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Story: Women’s labour organisations

Women's occupations, 1896–2018

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The occupations in which women worked changed significantly between 1896 and 2018. The service workers category, which dominated employment in 1896, included domestic service, then the commonest job done by women. The relatively high percentage of professional women that year was bolstered by women teachers. The influx of women into clerical work over time is clear – the fall in numbers in 2006 is balanced by the rise in the administrative category in the same year.

The data on which the chart is based are drawn from the census. As the categories used changed over time, it is trends that are shown here.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Sources: New Zealand official yearbook, 1990; 2006 Census; 2018 Census

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Women’s labour organisations – The first women’s unions and associations, 1878 to 1939, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/26360/womens-occupations-1896-2018 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 22 March 2011.