CEDAW/C/NZL/CO/7 Participation in political and public life 27. The Committee notes the high level of participation of women in public life and that the State party was ranked sixth out of 135 countries in The Global Gender Gap Report for 2011 and fifteenth out of 134 countries for women’s representation in Parliament. Despite this high level of representation of women at the central and local government levels as well as in the Foreign Service, the Committee is concerned that women continue to be underrepresented in senior management positions and higher positions within the legal profession, especially in the judiciary, and that there has been a reduction in representation of women public chief executives since the last report of the State party. The Committee notes that while there is cooperation between the Government and the private sector to identify targets for the advancement of women in decision-making positions, the targets, goals and time frames set are not sufficient and may be a symptom of regression rather than progress in women’s representation. 28. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Take measures to increase the number of women in decision-making positions at all levels and in all areas, in the light of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 23 on women in political and public life; (b) Make every effort to disseminate information on the Convention among both private and public actors to increase awareness and understanding of the meaning and content of substantive equality of women and men; (c) Review the targets, goals and time frames set for the advancement of women in decision-making positions to ensure that they sufficiently enhance progress in women’s representation. Education 29. The Committee welcomes several positive trends within the State party in the field of education, including an increase in the number of children in early childhood education, higher retention rates for girls attending secondary school, and a steady increase in the number of women who obtain graduate degrees. The Committee further welcomes the information provided by the State party indicating that more women than men are participating in tertiary education and more Māori and Pacific Islander women are participating at the certificate, diploma, degree and post-graduate levels as compared to either their European or their Asian counterparts. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not taken sufficient action to clarify and publicize the voluntary nature of school fees as recommended in previous concluding observations. The Committee is concerned that parents may be under considerable pressure to pay school fees, which places a financial burden on low-income families and single-headed households. The Committee is also concerned that the overall dropout rate for Māori girls has increased in recent years despite their improvement at the tertiary level. Further, the Committee is concerned about the continuation of gender-segregated thematic subjects, which affects future employment opportunities and perpetuates occupational segregation. 30. The Committee recommends the State party: (a) To develop a systematic programme to ensure that parents understand the voluntary nature of payments requested by schools and monitor schools’ practices regarding the collection of fees from parents; (b) To collect data on the real cost of education to parents; (c) To implement measures to decrease dropout rates among Māori girls and to reintegrate them into the educational system; 7