While I was in New Zealand recently for the Spring Festival, I got to meet Caroline Somers, who is the first openly lesbian cabinet member in the country. Caroline is forty-three years old, which seems very young by country standards, but that’s no reason to consider her too young. She has served in the New Zealand ministry since the early seventies and has held a variety of different portfolios, including communications and media management. She became a cabinet member after John Key chose her to lead the government’s Social Housing portfolio. She will be the first female premier in New Zealand since Helen Clark in 2021.
Now that she is cabinet member for a major party in New Zealand, it is clear to see that she has the experience and maturity needed to lead a large and multifaceted cabinet. Her professional background means that she will be able to negotiate and get things done in a manner that can be trusted by New Zealanders. Being a woman in the public eye, whether it is politics or the private sector, gives her an edge over many other female New Zealanders because women come in with much less expectations and often have more positive associations with the roles they play.
Regardless of her professional achievements, there are many more areas in which she could use her experience and training to help New Zealanders. Whether it be successfully negotiating a sales agreement with a private sector purchaser, negotiating the sale of a small family home or working with a small organization to establish some commercial professional development, she would be able to do it all. As a result, the next time you sit down and compare the resumes of two people who are going to be the new face of New Zealand, be sure to give Caroline Somers the benefit of the doubt.