I spent a good portion of my maiden speech casting back to some of the debates in the battle for women's suffrage that reflected on the benefits that women members would bring to politics. I'm incredibly proud and actually quite shocked to find that I was just the 98th woman member in New Zealand's history to become an MP. Over my time as an MP, I've tried to use the role to encourage more women to see their futures without limits and to push back on the still unlevel playing field. As any woman in this place can tell you, we continue to face a type of scrutiny and criticism that is unique to us, and often a different measure of competence. While the number of women in politics is growing, we still have some way to go. But as MPs we have the ability to model possibilities for so many New Zealanders, and that's something we should never lose sight of.