In a candid kōrero with Greg Bruce at NZ Herald this International Women’s Day, Global Women Chair Dame Theresa Gattung shared the ups and downs of her career, and spoke on her life-long commitment to the advancement of women.
A committed feminist since her teen years, Dame Theresa has long been an advocate for closing the gender pay gap, saying that the slow progress towards pay parity is because “different governments have different priorities – but in the end it’s not women.”
For years, she has experienced backlash from people who claim that the gender pay gap does not exist, or is not an issue.
“Some people are threatened by it,” says Theresa. “Some white men are threatened.”
Describing Māori wāhine as Aotearoa New Zealand’s potentially “most discriminated against group,” Theresa reflects on how she realised the importance of allyship following hearing Leonie Pihama speak at a conference in 2017.
“We have to be in partnership. We cannot go backwards 20, 40, 100 years,” says Theresa.
“If wāhine Māori can achieve their potential, I think this country is unstoppable.”
Global Women recently submitted in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill, honouring the organisation’s to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and breaking barriers to the advancement of Aotearoa New Zealand’s women.
“I say to everyone who has a different view: ‘Do you understand that Māori is not a grievance economy now?’
“They have taken that Treaty settlement money and some of them didn’t even get that, like Ngāti Whātua – that wasn’t part of the Treaty settlement process; that was a different process – but they’ve taken that and they’ve built businesses and farms and pūtea that makes New Zealand better and stronger.”
Since the beginning of her career, Dame Theresa has dedicated time and money to the causes and organisations she believes in. While she is known for her dedicated advocacy for women and girls, especially in business, one of her longest standing philanthropic relationships has been with the SPCA.
Greg Bruce’s conversation with Dame Theresa dives into how she has carried this generosity of spirit through some of the most challenging periods of her life.
Following the end of a 20-year relationship, and her resignation as CEO of Telecom in 2007, Theresa took a step back from business to focus on travel, writing, philanthropy and governance roles.
In 2012, she co-founded My Food Bag with Cecilia Robinson and Nadia Lim. The company achieved rapid growth, reaching $100 million in revenue within three years. But her rigorous schedule and the mounting pressures of her commitments took its toll, with Theresa experiencing severe burnout that culminated in a collapse, subsequent hospitalisation, and diagnosis with a brain cyst.
The health scare was a wake-up call to the consequences of a heavy workload and stress. Seven years later, Theresa still has the cyst regularly monitored and checked – any changes in its size and movement could be life threatening.
Following a challenging and slow recovery, and with an ongoing commitment to rest and balance, Theresa continues to prioritise her governance work, philanthropy, and advocacy for those causes that align with her core beliefs.
“I think being generous actually makes it more likely that you’ll be financially in a good position, rather than less likely, because you have a generous mindset and then you will attract money back.”
Read Theresa’s kōrero with Greg Bruce in full at NZHerald.co.nz.