Dr Marilyn Waring named honorary member of Zonta International
AUT Professor of Public Policy Marilyn Waring has been granted honorary membership of Zonta International, an organisation that seeks to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy.
“Dr Marilyn Waring has and continues to play a crucial role in advancing the status of women nationally and globally,” said Zonta International President Lynn McKenzie. “She has been a battler throughout her career, and her passion and continued influence make her eminently suited for honorary membership in Zonta.”
From the time she became the youngest member of the Parliament of New Zealand in 1975 at age 23, Prof Waring has dedicated her career to advancing the status of women internationally. In particular, she is known as the principal founder of feminist economics, which argues that women’s work has not traditionally been factored into economic study. Her 1988 book, If Women Counted, persuaded the United Nations to redefine gross domestic product and inspired new accounting methods in dozens of countries, all to make women a more significant factor in the economy.
“In my life I have tried to use the privileges and skills I have, and the relative safety of my precious New Zealand passport, to unapologetically speak truth to power, to serve as a bridge and access for those who are silenced, bullied or invisible.
“My early years in Parliament were very lonely for a feminist activist. In subsequent decades I have been part of local and international inter-generational networks working for social justice, as the Zonta organisation does with its focus on stopping male violence. In my academic and international roles, I look at the creative, strategic, exciting work of the young feminists. I celebrate this, and I feel that all my efforts have been worthwhile.”
Prof Waring has been at AUT since 2006. Her work in the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy focuses on governance and public policy, political economy, gender analysis and human rights. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, including the 2013 Amnesty International New Zealand’s Human Rights Defender Award, a Doctor of Letters from Glasgow Caledonian University for her outstanding international contribution towards the understanding of feminism and female human rights, and the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to women and economics.
The Zonta International Board awards lifelong international honorary membership to individuals who have helped to change societal attitudes about women, or have improved conditions for women beyond the national level. Since 1970, Zonta International has recognized 34 women for their significant contributions to advancing the status of women worldwide.
Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global organisation of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy.