Although the level of women's political activism has peaked and ebbed since 1893, women have continued in a variety of ways to work within their communities and politically for recognition of the equality of women and their right to fully contribute to all aspects of the society in which they live. The key factors that provide women with agency to advance their interests in modern day New Zealand are: (1) the high level of education for women, (2) changes in the electoral laws, and (3) the political activism of women through community organisations and political parties. The main barriers to women's political leadership have been comparatively a lack of access to political institutions (the political parties and the parliament), limited legal rights, and economic dependence. The underlying commitment to the values of enlightenment brought to New Zealand by many colonists in the nineteenth century included a commitment to equality, the rule of law and democratic decision-making through an electoral process.