Today is annual Suffrage Day and the only woman on Tauranga City Council, Catherine Stewart, says it is a day to remember as bringing the female voice to the table was key.

This is Catherine's second term as a Tauranga City Councillor and in her four years as an elected member she has been the only female to be elected to the council.

Tauranga City Councillor Catherine Stewart.

'Women definitely see things differently than men, so it is important to have a female voice on council. I think you need that balance in any decision making process.

'Sometimes I have to remind them I am a woman.”

For Catherine, differing perspectives between men and women have come to the fore in many council issues and she feels her experience as a mother of two and grandmother of eight has helped provide an insight into alternative options.

'Women are more intuitive than men and perhaps are more appreciative of issues like the environment when making council decisions.

'When it comes to parking in the CBD I think women have a different perspective on shopping and as a mother you have a different perspective on accessibility.”

Although it has been 118 years since women gained the right to vote in 1893, Catherine feels there is still a gender gap in the country.

'I still believe generally men are paid more than women, but I think organisations and businesses are beginning to value women more.”

Women's Affairs Minister Hekia Parata says the government has implemented a number of initiatives which have benefited New Zealand women including investing more in education and health and employment assistance programmes, and changing the tax system which has seen the after-tax average wage increase two per cent faster than inflation in the last year.

'We are starting to see change,” says Hekia.

'The NZX stock exchange recently proposed new rules that require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women they have in senior roles, while the New Zealand Institute of Directors' has established a mentoring scheme aimed at improving the leadership and board opportunities available to New Zealand women.”

During her course as councillor, Catherine has been impressed with the amount of involvement Tauranga women have in the community.

'There are just so many women getting involved in the arts and sports, taking part in duathlons and breast cancer awareness,” says Catherine.

'They are getting out there and getting involved.”

Today marks the anniversary of those who pioneered New Zealand Women's right to vote and as part of the day a new online database has been developed by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Archives New Zealand and the Ministry of Women's Affairs, to enable people to see if a relative was a suffragist.

The data base contains around 24,000 names and can be viewed at:

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/petition