Elizabeth Sewell (activist)

Elizabeth Sewell (1940–1988) was a New Zealand activist in the feminist movement in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the first head of the Ministry for Consumer Affairs.

Career

Sewell was a manufacturing jeweller and feminist in Christchurch setting up the Pregnancy Advisory Service in 1974.[1] She was instrumental in the creation and operation of the Christchurch office of Sisters Overseas Service (SOS), an organisation which supported women to travel to Sydney for abortions in the late 1970s. She supervised two paid employees and volunteers as well as handling publicity and counselling of women.[2][3] She was one of the organisers of the 1977 United Women's Convention, moving to Wellington in 1979 to become a researcher and private secretary to the Member of Parliament Marilyn Waring.[1][4]

In the early 1980s she was National Executive Director of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) as well as being active in the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL).[5]

In 1986 she became the first General Manager of the newly formed Ministry of Consumer Affairs where she strove to move consumer affairs closer to the community and have government recognise the work of the Citizens Advice Bureaus.[6] She also worked to improve Standards for the consumer and addressed the International Organization for Standardization in Toronto in 1987.[7]

Personal life

Sewell was divorced after being married for ten years and had three children.[8]

References
  1. Crossan, Diana (November 1988). "In Memoriam" (PDF). Broadsheet. 163: 4.
  2. Heal, Jenny (October 1988). "In Memoriam" (PDF). Broadsheet. 162: 4.
  3. Dixon, Annette (1991). "Elizabeth Sewell". In MacDonald, Charlotte; Penfold, Merimeri; Williams, Bridget (eds.). The book of New Zealand women. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books. p. 599. ISBN 0-908912-04-8.
  4. Roberts, Diane (October 1977). "After the ball is over" (PDF). Broadsheet. 53: 10–11.
  5. "Sewell, Elizabeth, 1940–1988". Tiaki. Alexander Turnbull Library. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. O'Regan, Katherine (28 August 1996). "10th anniversary of establishment of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs". The Beehive. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  7. "Obituary Elizabeth Sewell". Standards. 34 (7): 19. July 1988.
  8. Sewell, Elizabeth (April 1975). "Avoiding the pitfalls of marriage" (PDF). Broadsheet. 28: 30–31.

Further reading
  • Waring, Marilyn. 'Letters to my sisters: in memory.' The Listener (Wellington, N.Z.). 16 July 1988. 121 (2524): 55
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