Ministry for Women

What Ministry for Women does

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women is the New Zealand Government department responsible for gender equality policy, established in 1984 (originally as the Ministry of Women's Affairs) and rebranded under its current bilingual name circa 2024. It serves as the statutory lead agency for the Government's international obligations on the status of women and girls, including CEDAW and Beijing Declaration reporting, and coordinates domestic gender policy across pay equity, leadership representation, health, safety, and Wāhine Māori outcomes. The ministry's Chief Executive, Kellie Coombes (Secretary for Women), leads a small team headquartered in Wellington.

Its core offerings are digital-first tools and resources rather than commercial products. These include the Gender Pay Gap Toolkit (online calculator and self-assessment launched November 2024), BoardConnector (governance candidate database launched March 2026), the Women's Health Hub (health information portal launched July 2026), the Leadership Learning Hub (governance training), the Free to Lead Toolkit (online safety, developed with Netsafe), the Gender Budgeting Exercise, and the Bringing Gender In policy framework. The underlying technology is a government web platform rather than a proprietary stack; no APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. Services are delivered free of charge through the website women.govt.nz, social channels, the quarterly Te Karanga newsletter, webinars, and international forums.

The ministry's business model is government appropriations via the New Zealand budget — it generates no commercial revenue and does not engage in sales. Its go-to-market is mission-driven: engaging employers through case studies (Westpac NZ, Meridian Energy, Port of Auckland, Transpower, MartinJenkins, Tonkin + Taylor, Chartered Accountants ANZ, Powerco, Bay of Plenty Regional Council), coordinating with peer agencies (Treasury, Public Service Commission, Health NZ, Netsafe, YWCA Auckland, Koi Tū), and convening the International Women's Caucus of 30+ member organisations. Primary stakeholders are women across life stages, Wāhine Māori, employers, government agencies, and women seeking governance roles.

Name

Ministry for Women

Legal name

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women

Website

https://women.govt.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women is the New Zealand Government department leading national gender equality policy, delivering free digital toolkits (Gender Pay Gap Toolkit, BoardConnector, Women's Health Hub, Leadership Learning Hub) and coordinating international obligations on women's rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Public Policy and Gender Equality Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Government Digital Service & eGovernment (Service Delivery, IDs, Portals) (BPAIAAAE)

Keywords

• Gender equality policy
• Government advisory services
• Women's leadership development
• Pay equity reporting
• Public sector governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Manatū Wāhine is a government policy agency funded by public money through the New Zealand Government budget. The ministry does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women is a New Zealand government department that provides free digital tools, policy guidance, and resources to advance gender equality. Its core offerings include the Gender Pay Gap Toolkit (online calculator and self-assessment for employers), BoardConnector database (connecting women with governance board opportunities), Women's Health Hub, Leadership Learning Hub, and Free to Lead Toolkit for online safety. The ministry also coordinates government policy frameworks including gender budgeting and the Bringing Gender In policy analysis tool.

Product overview

Ministry for Women operates a portfolio of digital tools and resources focused on advancing gender equality in New Zealand. The core offerings include the Gender Pay Gap Toolkit (online calculator and self-assessment), BoardConnector (governance candidate database), Women's Health Hub (health information portal), Leadership Learning Hub (governance education platform), and Free to Lead Toolkit (online safety resources). These are complemented by policy tools including the Gender Budgeting Exercise and Bringing Gender In framework. The organisation functions as a government policy agency rather than a technology product company, with services primarily focused on information provision, policy support, and connecting women with governance opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gender Pay Gap Toolkit Online toolkit enabling organisations to calculate their gender pay gap, understand contributing factors, and develop action plans. Includes an online calculator, self-assessment questionnaire, and guidance documents for small and medium-sized businesses.
• BoardConnector Database service connecting women with governance opportunities across public and private sector boards. Supports the Women in Leadership Service by matching candidates with board vacancies and providing tailored development opportunities.
• Women's Health Hub Online resource hub providing trusted women's health information, practical tools and guidance organised by life stages (growing well, living well, ageing well).
• Leadership Learning Hub Online platform offering courses, webinars, guidance documents and resources to grow leadership and governance skills. Includes governance training, CV development, and interview preparation resources.
• Free to Lead Toolkit Online safety toolkit providing practical tools and strategies for women with public profiles to address online harm. Developed in partnership with Netsafe.
• Making Menopause Work guide Guide to support employers to create menopause-supportive workplaces and help women build income security by remaining engaged in work longer.
• Gender Budgeting Exercise Government policy programme supporting agencies to apply gender analysis to budget initiatives, helping identify and address impacts on women and girls in funding decisions.
• Bringing Gender In Tool Step-by-step policy framework helping government agencies incorporate gender analysis throughout the policy development process from issue identification through to monitoring and evaluation.
• Let's Talk About Pay - Young Women's Resource Practical guide developed with YWCA to help young women feel confident discussing pay at work, including tips, phrases, and real stories.

Quantifiable outcome

• New Zealand ranks 4th globally in gender equality (World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index 2024)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• YWCA AucklandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Partnership with YWCA Auckland to develop young women's resource on pay conversations. Conducted Let's Talk Pay Survey with over 1,300 women respondents to inform the guide.
• NetsafecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Netsafe, the harmful digital communication agency, to develop the Free to Lead Toolkit supporting women with public profiles who experience online harm. Netsafe provides expertise on online safety while the ministry provides policy guidance and resources.
• Te Tai Ōhanga The TreasurycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Treasury to introduce gender budgeting in 2021. First through a pilot programme for Budget 2022, then expanded Gender Budgeting Exercise for Budget 2023 with 15 agencies.
• Public Service CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Public Service Commission to implement Kia Toipoto - Public Service Pay Gaps Action Plan 2021-2024, addressing gender and ethnic pay gaps in the public service.
• Health New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Health New Zealand to launch Women's Health Hub, bringing together trusted health information, practical tools and guidance for women.
• Koi Tū Centre for Informed FuturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Koi Tū to engage young people (aged 16-25) for the Free to Lead Long-term Insights Briefing to understand how online harm affects future women leaders.
• Institute of Directors in New ZealandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to provide Governance 101 publication and The Governance Series courses through the Leadership Learning Hub.
• Chartered Governance Institute New ZealandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to provide International Chartered Governance Programme and Governance Series courses through the Leadership Learning Hub.
• Community Governance AotearoaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to provide governance guidance including diversity at board table, AGM preparation, agenda creation, and financial literacy resources.
• Te Puni KōkiricoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-agency partnership for governance nominations services. Both agencies maintain governance databases and coordinate on board appointments.
• Ministry for Pacific PeoplescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-agency partnership for governance nominations services and joint webinars on governance CV training and LinkedIn for governance.
• Ministry for Ethnic CommunitiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-agency partnership for governance nominations services and joint webinars on governance career development.
• Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled PeoplecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-agency partnership for governance nominations services and joint webinars on governance career development.
• Mana Wāhine I Power WomenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry collaboration where energy sector leaders came together to discuss increasing female participation and closing gender pay gap.
• Champions for ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPort of Auckland CEO Roger Gray serves as Co-Chair of Champions for Change, an organization focused on diversity in leadership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Department for Women and Gender Equality (Canada): Canadian federal department advancing gender equality through policy, programming, and advocacy. Comparable in mandate and structure to Manatū Wāhine as a national lead agency focused on women's economic, social, and political equality.
• UN Women: The United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, leading global advocacy and policy work on women's rights. Manatū Wāhine coordinates with UN Women on CEDAW reporting and CSW participation, making it New Zealand's national-level functional counterpart.
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency (Australia): Australian government agency focused specifically on workplace gender equality, including employer reporting and pay gap data. Closely comparable to Manatū Wāhine's Gender Pay Gap Toolkit function and BoardConnector database for gender-equality data infrastructure.
• Office for Women (Australia): Australian government office within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet leading work on women's economic security, safety, and leadership. As a regional peer focused on similar policy domains in a closely comparable jurisdiction, it provides direct benchmarking value.
• Ministry of Culture and Equality (Norway): Norwegian ministry responsible for gender equality policy and coordination. Comparable in mandate and Nordic-style government coordination role for advancing gender equality outcomes, including pay gap and representation initiatives.
• UK Government Equalities Office: The UK government unit responsible for equality strategy and legislation, including gender equality policy. It is a direct structural peer, performing the same lead-agency role for gender equality within the UK government that Manatū Wāhine performs for New Zealand.
• Swedish Gender Equality Agency: Sweden's national agency for gender equality policy, coordinating cross-government gender mainstreaming. Directly comparable in operating model, with cross-government coordination, policy toolkits, and gender budgeting functions similar to those Manatū Wāhine manages.

Emerging players

• Diversity Agenda: New Zealand industry-led alliance promoting diversity in architecture, engineering, and construction. While not a government body, it is a listed user of Manatū Wāhine's Gender Pay Gap Toolkit and represents the kind of sector-specific diversity initiative the ministry partners with.
• Champions for Change: New Zealand CEO-led initiative focused on increasing diversity in leadership. Functions as a private-sector complement to Manatū Wāhine's BoardConnector work, with documented cross-pollination through partner organizations like Port of Auckland.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Human Rights Commission: Australia's national human rights institution with a remit covering gender equality among other protected attributes. A broader incumbent operating across multiple equality dimensions rather than specializing in women's policy like Manatū Wāhine.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/womenofnewzealand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ministry-for-women-new-zealand
• Instagraminstagram.com/women_nz

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ministry for Women