Beyond Kate

Women won the right to vote in New Zealand in 1893. On the 125th anniversary we look back at battles won & debate battles still being fought. Historians and ordinary women share their stories.

Presented by Sonia Yee

A podcast cover for "Beyond Kate" with an illustration featuring Kate Sheppard at the suffragette protest.

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Unwrapping the Suffrage Petition

Episode 1
Gaining the vote was a battle hard won for New Zealand women. Episode one of Beyond Kate visits the petition, hears about the woman whose name sits atop it & looks at the lives of rural women then and now.
George Frederick  and Mary Jane Carpenter (in black, centre) with Alice, Edith, Harriet, Frederick, Gladys, William and Emily c. 1897

The Useful Woman

Episode 2
Episode Two of Beyond Kate explores politics, the reality of women at the polling booths, and Victorian attitudes that kept women in the home.
A collection of photos of suffragist Clara Alley

Standing Their Ground

Episode 3
Episode Three of Beyond Kate explores property and divorce rights for women, the age of consent, and even the right for women to wear what they want... early social reforms still being debated today.
Aucklander Natalie Watkin is proud of her heritage and the suffragist in her family who fought for property rights.

Rights and Ownership Over the Female Body

Episode 4
From crotch-less bloomers and women's fashion in the late 19th century to contraception, menstruation and abortion. Episode Four of Beyond Kate explores the politics and double standards around the female body, and women's access to public space.
Women's bodies are highly political.

Women Caught Between Two Worlds

Episode 5
Being a woman of colour in a predominantly white society brings with it a complex set of rules and expectations that are often not spoken about. Episode Four of Beyond Kate looks at some of the Maori suffragists who fought for women's rights and explores how decisions made in our history have impacted on women from non-Pakeha backgrounds today.
Head and shoulders studio portrait of a Maori woman with moko. c1871.

Women Should Be Seen and Heard

Episode 6
Is the arts a place where women have equal opportunity? And if not, why not? That's the big question at hand in Episode Six of RNZ podcast, Beyond Kate.
Are women's voices really being heard?

Sure to Rise

Episode 7
Mathematics, science and English might be what we consider the core elements of a good education today, but back when women won the right to vote, learning to bake the perfect scone was considered an essential for girls...Find out more in the latest episode of Beyond Kate.
How has education shaped roles for women.

Fighting the Same Fight

Episode 8
Feminised or gendered roles in the workforce were carved out in our past and still impact on the lives of women in the workplace today. Find out more in Episode 8 of Beyond Kate.
An army of office workers arose during the 20th century to administer a complex economy increasingly based on communications.

Beyond Kate Trailer

Trailer
Beyond Kate is a podcast exploring women's suffrage in New Zealand 125 years after women gained the right to vote in New Zealand. The series launches 19 September commemorating women's suffrage.
Beyond Kate explores women's suffrage in New Zealand.