Today is a proud day for New Zealand as we celebrate 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. StopPress looked around to see what media and brands in Aotearoa did to mark the occasion.
The New Zealand Herald
Online, it has created a series called Trailblazers featuring 125 women from 1820 to today who have made waves in industries from law to sport to social justice.
Today’s paper was guest-edited by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. It featured a pull-away cover that says ‘Her Story’ with pictures of the 125 trailblazers. Inside was an open letter to New Zealand from the New Zealand Herald and an artwork by artist Justine Black. The paper itself captured the lives of ordinary New Zealand women over 24 hours from around the country.
Stuff
Stuff has released a video on Facebook of a “frank and honest” conversation about gender equality between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and former Prime Minister Helen Clark. The video is part of UN Women Aotearoa’s campaign.
It also themed its daily quiz with questions about suffrage in New Zealand.
Tonight it will feature a digital production funded by NZ On Air. It will be is a series of panel discussions hosted by journalist and broadcaster Ali Mau. The live productions asks a cross-section of New Zealand women what they want from New Zealand society now to change the lives of all women in Aotearoa. This is in partnership with Diva Productions.
Radio New Zealand
RNZ has put together a collection named Women, The Vote and Equality. It features a brief history of the participation of women in New Zealand society, focusing on women’s rights, the battle for the vote, and gender equality.
Re:
Re: has put a video on its Facebook page that explains the history of suffrage and important figures such as Kate Sheppard.
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has released a video on its Facebook page talking about the changes for women in the company over the past 78 years.
Noted
Genevieve O’Halloran has written an opinion piece for Noted.co.nz about what has changed since women received the vote, the struggle in the modern workplace, having a first-time mother as a Prime Minister and her own personal connection to the suffragettes.
Blunt Umbrella/Wellington Museum/Auckland Museum
Blunt Umbrella teamed up with Wellington Museum and Auckland Museum to create a Suffrage 125 umbrella. It features Kate Sheppard’s signature from the successful 1893 petition presented to Parliament and a special breed of white camellia flower called the ‘Kate Sheppard’.
The white camellia is an important symbol of the women’s suffrage movement in New Zealand – in 1893 “the suffragists had presented a white camellia flower to members of the House of Representatives who had voted in favour of women gaining the vote”.
Bauer has partnered with NZ On Air and Vanishing Point to create an interactive video and content experience featuring Helen Clark, Teresa Gattung, Lady 6 and many more New Zealand icons of gender equality. It released the teaser this week, which reached more than 35,000 people
“We are releasing the full interactive experience in the coming days,” says Bauer’s head of digital Michael Fuyala. “There are also going to be supporting videos and stories of these remarkable New Zealand women rolled out, as well as the interactive experience.
The anniversary of the first vote happens in November, “and with our female futures initiative, we are committed to producing content that shines the light on gender equality and other equally important issues for New Zealand women, with a target of one million words this year”.
