Creating Space - An Experience of Gender

Creating Space-An Experience of Gender is a comprehensive record of one woman’s experience, dedication and vision that encouraged other women to take on leadership in the civil society space. The author shares her decades of work for women’s rights in Aotearoa, the Pacific region and internationally.

The kind of activism described, arising from her personal observations and growing awareness of her own leadership skills and qualities, is a story that could be told by many women – both well-known figures and those who remain nameless and unrecognised. It is the story of our grandmothers and mothers who recognised that, while this country led the world in granting the vote to women, the work of equality and equity for women was and is far from over.

In her preface and throughout the book, the author acknowledges “all who stood alongside me, assumed leadership roles and put their own stamp on the ongoing programmes to promote the agenda for an equal society”.

The chapter headings and the extensive list of abbreviations and acronyms indicate that this memoir is an account of advocacy at governmental and global levels for structural, political and social changes that will bring about equality of rights and equity for women. It tells of local, national, regional and international initiatives that brought women together for the common cause of gender equality. This came about through challenging and strengthening existing organisations as well as establishing new networks so that women’s leadership and advocacy might be more effective.

The opening chapter reflects on the nature of space, that is, civil society space, its creation and maintenance. This is exemplified in descriptions of the three organisations founded by Jane Prichard - Bridgebuilders’ Network, Pacific Women’s Watch (New Zealand) and the International Council of Women’s Asia-Pacific Regional Council.

The challenge to take up leadership came to Ms Prichard through her involvement in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. An opening chapter gives a glimpse of the influence of family, educational opportunities and employment that laid the ground for almost 30 years of activism.

She discusses her response to invitations to various church leadership roles - locally in Somervell Memorial Church, Remuera, and in the wider Presbyterian Church context as National President of the Association of Presbyterian Women and later as Moderator of the Presbytery of Auckland.

Subsequent chapters chronicle her participation in an array of international organizations, councils and committees, conferences, and consultations. They encompass representing New Zealand in UN organizations such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

She was instrumental in securing observer status for the Association of Presbyterian Women of Aotearoa New Zealand (APW) to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. This paved the way for the APW to apply for ‘Special Status’ membership of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), encouraged by Vera Dowie of the Methodist Women’s Fellowship which had been a member of ECOSOC for many years.

Bridgebuilders Network grew out of an awareness that APW had no direct contact with women leaders in neighbouring countries. The network grew from local and regional to global, creating a new space for Christian women with a focus on empowerment for women and girls that continues with the work of transformation and gender justice.

Pacific Women’s Watch (New Zealand) also grew out of awareness that there was strength and effectiveness to be found in acting locally and thinking globally. PWW(NZ) continues to provide advocacy and education for women and girls in Aotearoa, as well as working collaboratively with similar organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Creating Space adds to the literature about women’s gender justice activism in Aotearoa in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.