Sheppard opened the door but men still own the house
raised in the same world, which undervalues women’s work and lives, codes us as ‘‘feminine’’, and deems us more emotional, hysterical, weaker, fairer, lesser.
It’s hard not to believe these gendered stereotypes; it takes a lifetime to unlearn the ingrained misogyny that’s all around us. Ever been called a slut by another woman? Denied more flexible work hours around childcare by a female boss? Secretly coveted men’s praise over women’s? Wondered if a sexual assault was somehow your fault? This is undercover patriarchy in action.
Sexism sucks, and that’s before you add the barriers of class, race, age, sexuality and gender identity. Dr Huhana Hickey, who is Ma¯ ori, identifies as takata¯ pui (devoted partner of the same sex) and is the first known disabled woman to direct a Government agency – the Housing NZ board – says the glass ceiling doesn’t exist for disabled women. For them, it’s metal.
‘‘My head and my knuckles are bruised trying to break through that ceiling,’’ she says. ‘‘Some of the disabled women can’t even vote today, and that’s 125 years later. Some of them can’t get to the polling booth.
‘‘If you exclude one woman, you exclude everyone. But if you were to include all women – trans women, disabled women – and prioritised the participation of the most marginalised, all women would participate.’’
National Council of Women chief executive Gill Greer says that, in the light of the milestone of one of New Zealand’s greatest feminist gains, it is timely to re-evaluate what the movement today stands for. It’s not more Pa¯ keha¯ women on highpowered boards. It’s not an exclusive club; men, too, are harmed by toxic masculinity.
Actually, Kate Sheppard pretty much nailed it all those years ago, Gill says, when she declared: ‘‘All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome.’’
Greer says: ‘‘Women’s rights are human rights, and these are not just for special groups of people, they are for everyone. How do we make life better for women on lower incomes on short-term contracts, earning low wages, who might be single parents? How do we prevent transgender secondary students from being more likely to commit suicide?
‘‘Feminism cannot move forward unless we move together, and if we don’t support equal rights for everybody then what are we doing? We have to be at the forefront for people who are too often marginalised.’’
More than a century ago, Kate Sheppard bravely led this country’s women into a new era. It is up to this generation to do the same, for all of our brothers and sisters.
Any less, and you’re just a double agent for the patriarchy.