for the ladies

On 19 September 1893 the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law. As a result of this landmark legislation, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

In most other democracies – notably Britain and the United States – women did not win the right to the vote until after the First World War. New Zealand's world leadership in women's suffrage became a central part of our image as a trail-blazing 'social laboratory'.


Search the 1893 petition database
That achievement was the result of years of effort by suffrage campaigners, led by Kate Sheppard. In 1891, 1892 and 1893 they compiled a series of massive petitions calling on Parliament to grant the vote to women. In recent years Sheppard's contribution to New Zealand's history has been acknowledged on the $10 note.

Today, the idea that women could not or should not vote is completely foreign to New Zealanders. Following the 2008 general election 34% of the Members of Parliament were female, a big jump from 13% in 1984. In the early 21st century women have held each of the country's key constitutional positions: prime minister, governor-general, speaker of the House of Representatives, attorney-general and chief justice.