On 19 September 1893 the Governor signed the Electoral Bill into law giving women the right to vote to elect members of Parliament. New Zealand became the first country to extend this right to women. This was followed by legislation in 1919 enabling women to stand for Parliament. Elizabeth McCombs was the first woman elected as a member of Parliament in 1933.

The issue had been aired in Parliament since the 1870s but it had not been taken very seriously at that time. In the early 1890s the movement for women’s suffrage, led by Kate Sheppard and involving the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and women’s franchise leagues, made the issue a matter of national importance. The movement combined a demand for equal political rights and moral reform, particularly through temperance or the prohibition of alcohol. A number of extremely large petitions were presented to Parliament.

Bills were introduced into Parliament in 1891 and 1892 but were blocked by the Upper House (the Legislative Council). Premier Richard John Seddon and some of his ministers were happy to have the Upper House obstruct the measure. When the Bill was again introduced in 1893 two members of the Upper House unexpectedly changed sides and the Electoral Bill was passed. Women turned up to the polling booths for the election later that year and cast their votes alongside men.

Parliament celebrated the centenary of women’s suffrage in 1993 with the planting of ‘Kate Sheppard’ white camellia shrubs in the grounds (gifted by the National Council of Women), the placing of a commemorative time capsule close by and the donation to Parliament by the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union of a bust of Kate Sheppard (displayed in the main foyer of Parliament House). Various artworks commemorate the centenary, including sculptural flowers on the walls of the chamber. A select committee room has been dedicated to women in Parliament.