The study will focus on the last 40 years of women's engagement with the political process, with an emphasis on how women created and took advantage of opportunities to participate in public decision-making institutions. The primary objective of political women activists during this 40-year period has been inclusion within political decision-making institutions in order to affect law reform that recognised the rights of women and influenced the allocation of resources to address the needs of women. The study will track the successes and failures of various strategies and tactics during this period, and the impact women's political leadership has had on New Zealand's democracy and development.