Suit, Woman's

This two-piece blue suit was worn by Dame Jenny Shipley when she was sworn in as Prime Minister on December 8, 1997. Shipley was the first female Prime Minister of New Zealand, and held the position for two years until December 10, 1999. The suit was gifted to Te Papa in 2018 as part of a Suffrage 125 collecting project.

Trained as a teacher, Jenny Shipley entered Parliament in 1987 and quickly moved up through the ranks of the National party. She held several portfolios including Women’s Affairs, Health and Social Welfare, and in 1997 gained the support of the National caucus to take over from Jim Bolger as leader. She served as Prime Minister for two years, but was defeated in the 1999 election and replaced by Labour’s Helen Clark.

Shipley was a divisive political figure, remembered in particular for overseeing radical and controversial welfare cuts in accordance with Ruth Richardson’s ‘Mother of all Budgets’. She advocated for women within the framework of her party’s deregulatory policies, and on issues such as the Employment Equity Act Shipley promoted individual liberty and small government. When the Act was repealed in 1990 she argued that it was a stand ‘in favour of women who wish[ed] to participate in the future’; a future in which legislative barriers to free enterprise were removed and individuals made their own way in the workforce (Brookes 2016, 427). This put her at odds with Opposition Leader Helen Clark, who described the repeal as ‘a black day for women.’ As Minister of Women’s Affairs Shipley worked on issues such as matrimonial property and domestic violence reform, and in 1993 was awarded a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal for her contribution to women’s issues in New Zealand.

As a Member of Parliament and Prime Minister Shipley experienced sexism and bullying. Opponents used ‘the worst techniques that you’d expect,’ and Dame Jenny recalls that Sir Robert Muldoon once told her she should be ‘at home on the farm making scones’ (Bertrand 2017). Shipley was very committed to women having a voice in politics, however, and had the confidence to withstand criticism. Of the day she challenged Jim Bolger for the leadership of the National party she says, ‘the farm-girl in me was extremely clear that day.’ ‘It had become inevitable … My leadership skills, and my drive, and my ability to bring people with me would be used’ (Espiner 2017).

On the day that she was sworn in as Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley chose to wear a blue suit by Wellington designer Peter Homan. She explains ‘The blue was symbolic for both political and suffrage reasons and an easy choice for the day.’ She accessorised it with a silver and pearl brooch, gifted to her when she visited Japan after the Kobe earthquake. According to the New Zealand Herald, Shipley’s ‘public image was of a tough in Tory blue suits,’ so these pieces are representative of her prime-ministerial style (Hewitson 2002).

References

• Bertrand, Kelly. 2017. 'Former PM Dame Jenny Shipley on sexism in Parliament and what she thinks of Jacinda Ardern.' New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, December 30.
• Brookes, Barbara. 2016. A History of New Zealand Women. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books.
• Espiner, Guyon. 2017. Interview with Jenny Shipley. The 9th Floor series, Radio New Zealand. https://www.radionz.co.nz/programmes/the-9th-floor/story/201841731/the-challenger-jenny-shipley  
• Hewitson, Michelle. 2002. 'What it’s like just being Jenny again.' New Zealand Herald, 2 February.
• James, Colin. 2012. 'National Party - Shifting rightwards.' Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/33885/the-mother-of-all-budgets
• McLean, Gavin. 2019. 'Jenny Shipley Biography.' NZ History Online. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/jenny-shipley