Spice up your ‘public policy’ : exploring the operationalisation of Sustainable Development Goal 5, Target 5.C to create employment opportunities for ethnic women in Aotearoa New Zealand Government Ministries : a research report in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University Manawatū, Aotearoa

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets present an exciting opportunity for equity. SDG 5, Target 5.C aims to monitor the creation of legislation and policy that is designed to improve the lives of women across sectors. The core objective of this research was to explore diversity and inclusion in the government ministries of Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) and how the operationalisation of Target 5.C could create more equitable employment opportunities for ethnic women. This research used feminist methodology, post-development thought and decolonial principles to design the key informant interviews with Members of Parliament (MPs) and purposeful sampling of key documents. These methods were used to compare the views shared by MPs with policy documents and archival data from past governments to see how diversity, inclusion and equity are presented by government ministries. This researched highlighted that ethnic women face many barriers to gaining work in government ministries and SDG 5, Target 5.C could be a tool to help improve access to employment in the policy workforce. The SDGs have been utilised effectively by the government and for Target 5.C to be successful for ethnic women in government ministries there are wider changes that need to be made. The study concludes that the there is opportunity for Aotearoa New Zealand to be a world leader in the operationalisation of SDG 5, Target 5.C and the broader SDG agenda.