Given that prognosis, you'd be forgiven for thinking gender inequality is an intractable enigmatic problem for which solutions are difficult to come by. But that's not the case. It wouldn't be difficult for New Zealand to leapfrog the other nations and come out on top of the table by 2030, creating a healthier, more productive and equitable society.
If we focused on three areas of action over the coming decade we would dramatically improve our progress towards gender equality and achieve the goals we set ourselves five years ago. These areas are neither new nor unproven. The evidence of their efficacy is solid. What lacks is political will.
We must begin by paying people for the unpaid, unsupported and unrecognised care work they do in the home. It was recently calculated by both the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Australian Government that women do almost twice as much work as men on average. This figure is so high because women do the lion's share of unpaid care work. Research confirms that this work, caring for children, the sick and the elderly, also impacts their ability to do full-time paid employment. Making this change would mean that those working in the home and another job outside the home would earn enough to pay for good quality childcare, or could choose to work fewer hours outside the home and still afford to provide a decent life for themselves and their children.
Our score on progress toward the 2030 goals was significantly pulled down by our arcane abortion laws. Many people do not realise that abortion is still illegal in New Zealand, except in specific "extreme" cases or if the pregnancy would result in serious danger to the woman's physical or mental health. In order to meet our goals, we must make significant improvements to our abortion law, which may be under way given the first vote was passed in Parliament on Wednesday. However, many argue the changes do not go far enough. Of considerable concern is that 23 MPs voted against, including Simon Bridges, the Leader of the Opposition. Our current position in New Zealand is at odds with human rights law. Kate Gilmore, the United Nations Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights calls these kinds of abortion laws "a deprivation of a right to health". This being so, Simon Bridges and the 22 other MPs who voted against the bill are risking sustaining a law that breaches human rights in New Zealand.
The final change that must be made is to adjust our approach to achieving gender equality. We must stop trying to change minds and start legislating for the change we want to see. Contrary to what movements such as the "Lean In" people will tell you, the fastest and most effective way to eliminate inequality is to legislate against it. Without that incentive, history has shown, people will largely do what they have always done. No amount of convincing, cajoling or rationalising will change deeply entrenched behaviours such as sexist hiring practices, gender harassment or the gender pay gap.
Those who profess to truly care about equality but see legislation as the wrong approach, are simply not looking at the evidence. Naturally, they are entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts. Evidence has shown time and again that legislation works. If we are to make sustainable progress on gender equality, we must give our efforts some teeth and legislate for it.
It has been more than 125 years since women took the vote in New Zealand. But progress since then has proved to be as equally hard-won and frustratingly slow as women's suffrage itself. Gender equity is widely recognised as critical to achieving the sustainable development goals. Those goals were set for the year 2030, in part, because that is the date, scientists tell us, from which there is no retreat if we fail to meet our targets. If ever there was a time to take decisive action for gender equality, that time is now.
• Gender Tick is an accreditation programme for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to gender equity.
