Joan Elsa Donley (née Carey;[1] 16 March 1916 – 4 December 2005) was a Canadian-born New Zealand nurse and midwife.

[2] After separating from her husband in 1969, she returned to healthcare,[2] gaining a certificate in maternity from the National Women's Hospital, and completed a course in midwifery at St Helens in 1971.

[2] Donley was a strong proponent of homebirth, believing it was a feminist and political act, challenging to the white, male-controlled professions of obstetrics and gynaecology.

[2] The 1990 Nurses Amendment Act, which allowed for midwives to take primary responsibility for women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, was authored by Helen Clark (then the Minister of Health), in part due to Donley's influence,[1] as she regularly wrote to Clark about her concerns.

[2] Donley became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1990 New Year Honours, was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993 and an honorary masters degree in midwifery by the Auckland Institute of Technology in 1997.