39 Facts About Marilyn Waring

Dame Marilyn Joy Waring was born on 7 October 1952 and is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics.

Since 2006, Waring has been a professor of public policy at the Institute of Public Policy at AUT, focusing on governance and public policy, political economy, gender analysis, and human rights.

Marilyn Waring has taken part in international aid work and served as a consultant to UNDP and other international organisations.

Marilyn Waring has outspokenly criticised the concept of gross domestic product, the economic measure that became a foundation of the United Nations System of National Accounts following World War II.

Marilyn Waring criticises a system which "counts oil spills and wars as contributors to economic growth, while child-rearing and housekeeping are deemed valueless".

Marilyn Waring's work has influenced academics, government accounting in a number of countries, and United Nations policies.

Marilyn Waring has had a long-time involvement with the Association for Women's Rights in Development, a progressive feminist organisation that advocates inclusive feminism, and served on its board until 2012.

Marilyn Waring grew up at Taupiri, where her parents owned a butchery.

In 1927 Harry Marilyn Waring stood unsuccessfully for election to parliament in the Raglan seat for the Reform Party, the forerunner of the National Party.

In 1973, Marilyn Waring received an Honours BA in political science and international politics from Victoria University of Wellington.

Marilyn Waring joined the National Party while still a student at Victoria University.

Marilyn Waring joined because she supported National MP Venn Young, who introduced a private member's bill into parliament for homosexual law reform; this was opposed by Norman Kirk, the Labour Party Prime Minister.

Marilyn Waring quickly entered the Opposition Research Unit as a part-time advisor under George Gair, the Shadow Minister of Housing.

At age 22, Marilyn Waring expressed some passing interest to Gair in standing for the party in the seat of Raglan, a very safe National seat that contained her hometown of Huntly.

Marilyn Waring is thought to have helped soften Holyoake's ambivalent views on LGBT rights; after she was involuntarily outed by the New Zealand Truth in 1978, Holyoake worked with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon to quickly downplay the tabloid reports and to protect their friend.

Marilyn Waring campaigned for selection by making house calls on party delegates, starting in her home town of Huntly, borrowing her mother's car.

Marilyn Waring mentioned her opposition to sporting ties with South Africa.

Marilyn Waring was the last candidate to speak; each was given two sealed envelopes with the same subject to speak on.

When her selection was announced Marilyn Waring thought there had been "a dreadful mistake" but there was a round of stand-up cheering and Jim Bolger from the neighbouring King Country electorate raced up and embraced her on stage.

Marilyn Waring was one of only two women in the government caucus and one of only four women elected in 1975.

Marilyn Waring fell out with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon almost immediately, and there were several episodes of conflict, although they shared views on some issues such as welfare payments to single mothers, where Muldoon was a believer in the welfare state.

Marilyn Waring served on the Select committee for Violent Offending, taking a particular interest in the Aroha Trust, formed by Black Power women.

Marilyn Waring moved to the Waipa electorate, one of the safest National seats in the country and including the wealthy rural town of Cambridge and parts of the King Country.

Marilyn Waring told Muldoon's biographer that she had deliberately sought to provoke Muldoon into this action.

In 1984 Marilyn Waring left politics and returned to academia, where her research has focused on feminist economics, well-being, human rights and on economic factors that influence legislation and aid.

Between 1991 and 1994, Marilyn Waring served as Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and the Politics of Human Rights with the Department of Politics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

In May 2006, Marilyn Waring was appointed Professor of Public Policy at the Institute for Public Policy at AUT.

Marilyn Waring's research focuses on governance and public policy, political economy, gender analysis, and human rights.

Marilyn Waring was one of 16 prominent intellectuals invited to contribute to a French publication on human rights around the globe in 2007, along with Ken Loach, Maude Barlow, Walden Bello and Susan George.

Marilyn Waring has led the Gender and Governance team for the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.

Marilyn Waring led UNDP's largest project in the Asia Pacific for the Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiative.

Marilyn Waring has served as a technical expert on gender and poverty for both UNDP and AUSAid.

Marilyn Waring speaks publicly on gay and lesbian rights, most recently in support of same-sex marriages.

Marilyn Waring refused to comment at the time and the Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, moved swiftly to minimise publicity and protect her; the general attitude among politicians being that it was a private matter.

Marilyn Waring was a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 2005 to 2009.

Marilyn Waring has been a consultant for, and a board member of, international organisations such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, the International Development Research Centre and the Association for Women's Rights in Development.

Since 1984 and in between her academic and activist engagements, Marilyn Waring farmed angora goats and dry stock, latterly on her hill-farm north of Auckland.

Marilyn Waring organised her farm for maximum simplicity and self-sufficiency.

Marilyn Waring's work is discussed in Melinda Gates' 2019 book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.