national development and to advise the government on women's issues, which became the Committee on Women, the forerunner to New Zealand's Ministry for Women. In 1974, Dell became chairperson of the Committee on Women and was coordinator for the landmark International Women's Year in 1975, as well as attending all three of the United Nations Conferences for the Decade of Women as a member of the New Zealand Government delegation. She was chairperson of the committee until 1981. One of her achievements was to establish a women's appointment file to encourage government agencies to appoint women to job vacancies as well as men. She also worked with government departments to convene important conferences such as the 1976 Conference on Women Social and Economic Development and 1977 Conference on Women and Health, both held in Wellington. Dell was elected to the Board of Officers of the International Council of Women (ICW) in 1976, and was elected International President in 1979. She was the first New Zealander to hold this position, and remained in post until 1986. In this role she visited 64 countries and became aware of the difficulties facing women in poorer countries. She was coordinator of the ICW Development Project Program until her retirement. In 1976, she received the Adelaide Ristori Prize from the Italian Cultural Centre for outstanding service. In 1982 she was made a life member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand. In July 1991, Dell was appointed to chair the Suffrage Trust, set up to promote the centennial of women's suffrage in New Zealand and to allocate NZ$5 million in funding to projects reflecting different aspects of women's lives. Dell died in Carterton on 22 March 2022, at the age of 97. Honours and awards In the 1975 New Year Honours, Dell was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for public services. In 1977, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. In the 1980 New Year Honours, Dell was promoted to the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to women. In 1990, she was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. On 6 February 1993, Dell was the 22nd appointee to the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civil honour. Also in 1993, Dell was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. Patronage Dell was the patron of