Major changes have been made to our Partners, New Zealand Rugby’s board — that includes bringing Global Women Member, Dame Patsy Reddy on as a member!
Dame Patsy will join the board alongside Rowena Davonport to join existing member and fellow Global Women member, Farah Palmer. Together, these wāhine increase the female board presence to three.
“I’m going to be the newbie in the sense of not having that depth of rugby experience either as a player or in governance. I’ll be conscious of the fact I’ll be there to listen and learn for a bit. I’m delighted there will be three female board members but it’s three out of nine. Diversity comes in many forms, gender is just one, so I guess there’s quite a way to go,” Dame Patsy shares with NZHerald.co.nz.
“NZ Rugby, though it was very surprising I was approached about this, when I thought about it I decided it really appeals to me. Rugby is part of the culture of New Zealanders, part of our DNA, and has been for a long time.”
For Dame Patsy, this represents a new chapter in her life since moving on from her five-year tenure as the Governor General of Aotearoa New Zealand. She shares, “I thought I’m going to take my time and only take on roles that really excite me. There’s not many things that make me feel like that anymore so I’ll do my best. I know there’s all sorts of challenges, but if I can contribute to strengthening the passion for the game then let’s do it.”
“I know there’s all sorts of challenges, but if I can contribute to strengthening the passion for the game then let’s do it.”