The cover of Sue Kedgley’s autobiography shows a striking black and white photo of her from 1971. With a look of poised calm, she’s wearing black and holding a white lily. The scene is from Suffrage Day when she and a group of women - all staunch advocates of what was then called the women’s liberation movement - staged a mock funeral at Auckland’s Albert Park to mourn the lack of progress made toward gender equality since 1893 when New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote.

It would be too exhausting and there is not enough space here to itemise each of Kedgley’s many roles and achievements. Fifty Years a Feminist is a personal account of her involvement in the second wave of feminism as well as the subsequent waves of feminism in New Zealand. In it, she examines her life from an unwavering feminist perspective.

The book is action-packed as she sweeps through her career highs and tireless battles on behalf of all women for equality at home and at work. From her early years as a sheltered debutante in Wellington to her introduction to student politics at Victoria University where she had her political awakening, her work for the United Nations in New York, and her fascinating time as a reporter, director and producer, to her 12 years in parliament as a Green MP, Kedgley is an absolute powerhouse, a person who during decades has made things happen and has fought for equality for all women along the way.

In 1971, Kedgley had what she describes as her “feminist click” when she discovered the book Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women’s Liberation Movement edited by Robin Morgan. Fired up and ready to kick against the power imbalance of a man’s world, she founded Auckland University women’s liberation and the National Organisation for Women (NOW). She writes that the group was ambitious in its goals, striving for a radical restructure of society, not just a few token reforms. Sick of being forced into servile and stereotyped roles in the home, they wanted to do away with rigid sex roles, to challenge male privilege and end the patriarchy as well as gain equal pay for women, access to 24-hour childcare and the right to safe abortion. It’s really not too much to ask.

There is a sense that Kedgley has never been scared to question authority figures. When she was a child at school, a teacher threw a blackboard duster at her. Without missing a beat, she simply flung the duster back at the teacher. She mentions the multitude of men by name who she encountered at workplaces like TVNZ and the NZBC who behaved in entitled, sexist ways. When working as a researcher for Checkpoint, she dared ask if she could report news stories. Despite her work as a researcher contributing to the bracings of solid reportage, she was told it was out of the question because women’s voices aren’t deep or authoritative enough. She was however, absurdly offered the role of regional shopping reporter. Kedgley also recounts a distressing attempted rape by entitled Harvey Weinstein-like figure Harry M. Miller.

An inspiring woman who is now in her early 70s, Kedgley doesn’t share too much about her personal inner world and the tone here is cool. She writes with an unfussy, matter-of-fact directness in a clear, fluid style, and her recall for events and dates shows a real attention to detail and accuracy, no surprises for a former reporter. She ends on a positive note, observing how the future of feminism is in good hands and that wherever you locate yourself on the feminism continuum, there is room for everyone.

Reviewed by Kiran Dass