Me aro koe ki te hā o Hineahuone – Pay heed to the dignity of women

At our anniversary gala, celebrating 15 years of impact, we reflected on the progress that has been made, and we cast our eyes to what the future looks like for Global Women. Over the past few years, the organisation has diversified and expanded its networks and its impact, evolving to reflect and uplift the changing face of our society.

As Global Women has grown, the make-up of our membership has broadened in scope — ensuring that our networks are inclusive, reflective of, and connected to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Today, our membership includes entrepreneurs, social justice change leaders, community leaders, health sector leaders, and corporate leaders. Global Women members can be found across the motu, deeply connected to the different regions, cultures and communities of our country.

Our members are exceptional models of the values we build our vision on:
We stand as one (tū ki te Tahi), through inclusivity, empowerment, support and advocacy.
We broaden horizons (ko te pae tawhiti, whaia kia tata), through inspiration, empathy, awareness and expansion.
We shift dials (haere whakamua, hoki whakamuri), through accountability, obligation, impact and influence.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to unlocking the potential within aspirational women and breaking all barriers to their advancement.

Through our programmes, events, campaigns and initiatives, we continue to promote, encourage, and facilitate the development of women in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our leadership development programmes have continued to expand and evolve, as we work to deliver what is much more than “training and development” but a true leadership experience.

The Breakthrough Leaders programme now begins at Waitangi, underscoring our commitment to Te Tiriti and embedding a focus on building cultural competencies for our future leaders. For the last two years we have brought the cohort to Samoa, where participants have had the opportunity to meet with some of the most influential women in the Pacific.

We have doubled the numbers of our Activate programmes, and now deliver the programme in Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Ōtautahi, Kirikiriroa and online.

Both Activate and Breakthrough Leaders alumni have taken up positions where they can continue to lead and influence change themselves, taking flight across the country and internationally.

We are deeply grateful for the past and present leaders of Fonterra, ANZ, Fletcher and Westpac, who have been steadfast in their investment in the leadership development of women.

Thanks to the Tindall Foundation’s support of our leadership programmes, and the scholarships they provide, we have been able to deliver the 2024 Breakthrough Leaders programme to a cohort where 44% of participants identify as Māori or Pasifika.

Across the rohe, our members have driven leadership initiatives, starting in 2021 with Dame Jenny Shipley, Jenny Prisk and Karleen Everitt spearheading events and programmes in Northland. In the Bay of Plenty region, we have had three successful years of our Women in Leadership Series, delivered in partnership with ANZ and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. This event series has now expanded into Taranaki, and we have launched a new cornerstone suffrage day event with Craigs in Ōtautahi. Members have taken the lead on establishing further events in Sydney, Wellington and Tokyo.

Our International Women’s Day events have evolved to be more accessible, with the deliberate inclusion of schools, communities, partners and members. These free events challenge and inspire, bringing together women across generations. We have focused on curating non-traditional pairings of voices, with a focus on showcasing the power of diversity and inclusion in action.

This year’s anniversary event was a wonderful opportunity to both celebrate and showcase the mahi that is being undertaken to further progress equity for women across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Annually we call attention to the last working day of the year for women through our “No Pay Day” campaign. We are committed to inclusive equity, recognising that closing ethnic pay gaps is necessary to achieve true pay parity for all.

Our 2023 report “The Silent Transition,” written by NZIER, revealed how menopause impacts women in the workplace. The report investigated the experiences of women and employers attitudes towards menopause throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2021, our campaign created by Saatchi & Saatchi and internationally acclaimed director Anna Mantzaris challenged people to address “career limiting behaviours,” emphasising how none were as potentially “career limiting” as choosing to have a baby.

We continue to advocate for equity, with an expanded and intersectional approach to shifting the dial for pay parity, women’s health and parental leave.

As our organisation evolves and grows, we have strengthened our commitment to advocating for more diversity in the workplace — equity for women is inseparable from equity for ethnic, gender non-binary and neuro-atypical people. Through the Champions for Change, we have committed to progressing diversity, equity and inclusion throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

In the 15 years of Global Women’s operation, we have seen a rise of numbers of women in management and governance across sectors. Our Champions for Change coalition’s 40:40:20 initiative has made a significant impact in this area, especially in terms of seeing gender equity in governance. All 60 of our partnering organisations who are members of the Champions for Change coalition are projected to have gender balance across their Boards by 2027.

The work that Global Women has achieved is due to not only the incredible women who pioneered the organisation, but also due to the men who have supported the mahi and understood the business case for senior-level diversity.

Our partners at PwC have supported Global Women for over a decade, and we are immensely grateful for their leaders who consistently stood by us — Bruce Hassel, Michelle Embling, Mark Averill, Andrew Holmes, and Keren Blakey.

Over the tenure of Co-Chairs Antonia Watson (CEO at ANZ) and Roger Gray (CEO at Port of Auckland), the Champions for Change have committed to transparent gender pay gap reporting across their organisations. Antonia, who led the Champions’ gender stream, has more recently been championing extended parental leave, alongside Matt Pritchard (CEO at KPMG).

While Government action on equity initiatives such as pay gap reporting has been slow moving, our partnering organisations continue to make change at a company level.

We are deeply thankful for our partners and Champions, whose shared vision of a future where there is accessible, progressive and successful employment for everyone, everywhere continues to support our movement.

Global Women is committed to the advancement of women, for a future where diverse, remarkable women lead the companies and communities of Aotearoa New Zealand. As such, we are fully committed to Te Tiriti partnership, and empowering Te Ao Māori and Wāhine Māori. Our annual hui at Waitangi this year, featuring the world’s first all women-led pōwhiri, challenged members to be observers or participants in the future of Te Tiriti — an event that has led to Global Women committing to submitting on the Treaty Principles Bill.

We also continue to strengthen our intergenerational relationships, and commitment to the young women who are the future leaders of our country. Our ongoing relationship with Ngā Tūmanako o Kahurangi, the te reo Māori whānau unit at Auckland Girls Grammar School, is reflective of this promise.

Much of our vision, hopes and dreams for the future are captured in “He Taonga Kāmehameha,” a waiata composed by Whaea Joey Rogers, Pou Whakarae of Ngā Tūmanako o Kahurangi, and Anya Satyanand, our Director of Women in Leadership.

This waiata honours the role that women play in emerging a more hopeful future, and in particular the wisdom of indigenous people to any kind of view of the future that is hopeful. It recognises the need to take greater account of the dignity and power of women. In 2023, Global Women were gifted the waiata at Te Mahurehure Marae, and challenged by Ngā Tūmanako o Kahurangi to honour, keep alive, and make real the song.

Since becoming kaitiaki of the waiata, Global Women has shared the song across its membership and leadership programmes. Ngā Tūmanako o Kahurangi continue to perform waiata tautoko for Global Women at graduations and events such as our 15 Year Gala.