Story: Gender inequalities

Against electioneering women

Against electioneering women

Wellingtonian Henry Wright’s 1902 request that female political activists not call at his home repeated one of the commonest insults used by opponents of suffrage – that women involved in politics had masculine characteristics (were ‘epicene’). Wright lived till 1936, so he saw women get not only the vote, but the right to stand as candidates (1919), and the election of the first female member of Parliament, Elizabeth McCombs (1933).

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-B-WOMEN-1902

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Anne Else, 'Gender inequalities - Areas of discrimination', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/28619/against-electioneering-women (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Anne Else, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 20 Jun 2018