The Honorable Tariana Turia, Minister of Community and Voluntary Sector , in Hamilton, New Zealand, spoke from the perspective of a Maori woman as she presented “Strong Women, Strong World” on International Women’s Day 2009. Along with the practicalities needed to make the workplace more woman accommodating and equitable, she urged her listeners to celebrate their “character and cheek.” “A woman’s strength is about having the fortitude to stand up in the face of moral or social pressure, to do what we know is right,” she said. “Poet Marge Piercy had a quote I just love: A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done. ” Mr. Turia noted the long and hard hours required of working women with no commensurate lessening of their intrinsic responsibilities in family and society: as counsellor, caterer, budget manager, conciliator, referee, advocate, teacher, mentor, chauffeur, correspondent, caregiver, social planner, church and charity volunteer, and much more. She described her commitment to the challenges. “My life has been driven by what we call, whanau ora,” she said. “This is about holistic health, the connection between one’s spiritual wellbeing and cultural identity; the capacity to live by our traditional values and believes. It is about maintaining the essence of who we are, no matter what.” (Question: Is there a translation for “WomanUp! In Maori?) She concluded that in addition to the individual obligations handed to women, there should be collective strength channeled to support other women, particularly those in traumatic situations or those facing unbearable pressures. “This is our strength . . .the capacity to take on the world, to juggle many balls . . . while at the same time contributing to social wellbeing.”

2009 International Women’s Day New Zealand

 

British researchers working for the Development Research Group of the World Bank published an article in the Science Direct Journal in October 2001 that held the following: Numerous behavioral studies have found women to be more trust-worthy and public spirited than men. These results suggest that women should be particularly effective in promoting honest government. Consistent wit this hypothesis, we find that the greater the representation of women in parliament, the lower the level of corruption. We find this association in a large cross-section of countries; the result is robust to a wide range of specifications.

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