New Zealand, the first country to give all women the vote, can rightly be proud that our country continues to be a world leader in perceptions of gender equality.
This is according to the findings of the Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2025, which measures the perceptions of equality for men and women in leadership. The index has been running for seven years and now covers 13 countries. This is the first year that New Zealand has participated.
Another isolated island nation – Iceland - leads the way, but our global data shows that New Zealand has the joint second highest index of perceptions of women’s suitability for leadership amongst the countries measured, well above the average of the G7 nations.
But, we must also be aware that gender equality is a continual work in progress. It cannot be taken for granted, particularly when it intersects with other cultural and transgender prejudices. There is clear evidence that not all of our country believe equally in gender equality. Men are significantly less on board than women.
Discomfort with female leadership in government is around twice as strong if that leadership is Māori or Pasifika – transgender leadership even more so. This is despite many people believing that more women political leaders lead to better decision making.
Younger generations, particularly young men, are significantly more prejudiced than older generations.
Many want to turn the clock back - particularly young men, 42% of whom believe gender equality has gone too far.
There is more work to be done to understand why young men are more prejudiced than older generations, but our work in New Zealand and globally in the areas of family violence and youth relationships points to a complex mix of opposing forces rising from economic changes, educational outcomes, culture wars, changing gender expectations and the ‘manosphere’.
The Reykjavik Index findings point to evidence that equality may be slipping from our grasp. Certainly, globally we are seeing a pattern where young people are more prejudiced than older generations, alongside a global trend towards increasing prejudice amongst all age groups.
There’s no reason to suggest that New Zealand is immune from this rise in global prejudice against women. Only time will tell, but it is sobering to see that Iceland, the most progressive country measured in the index, is not immune to these global trends, having dropped 5 points in just the last two years.
With these concerning global trends towards decreasing gender equality, it may be time for New Zealand to step up once again. Would Kate Sheppard be proud of the nation we’ve become?
Perhaps our work for Love Better – aimed at promoting healthy, safe and equal relationships for youth – holds a few clues.
For more information about the Reykjavik Index in New Zealand and our work on gender equality, please get in touch with Kathryn Robinson.
Find out more about The Reykjavik Index globally.