Jan Rivers – Researcher and Gender-Critical Feminist

Jan Rivers is a policy researcher and self-described feminist on the left end of the spectrum who has become an unlikely ally of socially conservative groups on gender issues. A long-time public servant in Wellington (20+ years), Rivers advocates for “quality of the public sector and our democracy”. Politically, she identifies as a lesbian, socialist, and member of the Labour Party. Rivers began voicing concern about “gender ideology” around 2018, alarmed by what she saw as threats to women’s rights and free speech. She has written for the site Public Good and other forums critiquing the replacement of sex with gender in policy (for instance, objecting to the 2023 census asking about “gender identity”). At the IPNZ summit, Rivers provided a rare left-wing voice on the stage. In her speech (transcript later published on PublicGood.org.nz), she declared “gender ideology is a clear and present danger to our society” and recounted how dissenting feminists like Germaine Greer were “glitter-bombed” by trans activists – evidence, in her view, of intolerant new activism. Rivers said she chose to speak at a controversial event alongside people she otherwise strongly disagrees with (e.g. Destiny Church pastors) because of a shared concern on this single issue. This “hands across the aisle” approach mirrored similar coalitions abroad, she noted. Rivers has also researched the influence of gender theory across NZ government agencies and the health system. While not a household name, Rivers has some presence in feminist circles and likely on platforms like Substack or Facebook where gender-critical discussions occur. Her involvement gave Inflection Point cross-ideological credibility. She remains a grassroots activist type – one who might lobby within the Labour Party (she tried to get meetings with Labour ministers on these issues, unsuccessfully) and contribute to submissions against policies like self-ID laws. Rivers exemplifies the small but vocal group of leftist or “gender-critical” feminists in NZ aligning with conservative groups on trans issues.