WOMEN IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20760, 31 December 1930, Page 5

WOMEN IN NEW ZEALAND.

BY LAUEA BUXTDIG.

THE TALE OF THE YEAR.

Happy is the nation that has no history, some people say, and they will even "carry it further and announce so, too, is the woman of whom the same thing may be said. It is all a matter of definition. Speaking in general terms that would seem to be the position of women in New Zealand during the past year (and also for several past years.) There have been no great achievements among them, such as the magnificent flight of Amy Johnson from England to Australia, no high lights of any kind, for they are for the few. Even though one searches the records, it is difficult to find any outstanding event in which they have distinguished themselves. In surveying the field of music, art, literature,, science, medicine, law, the field of industry or of commerce, one does not find any important advance during the past- year, nor do they seem to have made* any mark in politics, national or international, or in the municipal life of the country. They have not even combined to bring down the cost of living, as women in Australia have done more than once with conspicuous success. In New Zealand they have even received a set-back, for they are not included in the Unemployment Act, which was passed a few months ago. Greater Community Spirit.

The story sounds a dismal one, but there have been bright flashes :n between times and women are getting into closer tcfech with each other to a far greater degree than hitherto. One of the outstanding events of the year was the Women's Pan-Pacific Conference,. which was held at Honolulu' a few months ago and at which a number of New Zealand women were present as delegates. Its aims touch life at many vital points, but most essentially might it be looked upon as a peace movement in its efforts to bring about a better understanding between the nations bordering upon the shores of the Pacific and also in the industrial world. The conference closed with the founding of a permenent PanPacific Women's Association, with a definite scheme of work before it. In New Zealand there have also been some important conferences at which women from practically every part of New Zealand met and discussed matters that closely affected the ijves, the interests and the welfare ' of the home, and of women and children in general. Of these, the most outstanding were the Dominion conferences of the Plunket Society, the Women's Institutes and the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union. The Plunket Society, as we all know, concentrates on the health of women and children; the institutes and the women's division work for the interests and well-being of the women in tha country, who need all that can be dona for them. Another organisation whose conference will take place early this coming year is the National Council of Women of New Zealand, who work on what might be called political, national and municipal lines. One is inclined to think that women in some curious way are losing their interest in things purely political and are gaining a greater sense of personal co-operation, of team work and a greater community spirit. Even in this direction they are far too lethargic in the face of the social evils that undoubtedly exist and which of late have been pointedly emphasised. A little while ago, in addressing a meeting of women, the speaker asked them two searching questions —had they, as a result of the" achicvembnts of the feminist movement, gained a deeper and truer understanding of the tilings .that mattered—or had they lost something t.haf was of value to the world! Things That Matter.

Thcso things tlint matter—what arfl they ? ' . Sir Philip Gibbs defines them as being the harmony that exists between mind and body, between groups of individuals, between man and woman, between mind and spirit—that is to say,, all. that may be summed up* in such a word as happiness, or service, or sacrifice. In this sense, and looking at it from a broad standpoint, irrespective of any particular country or ruce, it seems to me that never before has there been such a deep understanding of the things that matter. It is this that is stirring the women of countries that have been sleeping for centuries —countries such as Spain, China, Japan and India—to a passion of self-sacrifice and service. In India there has been an extraordinary awakening and many- are equipping themselves mentally, physically and spiritually so that they may better dedicate themselves to the service of their fellows. Many also are in prison because. they took a leading part in the recent political disturbances in that country.

Wherever one turns, the yeast is working, the Spirit moves on the face of tho Waters, and women are feeling the dgiving force of a power they cannot withstand. Even in this distant country ifc is making itself felt., though in a far less degree than in many other' lands. Women, as tho misogynist Schopenhauer acknowledged, was the being to whom the race mattered more than the individual, the future more than the present—as; apart from man. In assuming greater responsibilities women have to accept; their pains and penalties without hiding behind tho shelter of their sex when the tempest blows. The day for that has passed. Even more vital is the need fori a greater sex loyalty if they are to" achieve anything worth while in the' futurft. . * 'i