel ready’ projects, and even this wording gives a connotation of maledominated industries, if we are going by gender stereotypes,’’ Ms Lawrence said.
Even Minister for Women Julie
Anne Genter, a senior leader of Labour’s coalition partner the Green Party, said while the Government’s multibilliondollar wage subsidy helped women stay in jobs, more needed to be done.
‘‘Now we need to make sure that the huge investments in retraining and tradestraining is accessible to women and is meeting the needs of women who may have lost their job due to hospitality and tourism being affected by Covid19,’’ Ms Genter said.
National said its policies included working with the private sector to promote women to senior management positions, providing a oneoff payment to pregnant women to provide postnatal support, and investing in retraining programmes to get women get back into the workforce.
While Ms Ardern is widely expected to win the October 17 election, recent polls have indicated a shift away from both Labour and National to the minor parties, including Act New Zealand and the Greens.
Last night’s 1NewsColmar Brunton poll showed support for
Labour at 47%, unchanged from the last poll on September 28.
This means Labour would have 60 seats in Parliament, one short of the 61 seats needed to form a government.
Support for its current coalition partner the Green Party was at 6%, which would give it eight seats.
National had 32% support, Act 8% and New Zealand First inched up slightly to 2%.
Under New Zealand’s mixedmember proportional electoral system, that result would force Ms Ardern to lean on the Greens to form a government, the junior party then taking up the deputy leadership and other key cabinet positions.
More than a century after New Zealand women became the first in the world to win the vote, they continue to exercise the right more than men, making their support critical.
Ms Ardern was able to form a government in 2017 partly on the back of a swing to Labour by female voters who celebrated the elevation of a fresh, young, dynamic woman fighting against a maledominated opposing political team.
Support has grown during Ms Ardern’s first term, in which she became only the second woman in the world to give birth while in elected office.
She won global praise for both her decisive yet compassionate handling of the Christchurch mosque attacks last year and her swift action this year to successfully contain the Covid19 outbreak in New Zealand.
Political commentator Bryce Edwards, of Victoria University of Wellington, said that strong record meant Labour simply did not need to take any risks with new policies or ideas heading into the election.
Ms Ardern’s Government passed abortion law reforms through Parliament earlier this year and has promised to tackle socalled ‘‘period poverty’’.
‘‘They are running a conservative election campaign,’’ Mr Edwards said.
‘‘Ardern is well aware of New Zealand voters.
‘‘She does not want to be painted as a feminist or disparagingly called ‘woke’, and be targeted as a liberal elite.’’