Editing Kate Sheppard (section)

==Canterbury Women's Institute and the National Council of Women==
{{See also|National Council of Women of New Zealand}}

[[File:National Council of Women, Christchurch, 1896.jpg|thumb|left|National Council of Women, Christchurch, 1896]]
The [[Canterbury Women's Institute]] was formed in September 1892, with Sheppard playing a leading role and taking charge of the economics department. The institute was open to both men and women and worked to reduce inequalities between them. Sheppard believed that enfranchisement was the first step towards achieving other reforms, such as reforming unfair laws on marriage, parenthood, and property, and towards eliminating the uneven treatment of the sexes in morality.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=101–103}}

The [[National Council of Women of New Zealand]] was established in April 1896 by the Canterbury Women's Institute and ten other women's groups from throughout New Zealand,{{sfn|Cook}}{{sfn|The National Council of Women}} and Sheppard was elected president at its founding convention.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=147–149}} The council promoted the right of women to stand for Parliament, equal pay and equal opportunities for women, the removal of legal disabilities affecting women, and economic independence for married women.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=112–113}}

Sheppard's election as president, instead of fellow feminist Lady [[Anna Stout]], had caused a rift.{{sfn|Cook}} This, along with other disagreements such as whether the council should support New Zealand's involvement in the [[Second Boer War]], contributed to the organisation going into recess in 1906.{{sfn|Cook}}{{sfn|The National Council of Women}}