New Zealand Becomes First Self-Governing Nation to Grant Women the Vote
- Date
- 19 September 1893
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Oceania
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
On 19 September 1893 the Governor of New Zealand, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law, making the colony the first self-governing nation in the world to grant all adult women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
The reform extended the franchise to both Pakeha (European) and Maori women, reflecting the colony's relatively inclusive political culture. It was the culmination of a years-long campaign led by Kate Sheppard and the New Zealand branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which mobilised public opinion through a series of escalating petitions, the largest of which carried nearly 32,000 signatures in 1893. Women voted for the first time in the general election of 28 November 1893, with more than 100,000 enrolling. New Zealand's pioneering act gave it an international reputation as a progressive 'social laboratory' and became a touchstone for suffrage movements in Britain, the United States, Australia, and beyond, where women would not win the vote until decades later.
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Empires active in 19 September 1893
- Hawaiian Kingdom1795 CE – 1893 CE
- German Empire1871 CE – 1918 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Berlin Conference and the partition of Africa15 November 1884 – 26 February 1885
- The Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the Qing1911–1912 (Wuchang Uprising 10 October 1911; abdication 12 February 1912)
- Sykes-Picot Agreement partitions the Ottoman Middle East16 May 1916
- Russian Revolutions of 1917March & November 1917 (February & October Revolutions, O.S.)
- The Meiji Restoration1868 (proclamation 3 January 1868)
- Treaty of Versailles and the founding of the League of Nations28 June 1919 (in force 10 January 1920)
Further reading
The wider story
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
The classic accessible narrative of the islands' kingdom.
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