Strategic thinking is something that frequently comes up in our coaching conversations. In this episode, we offer you our thoughts, advice and practical tools that will help you to think more strategically and progress your career.

We cover:

• What is strategy? Why does it matter?
• 3 ways to think more strategically
• Key tools you can use to build a strategic mindset

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter to receive career insights direct to your inbox using the form on our website.

Find out more about The Female Career and the services we provide, including leadership coaching, career coaching and gender pay gap analysis on our website.

We’d love to hear your feedback. If you’d like to get in touch you can email us on hello@thefemalecareer.com.

Image credit: Christina Morillo

• Miriana Stephens (Ngāti Rārua, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui), Leader of wellness business AuOra™, Director of Wakatū Incorporation - and mum of 4
• Alliv Samson, Co-Founder and COO of EdTech app Kami - and mum of 1
• Rhiannon McKinnon, CEO of KiwiWealth - and mum of 3
• Jacqui Magure, Clinical Psychologist, Science Communicator, Media Contributor - and mum of 1
• Megan Scott, Director at PwC - and mum of 1

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter to receive career insights direct to your inbox using the form on our website.

Find out more about The Female Career and the services we provide, including leadership coaching, career coaching and gender pay gap analysis on our website.

We’d love to hear your feedback. If you’d like to get in touch you can email us on hello@thefemalecareer.com.

In 2021, Bronwyn was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her outstanding work. In 2022, she was chosen as the Supreme Winner in the Women of Influence Awards.

In this episode, Bronwyn talks about:

• Strategies for breaking into academia as a woman
• How we can work collectively and improve the way we collaborate to solve big issues
• Completing her PhD with young children

🎙 "Doing a PhD with very young children meant that there was something I was doing for myself as well as raising the children. But I didn't know any other women who were actually doing it."

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter to receive career insights direct to your inbox using the form on our website.

Find out more about The Female Career and the services we provide, including leadership coaching, career coaching and gender pay gap analysis on our website.

We’d love to hear your feedback. If you’d like to get in touch you can email us on hello@thefemalecareer.com.

In this episode, Amanda talks about:

• Her pathway to becoming a Chief Executive out of a career in marketing
• Her experiences of returning to work after parental leave, including starting back when her baby was 3 months old and being promoted while on parental leave
• How she responded to situations where conversation was directed at the man in the room even when she was more senior

🎙 "I think as women, one of the things we are very good at is going: 'Well, there must be someone better than me, so I'll just wait and see'. Actually, you might be the best person, so put yourself out there."

In this episode, Tara talks about:

• The importance of determination and resilience
• Starting a business with little experience of working in a company
• Being ambitious as a mother, daughter and wife

🎙 "Don't stop halfway along the journey and think you're tired, you're exhausted, and you've tried 100 times. You probably have to try 200 times before you see the results."

This episode is one of a special 5-part miniseries that we’re really proud to have developed in collaboration with Te Taurapa Tūhono, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE helps grow Kiwi companies internationally, bigger, better and faster. Each of these 5 podcast episodes brings you the inspiring story of a woman who has taken her Kiwi company to the global stage. A big thank you to NZTE for their support to bring these stories to life and if you’d like to find out more about NZTE and how they might help you grow your business go to https://bit.ly/nztewomen. We really hope you enjoy listening, and if you’d be interested in any leadership or career coaching to support your own career journey, drop us a line at hello@thefemalecareer.com.

Mary and Robyn are also passionate about being a business that makes a positive impact on our planet. Since launching, Hello Cup has saved over 200 million single use tampons and pads from going to landfill.

In terms of career backgrounds, Mary has been a nurse for over 20 years, with her most recent years as a palliative care nurse at a hospice. Robyn started her career as a journalist before moving into Communications, PR and Marketing.

In this episode, Mary and Robyn talk about:

• How they learnt to trust their instinct and commit to the things they believe in
• Running a profitable business while looking after the environment
• Bringing fun and humour into their work

🎙 "Trust your instinct. If you've got a good feeling about things, then follow that instinct. If something doesn't feel right, leave it alone – avoid it. Don't ignore the voice in the back of your head."

This episode is one of a special 5-part miniseries that we’re really proud to have developed in collaboration with Te Taurapa Tūhono, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE helps grow Kiwi companies internationally, bigger, better and faster. Each of these 5 podcast episodes brings you the inspiring story of a woman who has taken her Kiwi company to the global stage. A big thank you to NZTE for their support to bring these stories to life and if you’d like to find out more about NZTE and how they might help you grow your business go to https://bit.ly/nztewomen. We really hope you enjoy listening, and if you’d be interested in any leadership or career coaching to support your own career journey, drop us a line at hello@thefemalecareer.com.

In her broader career, Amber has over 18 years working in the tertiary sector, with 12 years of that in research and innovation of emerging technologies. Amber is also a strong advocate for growing Māori and Pasifika talent and diversity in the tech sector.

In this episode, Amber talks about:

• How she started growing her business while still working a day job
• Stepping back in her career to get ahead
• Strategies for overcoming self-doubt

🎙 "The one thing that has really helped me through the self-doubt is being confident enough to talk about the self-doubt with people rather than sitting and stewing on it within my own head."

This episode is one of a special 5-part miniseries that we’re really proud to have developed in collaboration with Te Taurapa Tūhono, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE helps grow Kiwi companies internationally, bigger, better and faster. Each of these 5 podcast episodes brings you the inspiring story of a woman who has taken her Kiwi company to the global stage. A big thank you to NZTE for their support to bring these stories to life and if you’d like to find out more about NZTE and how they might help you grow your business go to https://bit.ly/nztewomen. We really hope you enjoy listening, and if you’d be interested in any leadership or career coaching to support your own career journey, drop us a line at hello@thefemalecareer.com.

In this episode, Rebecca & Kate talk about:

• Leaning into their values
• Pursuing 'zigzag careers' with many twists and turns
• How their packaging products are making the world a better place

Kate studied chemistry and commerce and started her career in management consulting. She then founded, published and edited a quarterly magazine Dumbo Feather, with a focus on social and environmental change makers before running her own Marketing & Communications Consultancy. She is passionate about the circular economy and about innovative design solutions.

Rebecca studied biochemistry originally and the early years of her career were spent working for companies such as IBM and Vodafone. Prior to founding the Better Packaging Company, Rebecca was the COO at StarShipIt, a cloud based app designed to simplify shipping orders. In that role, she realised the amount of packaging waste generated by the eCommerce industry and that sparked the vision for The Better Packaging Company.

🎙 "Do stuff that resonates with you, that makes you sing in the morning, that you absolutely love. And it sounds a bit naff, but I've been in a place where I wasn't living my values through work and it's a completely different thing to be doing work that is true to your values."

This episode is one of a special 5-part miniseries that we’re really proud to have developed in collaboration with Te Taurapa Tūhono, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE helps grow Kiwi companies internationally, bigger, better and faster. Each of these 5 podcast episodes brings you the inspiring story of a woman who has taken her Kiwi company to the global stage. A big thank you to NZTE for their support to bring these stories to life and if you’d like to find out more about NZTE and how they might help you grow your business go to https://bit.ly/nztewomen. We really hope you enjoy listening, and if you’d be interested in any leadership or career coaching to support your own career journey, drop us a line at hello@thefemalecareer.com.

Janine has been involved in cryptocurrency since 2015, and is one of New Zealand’s most visible voices in the sector. She’s leading the charge in trying to drive collaboration between the industry, central government, and the finance sector to provide a secure, accessible crypto environment for consumers while fostering ongoing innovation and growth for the sector.

Prior to Easy Crypto, Janine worked in senior operational and people leadership positions at Air New Zealand and Westpac and also in Consulting with PwC.

Janine talks about:

• Starting and growing a side hustle alongside her day job
• The steps she took to grow her business internationally
• Finding the confidence to follow her interests and progress in her career
• Her experiences of conscious and unconscious bias

🎙 “The more that I’ve stepped into and stepped up into the roles that I’ve had thrust upon me, the more I’ve realised that I have the ability to do it and do it really well. And I think that everyone has that ability and often it’s just our confidence that’s holding us back.”

This episode is one of a special 5-part miniseries that we’re really proud to have developed in collaboration with Te Taurapa Tūhono, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE helps grow Kiwi companies internationally, bigger, better and faster. Each of these 5 podcast episodes brings you the inspiring story of a woman who has taken her Kiwi company to the global stage. A big thank you to NZTE for their support to bring these stories to life and if you’d like to find out more about NZTE and how they might help you grow your business go to https://bit.ly/nztewomen. We really hope you enjoy listening, and if you’d be interested in any leadership or career coaching to support your own career journey, drop us a line at hello@thefemalecareer.com.

Julia talks about:

• Putting her flame up and pursuing opportunities without fear of rejection
• Choosing a values-driven career
• Facing the system and refusing to be punished for other people’s behaviour

Julia’s career has spanned across Aotearoa, Australia, the UK and the USA. She has recently been appointed National Manager of Transformation at the country’s largest NGO, Emerge Aotearoa, whose mission is to strengthen whānau so that communities thrive.

Julia is driven by social justice, people, and futures. In line with this, she is also a member of the Digital Council for Aotearoa New Zealand, member of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on AI and Humanity (Inclusion), Trustee of Hi-Tech Board, Board Member at Middlemore Foundation and Mentor at First Foundation. Julia has also co-founded the social enterprise PeopleforPeople, a youth-led Pacific organisation on a mission to ensure that everyone confidently participates in the Digital World of today and tomorrow.

🎙 “Keep on growing and growing, continue to grow into whatever that “too much” may be for you. Don’t let that seem to be an insecurity or inferiority to you. Because you never know, that could be your special source, your absolute strength, and that’s someone else’s insecurities they’re projecting on to you.”

In her work for Leadership New Zealand, Anya supports, equips, empowers and inspires people who are interested in growing the future of Aotearoa - a future that is just and abundant, peaceful and participatory.

Anya talks about:

• The challenges and urgency of being a leader today
• Her professional crisis of becoming a parent
• How appointing a personal board can help you grow in your career

🎙 “I have ended up in this place some days I think by accident, but most days I think because I believe in this work of resourcing , acknowledging, affirming, encouraging, inspiring leaders about their own capacity to be the change that needs to happen in the world right now."

How do you decide whether to make the leap into a new career? Can you incorporate multiple passions into your working life? How does historical sexism impact on the experiences of women at work today?

Dr Renee Liang, a second-generation Cantonese New Zealander, blends her passions for medicine and the arts. A paediatrician with special interest in community and youth health, she is also Asian Theme Lead for the landmark longitudinal study Growing Up in NZ.

Alongside her medical career, Renee also works as a poet and playwright. She has written, produced, and nationally toured eight plays, and has made operas, musicals, and community arts programmes. Her poems, essays, and short stories are studied from primary to tertiary level. In 2018, Renee was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

🎙 “We feel it’s a good thing to have balance, but it’s also a good thing to be passionate about lots of things and to draw energy from lots of things, so long as it makes you burn with something to do it.”

Image credit: John Rata

• The importance of bringing compassion, empathy and integrity into your career
• Finding the courage to get uncomfortable
• Why workplace diversity is critical to innovation and problem-solving

Tracey’s career to date has been focused on business growth, leading enterprise-wide multi-disciplinary teams and creating inclusive and engaged cultures. She has held senior leadership roles in several global professional services companies.

Tracey’s technical STEM background and 25 years international professional services experience makes her incredibly passionate about getting more young women and girls to choose STEM careers. She is Deputy Chair for Infrastructure New Zealand and Chair of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Sustainable Development Committee.

🎙 “Earlier on in my career, I was often the only female in the room, and that meant that bringing a different opinion or different way of thinking. But I do think the reality is that that has moved on quite significantly because the complexity and the uncertainties and the challenges that we are faced with, requires that entire diversity of thinking. And I don’t mean it from a gender perspective, I really do think that inclusivity across our workplace and our workforce is going to drive that innovation, that eminence and that creativity to be able to deal with the complexity of the issues we’re trying to solve.”

Can you be both grateful and assertive?

Practical tips to get the gender pay gap on the agenda at your organisation

In this special episode of the podcast we talk all things gender pay gap. Our guests are Dellwyn Stuart and Irihapeti Edwards, campaigners and advocates for pay transparency and equality in Aotearoa.

Dellwyn is CEO of YWCA Auckland and Co-founder of MindTheGap. With 30 years' experience in corporate and private business, she is passionate about gender equality and is driven to help amplify the voices of young wāhine.

Irihapeti (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara) is a young wahine Māori who works in the finance sector. She is a keen advocate of human and indigenous rights and is passionate about community engagement, cultural representation, female empowerment and education.

Dellwyn and Irihapeti talk about their work at MindTheGap and what drives their passion for closing the gender pay gap. They leave us with practical tips for how we can all be part of the movement for a more equal society.

In the words of Dellwyn, we all have power to make change. “All change does really begin with conversation. You are entitled to be curious and to have that conversation.”

Stacey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu) is a radio and TV broadcaster, journalist and author. Stacey talks about how women are perceived differently once they become mothers and the expectations women put on themselves.

Vic Maclennan is a technology entrepreneur and champion of digital capability for all. Vic speaks about gender pay discrimination and the power of supportive colleagues.

Teresa Tepania-Ashton (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa) is the Chief Executive of Māori Women’s Development Inc. Teresa talks about challenges at the intersection of ethnicity and gender and we can overcome bias by believing in ourselves.

Sarah Lang is Director of Government Advisory and Strategic Relationships at Beca. Sarah talks about struggling to be heard in male-dominated workplaces and the value of female role models.

Hema Patel is a senior business leader in the software and technology sectors. Hema speaks about breaking the bias by finding the courage to have the conversation or ask the question.

Caren Rangi (Cook Islands Māori) is a professional director and supporter of Aotearoa’s Pacific community. Caren talks about challenging the expectations we hold of ourselves and cutting ourselves some slack.

Renee Graham is Te Tumu Whakahaere, Chief Executive of the Social Wellbeing Agency. Before beginning this role in June 2021, she was Secretary for Women and Chief Executive of the Ministry for Women.

Growing up in Porirua, Renee began her career journey in a frontline role at Work and Income. Over the next 20+ years, she performed a range of policy roles within the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education.

In this episode of the podcast, Renee talks candidly about her progression into senior leadership roles, her experiences of imposter syndrome, and how she built her confidence by noting down her successes in a little black book.

“You start building up your little black book of things that you know that you can do, and that helps build your confidence. And then when you’re building your confidence, your imposter syndrome dial is decreasing a little bit. So it’s always there, but every little thing that you do helps.”

Jessie Wong is a Wellington entrepreneur and founder of luxury leather goods brand Yu Mei. She set up Yu Mei after winning an AMP scholarship while completing a Bachelor of Fashion Design at Otago, allowing her to invest in the specialised machinery required to craft leather goods. Together with her production manager Adrian, Jessie grew the brand, picking up 32 stockists in 18 months following successful showings during Yu Mei’s first two appearances at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Six years on, Yu Mei has grown to a team of 16, with a permanent design studio, and three flagship stores across Wellington and Auckland. Under the guidance of her female business mentor, Jessie has scaled her business, securing a world-class manufacturing facility to realise plans for international expansion. With a large network and community of successful fellow females, Jessie is a woman in business with an impressive strategic outlook and vision for the future of regenerative leathercraft.

Bron Thomson is the founder and co-CEO of Springload, one of New Zealand’s leading digital agencies, with a team of over 75 people in Wellington. Her experience in design, technology, and business strategy spans three decades of New Zealand's tech sector.

Springload’s mission is to make the things that matter, better. They’ve worked with some of New Zealand’s leading organisations, including Te Papa, Massey University, ACC, NZ Customs, Kiwibank, and many Government agencies. Springload also became a B-Corp in 2019. Bron is passionate about collaborating to create change for good.

Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, Cook Islands) is a journalist, photographer, social activist, and the founder and creator of NUKU. Qiane talks about the innate magic of wāhine and the importance of finding the courage to listen to and trust our gut.

Katherine Skipper is an architect and Principal with the architectural firm Warren and Mahoney. Katherine talks about seeking growth outside of our comfort zone, using our networks and being bold. 

Dr Hinemoa Elder (Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) is the only Māori child and adolescent psychiatrist in Aotearoa. Hinemoa encourages us to reach out to the wāhine who inspire us and to learn to love ourselves by exploring our whakapapa.

Vanisa Dhiru is a human rights advocate who holds commissioner roles with the NZ National Commission of UNESCO and the Library and Information Advisory Commission. Vanisa talks about the importance of playing to our strengths and being open-minded about networking opportunities.

Leonie Freeman is the Chief Executive of Property Council New Zealand and has had an extensive and accomplished career in the property industry. Leonie talks about how to lean into our purpose and reframe challenges as opportunities.

Dr Olivia Harrison is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on mental health, especially anxiety. She looks at the relationship between our brain and our body, and how awareness of changes in our body - things like a racing heart, sweaty palms or rapid breathing – may impact on our anxiety.

Olivia studied originally at the University of Otago before completing her PhD at the University of Oxford in the UK. She’s worked as a Research Fellow in Oxford and Zurich before returning home to NZ in 2020 and has been awarded the Rutherford Discovery Research Fellowship. Olivia has also recently been awarded the prestigious LÓreal/UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science.

Here are some mental health support services in Aotearoa New Zealand in case useful after listening to this episode:

• Call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
• Lifeline – 0800 543 354 or free text 4357 (HELP)
• Anxiety Help Line – 0800 269 4389
• Mental Health Foundation

Amelia Gain is CEO and co-founder of boutique accommodation management software - Preno. Amelia has a background in IT but took the leap to take over a luxury hotel at 23, turn it around to being profitable, and was even nominated for the world's best hotel. Her challenges while running this hotel sparked the inspiration to launch Preno, a software as a service business for smaller, independent accommodation businesses.

Over the past few years, Preno has gone from strength to strength and is now used in more than 25 countries, helping small hotel businesses streamline their business management.

Vicky Robertson is Chief Executive and Secretary for the Ministry for the Environment, a role she has held since 2015. Prior to that, Vicky was Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at The Treasury. She has a background in law and economics, and enjoys collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders to bring about significant reform on complex areas such as climate change, freshwater quality and the resource management system.

We're delighted to bring you the career stories of Sonia Minnaar and Liz Henderson, co-founders of Canopy Camping, a collection of over 80 handpicked glamping experiences throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sonia Minnaar has a background in sales. Before co-founding Canopy Camping in 2012, she worked as an account manager in sales for both Telecom and GEN-I. Sonia's core focus is working with prospective and new hosts and the financial management of the business.

Liz Henderson has a background in marketing, working on both agency and client-side. Before co-founding Canopy Camping, she headed up the ANZ Relationship Marketing team. She focuses on building the brand presence and marketing Canopy Camping.

Lyn Lim is a lawyer by background and in 1998 became the first Asian woman partner at a NZ national law firm. She brings over 30 years of legal practice specialising in commercial, corporate and governance issues.

In the last 10 years Lyn has taken on a wide range of governance roles across both the private and public sectors. There are too many to list them all here, but they include being on the Boards of Public Trust, General Capital, Restaurant Brands and the Asia New Zealand Foundation. In the 2017 New Years Honours, Lyn was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to New Zealand-Asia relations and governance. Lyn believes that success is about much more than just the financials, it is about the greater good for our communities, and making the world a better place.

Gaye is Te Tumu Whakarae mō Toitū Te Whenua, Secretary of Land Information and CE of Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). LINZ’s purpose is understanding, developing and caring for whenua, moana and arawai.  LINZ is the Government’s lead agency for property and location information, Crown property and managing overseas investment.

Gaye has held a range of senior leadership positions in New Zealand’s public service – as a Deputy Commissioner at Inland Revenue, and Executive team roles in ACC, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and the Ministry of Economic Development.  Gaye started her career as a lawyer, working as a Crown Prosecutor in Palmerston North, and was a Senior Counsel in the Commerce Commission.

Lucy Tupu is a classically trained Industrial Designer with over 20 years of experience producing bespoke rugs, carpets, furniture and lighting. She has lived and worked in New Zealand and Australia and for the last 17 years has been based in the United States.

 In 2015 she opened her New York City-based design studio, Lucy Tupu LLC and her debut collection was launched in May 2016 at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Her work has quickly built a reputation for its vibrant, graphic and playful designs that also reflect her New Zealand and Samoan roots.

Vic Maclennan is passionate about many things - growing great companies, raising digital literacy, growing New Zealand’s economy, and equality for women. Her day jobs include Managing Director of data and information specialists OptimalBI, plus investing in and advising a range a great Kiwi startups as they grow.

Vic's community contributions include being co-Chair of NZRise a community of NZ owned digital and technology companies, Chair of the Digital Skills Forum, a cross government and industry initiative focusing on the future of work, and Chair of Digital Future Aotearoa a fabulous charity established to raise the digital capability of all New Zealanders. Victoria is also Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Digital Inclusion and Digital Economy (DEDIMAG). 

Vic believes we live in a great country so helping every New Zealander reach their potential in life is something we can all aspire to achieve.

Camilla hails from Scotland, and studied at the prestigious Central St Martins College of Art in London. After graduating Camilla embarked on a 5 year winter, between NZ ski fields in Wanaka and Switzerland’s Verbier. On these winters she gained a reputation as a world-class snow photographer, before deciding she wanted a bit more summer, settling in Wanaka and starting to photograph mountain biking as well.

Camilla now calls NZ home and lives deep in the Southern Alps with her family on their high country merino sheep station. She travels when she can shooting editorial assignments and advertising campaigns for adventure sports, travel, and lifestyle companies. 

Recently Camilla has grown passionate about photographing regenerative farming practices and started a personal photography project to showcase this called Heal the Earth. She was awarded the 2020 Professional Photographers Grant from Canon to support this work.

Camilla has twice been a finalist in the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year and won the 2015 NZ Press Photographer of the Year. She is incredibly passionate about NZ and its unique and diverse landscapes and loves living, working and shooting here. 

Juanita Ryan is the Deputy Chief Executive, Health Services with Ara Poutama, the Department of Corrections. She is responsible for the operational delivery of health, mental health, addictions and disability services for people on remand or sentence with the Department.  

Juanita is a Clinical Psychologist by background with a PhD in Psychology. She started her career as a psychologist with the Waikato District Health Board. Juanita joined Ara Poutama 12 years ago and she has held a range of roles there including principal psychologist, Director Programmes and Interventions and Chief Psychologist.   

Bridget Williams is the founder of Bead and Proceed - a social enterprise working to educate people about the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and inspire action towards them through creativity. 

Alongside this, Bridget is also one of the youngest elected Christchurch City Council Community Board members. She studied law, classics and political science originally and was President of the Student Volunteer Army. The first few years of her career were at Duncan Cotterill as a solicitor before she realised her dreams of pursuing a more creative, community-focused career.

Abbie Reynolds is one of New Zealand’s most respected figures in sustainable business. She is Chair of Westpac's Sustainability External Advisory Panel, a Director of Auckland Transport and Trustee for Sustainable Coastlines.   

Most recently Abbie was CEO of Predator Free 2050 Ltd, the company established to help deliver the New Zealand government's ambitious goal of eradicating possums, stoats and rats by 2050. From 2016 to 2019 she was the Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Council, and was the key architect in the establishment and launch of the Climate Leaders Coalition in 2018. 

Before joining the Sustainable Business Council, Abbie was the head of sustainability at Vodafone NZ and has led sustainability and regulatory work across a number of different industries. Her tireless work earned her a 2019 Women of Influence award in the Board & Maintenance category.

Huia Burt is Co-Founder, Director and the Chief Strategy officer for The Energy Collective, which creates and scales digital businesses that disrupt energy retail markets. Huia studied Engineering Science at University. Her first job after uni was as a Business Risk consultant with Ernst & Young before she moved to Ireland and worked as a quantitative analyst with a hedge fund. Following that, she returned to New Zealand and worked for 6 years for Mighty River Power, which later became Mercury Energy, working in risk and investment. In 2014, together with two high school friends, she founded Electric Kiwi, which is now part of The Energy Collective.  

Tracey is a Civil Engineer by background and a Senior Principal and Market Lead for Land Development with infrastructure consultancy Beca. Over her 25 year career she has led many multi-disciplinary transport, urban development and climate resilience projects in Aotearoa New Zealand and the South Pacific. A few highlights include:

-   2 years living and working in Samoa leading a World Bank funded infrastructure strategy and management planning programme

-   4 years as Manager of Beca’s Civil Structures team, leading 34 engineers and design professionals charged with delivering large, high profile and complex infrastructure projects through collaborative contracting

-   establishing and then 5 years leading Beca’s Group-wide commercial practice and delivery improvement business. She has successfully led strategic change programmes and initiatives, across 7 countries and 3000+ people

-   Since 2018 she’s been involved in Auckland’s Housing Programme as the Beca Project Director for 5 neighbourhoods

Tracey is also a champion for Women in STEM, and is on the Advisory Board for the Women’s Infrastructure Network

Kendall Flutey - Founder & CEO of financial education Banqer: "Balance is not a destination"

Emma Eden - Principal Horn with Christchurch Symphony Orchestra: "I don't have a lot of time. With the time I've got I just have to be smart with it."

Traci Houpapa - Professional Director and Chair of Federation of Māori Authorities: "Every woman needs a small group of truth tellers. That group of people keeps me grounded and focused."

Hema Patel - Managing Director, Database Solutions: "My weekends have always been sacred."

Caroline Rainsford - Country Director, Google New Zealand: "I try to avoid thinking about balance. I try to think about integration"

Anne Fitisemanu has been the Chief Executive for TupuToa since 2017. In that time, she has been delivering on the organisation’s vision to grow Māori and Pacific leaders for a greater Aotearoa, with exponential growth in the number of interns and partners TupuToa delivers for.

Of Niuean, Samoan and European heritage, Anne has not only led the growth of TupuToa beyond Auckland to other parts of New Zealand, but also overseen the creation of international opportunities for Māori and Pacific young people.

An eternal optimist, Anne’s passion for creating a more inclusive world is infectious. She is known for her energy, enthusiasm, innovation and entrepreneurship. Her career has spanned leadership roles in key sectors including health, education, local government and not-for-profits committed to equity and growing people. 

"You have to be brave to improve something and spend time where you're uncomfortable. Sometimes it just takes a deep breath and a first step forward to get yourself there. And I think when you're there, you find it's a lot easier than you originally imagined it could be."

With a Masters in Geography, Sarah started her career with Manukau City Council before moving on to a leadership role with the not-for-profit Committee for Auckland. She then spent nearly 10 years with Infrastructure New Zealand as their Director Strategic Partnerships. One of her key achievements while there was the launch of The Women’s Infrastructure Network NZ in 2016, which now has 7 chapters across the country and over 2100 members. Alongside that she has also run her own consultancy advising organisations on areas such as economic recovery and community development. Sarah recently started a new role as Director of Government Advisory and Strategic Relationships at infrastructure consultancy Beca.

Sarah has been widely recognised for her work including being the Winner of the 2018 Woman of Influence Award for Diversity, USA Government International Visiting Leadership Program Scholar in 2019 and a Nominee for the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year in 2019.

Courtney Johnston is Tumu Whakarae, Chief Executive of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand. Courtney has had a varied career across web, communications and people leadership. One of her first jobs as a student at Victoria University while studying for her Masters in art history was actually as a visitor host at Te Papa. Her early career was at City Gallery Wellington as an assistant curator and publicist before moving to the National Library working across communications and web. She was the General Manager at Boost Media, a web design and development agency in the early 2010s, before spending a number of years as Director at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt. She initially joined Te Papa as the Director of Audience & Insight before moving into her current role at the end of 2019. Outside of her full-time gigs she was the visual arts correspondent on Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan for 10 years and has also been on the Boards of a wide range of sector organisations, including as Chair of Museums Aotearoa

"How much should I ask for?"

"What if they say no?"

Join the Founder of The Female Career, Leadership Coach Anna Johnstone as she shares practical tips about how to negotiate for the salary and opportunities that you want. In this episode you'll discover:

• Why negotiation is so important, and yet so tricky, particularly for women
• How you can prepare effectively for negotiations
• How to come across as confident & credible
• How to handle objections and your emotions during negotiations

We hope that you find this episode useful and best of luck in applying this advice on your own negotiations.

"You get what you get with us. And I think a lot of people find that really refreshing, especially in this day and age with social media where everyone has to be perfect. We show the sh*t times and we show the great times and I think people love that unique difference."

Qiane Matata-Sipu is a journalist, photographer, artist and social activist. She’s been a storyteller for as long as she can remember. Qiane created the platform NUKU which shares the stories of 100 Indigenous female change-makers and leaders through audio podcasts, photography, videography, books, art and live events. Qiane has also been very actively involved at Ihumātao and the land protests there over the years.

Rachel Garrett is a leader of people. She has had a varied career across change management, business improvement and customer service. She fell in love with leadership after landing her first leadership role working in Australia at 19 years old. After attending uni she continued her career leading teams across the public and private sectors in New Zealand, including as Head of Customer Service at Trade Me. She now leads NZ and manages a global team for Shopify, one of the world’s most successful ecommerce companies.

Emily Henlein is Executive GM of Design and Research with Xero. She’s based here in NZ and manages a rapidly expanding international team across North America, Europe and APAC. Emily is originally from the US and she started her career with Amazon, before moving to join Microsoft and later joining US department store chain Sears as part of their technology turnaround. She’s passionate about user experience, product design and putting the customer at the centre. In 2019 she moved to New Zealand with her kiwi husband, hoping to put into practice her yoga training as a teacher and enjoy a peaceful life. Her plans were frustrated by the opportunity of creating a global design team for Xero!

Sonya comes from a marketing, product management and customer engagement background. Before co-founding Sharesies in 2016 she worked for Springload, Xero and Kiwibank. Day-to-day she runs the product and marketing side of Sharesies.

Brooke has a marketing and finance background. She also worked at Kiwibank and Xero with her roles focusing more on Product Management and she also co-founded beauty start-up Indigo & Iris. Brooke is co-CEO or ‘3EO’ at Sharesies alongside Sonya and Leighton Roberts

Together, Sonya and Brooke won the 2020 New Zealand Woman of Influence Award in the Business and Enterprise section.

"Sharing that you need help isn't a weakness at all. Actually that's a real strength. People want to see you succeed and will do whatever they can to help."

Rhonda Kite is an award-winning film and television producer, creating work such as anthology series Mataku and feature-length documentary Squeegee Bandit as well as long-running TV series Kete Aronui. In the early 2000s Rhonda founded Kiwa Media. Its first software product was Voice-Q, a tool designed to automatically dub foreign-language dialogue in television and film production. Voice-Q is now used in studios worldwide. More recently, Kiwa has moved into digital publishing, creating multilingual digital books that bring content to life in ways that are interactive and immersive. Rhonda is passionate about creativity and the power of storytelling. She’s served on most of the screen industry Boards in Aotearoa New Zealand including Māori television and NZ On Air. In 2018 Rhonda was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to media technology, television and film.

In this short episode, Leadership Coach and Founder of The Female Career Anna Johnstone shares her top tips for discovering your strengths and how to start applying them at work straight away.

Christine Langdon is co-founder and Chief of Good at The Good Registry - a gift website where you can give or ask to receive goodness instead of stuff. The Good Registry has partnered with 65 Kiwi charities, which people can support through charitable gift cards and gift registries. In their first three years they’ve raised $565,000 for good, they’ve replaced about 17,000 gifts and all of the associated packaging and waste, and they’ve given thousands of people the joy of giving.

Christine didn’t start out in business or social enterprise. She studied as a journalist, worked at newspapers in New Zealand and overseas (including a stint at the New York Post), then moved into communications and public relations, seeking out roles where she could have a positive social impact, then leading the community programme at Z Energy - before leaving her ‘dream role’ to forge her own path in social good. 

As well as leading The Good Registry, Christine continues to do strategic communications consulting for causes that resonate with her. 

"The thing about being an entrepreneur is this incredible sense of satisfaction, that the hard work that I am doing is creating something that wouldn't be there otherwise. It's creating opportunities for people to give, that they wouldn't have otherwise, and it's reducing waste, and it's helping good causes. All of that's happening because we created something, and that's an incredibly satisfying feeling."

Manawatū-born Indian Vanisa Dhiru is an equality champion with a strong sense of social responsibility. 

She holds commissioner roles with the NZ National Commission of UNESCO and the Library & Information Advisory Commission, alongside other advisory and panel roles for NGOs and government departments. 

During her career Vanisa has held various leadership roles including CEO of Volunteering New Zealand, Executive Director of 20/20 Trust, and President of the National Council of Women NZ. Based in Wellington, she is a member of the global BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network, Global Women NZ, and the Manawatū regional Te Aho Tāmaka leadership programme. 

"It doesn't matter what your background is, there's always something that you can learn from someone that's different than yourself."

More recently she’s become an author, publishing many titles to support people, especially families and children to learn te reo Maori. She’s also very involved in the community and is an Ambassador for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation as well as Water Safety New Zealand. 

"Think about the structure that works for you and whatever you want to accommodate. Whether that's accommodating your own career goals, your own financial goals, or your whānau goals. It's up to us to write our own script."

Hema has experienced first hand many of the challenges in leadership being both Indian and of course, female. However, she also believes that we can't be what we can't see, and this very much keeps her going. Hema is mum to two boys, Akshay and Dhyan and very much changing the role of a mum in their eyes. 

"I bumped into somebody in the car park the other day, and she said, "We're so proud of you, Hema. We need more women like you doing the kind of work that you do." I forget all the time that I have what would be considered to be a position of influence, and that I can actually pave the way for change."

Sue is a Chartered Accountant by background and has started and owned multiple small businesses prior to Beany from bars and restaurants to bungy jumping!

"Female-led companies do better than male-led companies. We grow our revenue faster as women, we grow our profits faster as women, we are more sustainable, typically, than men. In every single investment metric, female-led companies are better to invest in."

Mai has been widely recognized for her contributions and was a top 10 finalist in the 2014 and 2016 New Zealander of the Year Awards. We hope you enjoying listening to her sharing her career story.

"I think when you are a migrant, you've always had to work really hard throughout your life to prove yourself, and it does make you quite a driven individual. And also, I just don't like to lose. I've never liked losing. So, it turns out, that I'm the lawyer I would hire if I got in trouble."

"Navigating my own career as a mum has been about building up my personal brand so that I can negotiate the types of roles, the types of hours I want to do, and that are also going to work for my family."

Her previous work has included:

• creating the concept of what is now realestate.co.nz
• buying and transforming her own residential property management business
• strategic property advisor during the establishment of the Auckland Council
• General Manager Asset Development for Housing New Zealand
• leading an independent philanthropic institute to solve Auckland's housing crisis

Leonie has been widely recognised for her contributions including in 2017 being a finalist in the Westpac Women of Influence Awards and was also awarded the Property Institute's Supreme Property Award the same year.

"Put your hand up to speak at an event, to chair something, to get on a committee, to take a leadership opportunity in your organization. Put your hand up rather than wait for somebody to come."

For the last 18 years Caren has also been contributing her expertise and perspective to a range of Boards as a Professional Director. She’s held positions on boards in the health, arts, education, community, investment and broadcasting sectors over the years. She was part of the inaugural Pacific Women’s Economic Development Advisory Board and a founding member of the Charities Registration Board. She's currently on the Boards of Te Papa, Radio New Zealand, the Cook Islands Investment Corporation and is Deputy Chair of Creative New Zealand. In 2018 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the Pacific community and to Governance.

Over time I've thought that one of the most useful things I can do for other women is to say to them, "Actually, it's okay if you can't fit everything into the day. It's okay if your house is messy. It's okay if you just don't quite get there." It's all right.

In more recent years, Liz has held a number of Governance roles. She is Chair of the Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust and has been a Trustee there since 1994. Liz is also Chair of Te Wharewaka o Poneke – which offers the chance to experience Maori culture right in Wellington’s CBD. She is also the Deputy Chair of FOMA, the Federation of Maori Authorities.

"It's an exciting time to be a woman. When I look around the world, the women in leadership in all spheres is just fantastic. I know there's still a glass ceiling, I know that it's not perfect, but my goodness me, from my time as a young woman to now, it's tremendously good."

She’s worked on projects including Wellington International Airport, Te Papa Tongarewa’s 5 year renewal, EY’s Wellington office fit out and Westpac Stadium. In 2019, Katherine was the recipient of the Property Council Wellington ‘Judges’ Choice’ Award. Katherine has also contributed more broadly to the profession including as Branch Chair for the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Wellington branch from 2016 - 2019.

"Be more you, not less. When I first was made a principal, there were two female principals in the organization at that time. There was a brief moment where I thought, "Oh, I need to be more like these guys." And then very quickly realized that that was ridiculous. Actually, I needed to be just exactly me and work really hard to continue to bring that different perspective to every table I was at."

Prior to working at NZIER, Christina worked at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and ASB Bank. Christina is a CFA charterholder, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with first class honours in Economics from the University of Auckland.

"When you try to do something that's a little bit scary and out of your comfort zone, and then you manage to do it, it's such a confidence booster."

Jackie developed her craft in the 90s in the Wellington theatre scene, writing, performing and producing a range of shows. In 2005, she created and toured black comedy 'My Brother and I are Porn Stars', which played in Melbourne, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and sold out 2 seasons in London.

More recently, she's moved into the world of films and TV. She's directed a number of award-winning short films both in NZ and overseas. In 2014 she won Best Supporting Actress at the New Zealand Film Awards for her work on vampire mockumentary 'What We Do In The Shadows' . She's created two feature films so far, The Inland Road and The Breaker Upperers. For the latter, she co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred with her friend Madeleine Sami and the film went on to be bought by Netflix.

She's been more of a regular feature on our NZ TV screens in recent years, starring in comedies Funny Girls and Educators. Jackie is also passionate about mentoring young practitioners as they come through the performing arts industry.

"I generally say yes to anything that thrills me or where I think 'oh my gosh, I don't know if I could do that.'"

She is also a Paralympian cycling gold medalist, a lawyer by background, and was previously a general manager at Statistics NZ and at the Ministry of Justice. Paula has also held a range of governance roles including Halberg Disability Sport Foundation, New Zealand Artificial Limb Service, Sport Wellington and Paralympics New Zealand.

Paula also won cycling gold in record-breaking time at the 2008 Paralympics and was recently announced Chef de Mission for the NZ Paralympic team heading to Toyko in 2021.

"Bring your whole self to your role. I think often we hold bits of ourselves back, and for me that was around disability and actually I know that I'm better in my work - and just in general as a wife, Mum and Board Director - I know that I'm better through that authenticity."

Hinemoa has been involved with the media for many years – a former children’s TV presenter for 3.45 Live, a daily live show in the early 1990s, and then of the Bugs Bunny Show. She has had a weekly newspaper column in the Sunday Star-Times, and is often interviewed on national television and current affairs programmes about her work in mental health.

"Really learn to love yourself. You're going to face all sorts of commentary and judgment from other people. Know who you are and where you're from. For me as a Māori woman, really being clear about where I am in this line of whakapapa and being connected to my roots is a major part of me accepting who I am and caring for myself. No matter what you end up doing in your career, that makes it much easier to make the right decisions for yourself."

She works across the public, private and NGO sectors, in governance and strategy, marketing and business development, and communications and stakeholder engagement.

Ziena is a keynote speaker, facilitator, MC and commentator on topics as diverse as economic development, international and vocational education, Asia business, leadership, diversity and inclusion, crisis management, nation branding, and politics.

She is the co-founder of myyodaa, a mobile app that’s like an ‘Airbnb for yoga and meditation’ - connecting students and teachers around the globe, via personalised, live, one-to-one video sessions – wherever they are, whenever they want, and at a price they choose.

As a young(ish) Kiwi Fiji Indian woman, Ziena identifies as much with Asia as she does with the Pacific. She has assumed leadership roles from a remarkably young age, including as New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore and board appointments. She was frequently the first in her demographic to be appointed to these positions.

Ziena has received several international awards for her work promoting New Zealand trade, investment and education in Asia, where she was based for 10 years. She’s helped some of New Zealand’s largest businesses build their reputation and revenue, advised Ministers, and worked at the grassroots supporting the growth of Māori and Pacific young people in professional careers.

A recent finalist in both the global and the board & management categories of the New Zealand Women of Influence awards, Ziena loves problem solving, and connecting people with their purpose.

"Find that sweet spot where your strengths and passion intersect. When you are doing something that you really care about and you're able to leverage your skills and experience, then you don't ever view work as something that just pays the bills. It becomes part of your life's purpose, and your mission, and that's just an amazing space to be."

Prior to joining Google, Caroline served as Marketing and Product Director for Latitude NZ (previously GE Capital) as well as Brand Director for their broader Australia & NZ region. Caroline started her career with Phillips in New Zealand before moving to Dubai to take on the role as the Regional Marketing Director for Philips Royal Electronics across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. 

Outside of work, Caroline spends her time chasing her two young kids around the parks and beaches of Auckland. She also loves tennis and is an enthusiastic skier. 

Liz O'Neil is a qualified chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience in senior finance & commercial roles. She’s worked across large New Zealand companies including Lion, Telecom (Spark) & Fonterra including a 3 year assignment with her family, working for Fonterra in Beijing. She has been Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - Pacific at Coca-Cola Amatil NZ since mid 2018. 

Liz is also actively involved in the community. She’s been a mentor for the Auckland University Women’s Mentoring program since 2011. She’s also been a volunteer with Springboard Trust (a not for profit supporting School Principals) since 2008 and has also been a Board member there since 2014. Liz is also on the Board of Trustees for Baradene College.

Jacqui's main passion is science communication, providing practical psychological theory and strategies to optimise personal wellbeing, work and relationships. She is one of New Zealand's prominent mental health and wellbeing thought leaders and is a sought after keynote speaker.

She is TVNZ's go-to psychologist and a regular contributor to Stuff, NZ Herald, Radio New Zealand and Newstalk ZB. She is also the founder of the #1 ranking Mind Brew podcast, where she has interviewed some of the world's leading psychologists.

Jacqui provides frequent consultation with ELTs and Boards, designs wellbeing programmes, facilitates training to small and large teams and presents keynotes at national conferences.

"Give yourself the time and the space to reflect on you as an individual. What do you want your life to look like? What do you want your legacy to be? What makes you passionate? What provides you a whole life? How do you want to feel in five years time? Ask yourself those questions and work backwards."

Alliv grew up in the Phillipines where she studied Computer Science for her first degree. She then immigrated to NZ with her family and completed a Bachelor of Arts Majoring in Political Studies and Media Studies at the University of Auckland. It was here that her entrepreneurial journey really started in 2013 when looking for a better way to take lecture notes collaboratively while studying. There, Alliv created Kami along with three other co-founders. Kami is one of the fastest growing edtech companies in the world. It has 18 million users globally and is a much-loved product. Alliv herself was a New Zealander of the Year Young New Zealander Semi-Finalist in 2019 and New Zealand Women of Influence Awards Finalist 2018.

"I've met a lot of amazing female entrepreneurs. I know that they might have encountered some challenges, but their experience and their drive has just pushed them into just pursuing what they love, and they're now having all this success. And if they can do that, you can definitely do so as well."

Miriana is a director for Wakatū Incorporation (Wakatū), its subsidiaries and various committees and they are guided by their intergenerational 500 year vision, Te Pae Tawhiti. Wakatū is currently convening the Te Tauihu Intergenerational Strategy which is a business led approach to regional development in Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough. This initiative is in partnership with all three councils, whānau, hapū and Iwi, the business community and NMIT and has been supported by investment from the Provincial Growth Fund.  

Miriana is currently leading AuOra™ which is an associated business of Wakatū that invests in a portfolio of nutrition and ingredient applications which are sourced from the natural biomatter of Aotearoa. The focus is to provide health and wellness solutions that improve the quality of life in the areas of digestive, brain, inflammatory and metabolic health as well as the health of our natural world. 

Miriana is also trustee on AGMARDT, Te Āwhina Marae in Motueka and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rārua. She is a member of Nuku ki te Puku™ (a national Māori Food and Beverage cluster), the Strategic Coordination Group for the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Interim Regional Skills Leadership Group for Nelson / Tasman. 

"You don't have to know everything. We're always learning and if you don't know something, just ask."

"The first time I went to Antarctica, I stepped off the plane to breathe in air that was colder than I’d ever breathed before”.

"I've always liked the concept of trying to be mana enhancing. I think that we should be able to critique each other and pull each other up when we need to, but it shouldn't be critical. It should be done with kindness."

Erica is a breast cancer surgeon and advocate in Auckland. Erica co-founded and is the Managing Director of both Auckland Breast Centre (ABC) and Focus Radiotherapy. Erica has been a consultant and national auditor for the Breast Screening Programme, and involved in multiple breast specialist groups within Australasia and the UK. 

As an advocate, Erica was the founding Chair of the Advisory Board for InZone Girls, is a Fab 50 leader with Be Accessible, a member of NZ Global Women and a mentor to a number of female students.

Erica has travelled a different surgical path than the status quo. She designed and completed the first part time fellowship position in NZ and also the first part time sub-specialist consultant position to provide some work life balance. Outside of work, you will find Erica with her two lovely teenagers, her husband Mark and her two big Bernese Mountain dogs.

"I think it's a good idea to be flexible in your ambition. If you just consider success as a straight line, you'll probably miss all of the interesting detours along the way."

Joanna started her career as a journalist, working here in New Zealand including as Chief reporter for The Press. After a period overseas, she took on the role of Digital Editor for the Dominion Post before returning to The Press in 2012 in Christchurch as Editor, the first woman to ever take on this post. A couple of years later she also took on the role of South Island Editor-in-Chief for Fairfax Media, alongside her editor role. In 2017 Joanna made a really interesting career move, taking on the role of CEO of ChristchurchNZ, the economic development and promotion agency for the Christchurch region. 

"You're not on the planet long. So do good and do things that make you happy."

Since joining Westpac in 1998, Gina has held a number of senior leadership roles. Gina lead both Commercial and Retail businesses across Westpac in both the North and South Island.

Gina holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Otago University and is an accredited Organisational Coach recognised through the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership. She is also a member of the New Zealand Global Women network and is a Director of Westpac NZ’s Staff Superannuation Scheme, a Director of Blake NZ Trust and Chair of the We Care Fund, He ora te whakapiri (Strength in Unity).

"Women often want to be perfect and not get things wrong. But actually when you've explored the fact that you are going to get things wrong, then embrace that as just pure learning and move forward with the next step."

Teresa is a kind, quiet and respected leader.  After a 12 year career working internationally with Citibank (during which time she rose from Service Assistant to Vice President) she put her decades of community and corporate governance experience to work for her people.

Teresa was the CEO of Te Rūnanga-a-Iwi o Ngāpuhi from 2004 – 2011.  Today she is the CEO of Māori Women’s Development Incorporated – an inspirational and well-resourced organisation that provides loans and wrap around support for Wāhine Māori in business, and their whānau.  

Teresa would never say it, but the people she works with describe her as mindful, decisive, astute and a nurturing and empowering leader.  This shows when you consider the awards and acclaims she’s received:

·       2016 New Zealander of the year – Local Hero

·       2016 Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for service to Māori and business

·       2015 & 2016 finalist New Zealand Woman of Influence

·       2009 Dame Mira Szaszy Alumni (University of Auckland)

With 3 children and a growing tribe of mokopuna, Teresa is an inspiring and understated leader.  With credibility in hapū and iwi development, Reo Māori development, and governance across all sectors, she is truly a contemporary wahine Māori leader.

"Putting the emphasis on your team, ensuring that your team are ready and capable and confident about what they could do, that's what really makes you as a CEO. Being the CEO is not about you."

• What networking is and why it's important
• Common worries about networking and how to overcome these with a more helpful mindset
• How to craft a professional introduction to make a great first impression
• A range of practical networking tips and skills

In 2016 Tanya decided to pursue study in Social Work and recently completed her Masters of Social Work. This fitted with her desire to contribute more to community and society. She’s passionate about the work that she does, which includes, among other things, advocating for the rights, health, safety and wellbeing of sex workers in Aotearoa. Her career has taken her so far from hula hooping clown to fighting for human rights.

"One of my proudest career moments was when I was in my first film, Cirque de Soleil: Worlds Away. My mum and my nana flew to Wellington and all three of us sat down in the picture theater and watched my huge face, the size of the movie screen, hammering nails into my nose. It was hilarious."

In her previous role she was the General Manager of Fonterra Ventures responsible for building new revenue streams globally for Fonterra and prior to that she held various finance and commercial roles across Fonterra’s Consumer business. 

Prior to joining Fonterra, Komal worked for Deloitte across both the London and New Zealand offices. Komal is both a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand as well as a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. She was named New Zealand’s Young Executive of the Year in the 2017 Deloitte Top 200 Awards. 

"Right from early on in my career, I've often been the only female in the room. I think when you're different, whether that's gender, or generation, or ethnic background, that means that you have a different perspective. I definitely view that now as a real positive because you come with a different voice that ultimately adds value to the business and to the team that you're in."

"Very simply my advice to anyone is when an opportunity comes up, take it. And when you get those opportunities, take them, work your butt off and get more opportunities."

Maia holds a Bachelor of Education specialising in Physical Education, Health and Te Reo Māori and worked as a teacher at Hutt Valley High School. More recently her work has continued to revolve around the world of sport. She’s an experienced cricket coach and has coached the Blind Caps, the Auckland Hearts women’s cricket team and last year was asked to coach the first ever NZ Maori secondary schools girls cricket team. She’s also been a Board Director for the Blind Sport Association and Northland Cricket. Alongside that she worked for a number of years for the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation, looking to enhance the lives of physically disabled New Zealanders by enabling them to participate in sport. Currently she’s the Relationship Manager for College Sport Auckland.

"I've always been trying to make sure that there's equality in sport for women. Whichever sporting organization I was at, if the boys or the males are doing this, then the females should be doing it too. That's always been my motto. But you have to have someone who's continually pushing that because it's not just naturally thought of."

"Make yourself uncomfortable. Take risks knowing that you're going to back yourself. Shut down those little voices of doubt and go, "You know what? I can do this, and I'm going to smash it out there."

"My number one piece of career advice, is that your career is your career. You need to take it into your own hands. Don't sit back and wait for opportunities to come to you. If there are things that do interest you or challenges or roles that you want to do, then step up, have a conversation and really seek out those opportunities."

Jennifer was a founding board member of the Watershed Theatre and a co-founder of the drama school, The Actors' Program. She is President of Equity New Zealand (since 2008), Patron of Q Theatre and Theatre New Zealand and serves as a trust board member of the Actors Benevolent Fund. In 2018 she was named SPADA Industry Champion and in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List, she was named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to theatre, film and television and presented with a Woman of Influence Award (for arts and culture).  Most recently, Jennifer was honoured as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year 2020. 

Jennifer has been a keen student of te reo Māori since 2008. In 2017, she was gifted the name Te Atamira (The Stage) by Sir Timoti Karetu and Te Wharehuia Milroy. Her journey to learn te reo Māori began in 2008 and she is a te reo ambassador for Te Reo Tuatahi.

"Learning te reo Māori changed me. I feel so much more connected to Aotearoa through having gone on this journey. I feel fundamentally changed in the best kind of way and it's just a complete joy to have the opportunity to speak and understand. Of course I still consider myself a student, don't get me wrong, I will be until I die. But to have the opportunity to understand this beautiful, poetic, witty, funny, deep, wide language, I couldn't have asked for a better gift."

She's always had a keen interest in the changing world of work as well as international and expatriate careers. Inspired by the stories she heard, in 2017 she started in her spare time the 'How to Have a Happy Homecoming' blog to tell the stories of a diverse group of Kiwis who have lived abroad and returned to NZ. https://howtohaveahappyhomecoming.wordpress.com/

"My career advice would be to really follow what interests you. You can't follow someone else's dream. People who try to follow what someone else sees for them in terms of career success are often very unhappy. So follow your interests. Follow your passions. Pay attention to what gets you excited and do that. Don't feel like that it has to look a particular way. I think it's much more important that it feels right to you, then it looks right to somebody else."

Maru has won numerous awards and received international recognition for her work. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2016 for services to gaming and mental health. In 2017, she was awarded the MCV Pacific Women in Games - The Gamechangers Award for Innovator of the year presented by Microsoft Xbox. In 2018, she was named as one of the Forbes Top 50 Women in Technology.

"Don't be scared to fail. It's okay, I failed heaps. Sometimes, I think back to all those little failures that I had, which have led me right to where I am right now. So, the little fails or even the big fails can help shape your path. Unless you take that step forward, you just won't know. And if you don't know, it's going to bug you for the rest of your life."

Emma has performed in all of New Zealand’s major orchestras, as well as the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and has performed numerous times as a soloist. In 2009 Emma won the principal 3rd horn job in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, a position she enjoyed for over ten years.

In 2020 Emma moved back to the South Island and joined the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as principal horn. Emma is passionate about music education and believes the skills you acquire while learning an instrument or performing in an ensemble are invaluable for building confident, passionate, resilient and hard working individuals. 

"I love my job. Yes at times it's stressful. Yes at times it's hard. And it's hard to keep up a high standard all the time. Sometimes things happen in life and you've still got to go on the stage and put a smile on your face and perform. But I think overall, I just feel really grateful that I can get up and honestly say, "I love my job."

"Courage has been huge for me. I think I naturally always had it on the field. Make no mistake; I play a contact sport and I spent the first 10 years of my career from 5 through to 15 playing against boys, tackling boys. So that took a lot of courage obviously. But what I've found is that courage has now developed off the field and in my career. There's so many lessons in sport that can teach you in life as well."

"What I love about connecting people is that there is nothing quite like the power of putting two great minds together. Sometimes a year or two on from that initial nucleus of a connection, ends up this amazing story of a business transaction that was enabled, or a friendship that was born, or a new idea or collaboration that came together. It's all about engineering serendipity."

For the past seven years, Mahsa had organised and led Google CS4HS (Computer Science for High Schools) workshops in Auckland, with a recent focus on providing high school teachers with the skills to implement New Zealand’s new digital technologies curriculum. She was named winner of the Emerging Leader category in the 2013 Westpac Women of Influence Awards and was one of ten finalists for 2018 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year. In 2019 she was the Champion Award winner of the YWCA Equal Pay awards, and in 2020 presented with the Massey University Distinguished Alumni Award.

"Stop trying to change yourself too much. Focus more on your own capability. Never give up, and you just need to keep pressing on. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you cannot do it. Technology fields, they need females. They do really need them."

"I know that not everything I'm going to write, people are going to agree with. And that's okay, because it's starting a conversation and that's how we influence change."

"I really love being self- employed a lot, but it's more than just the fact that we're kind of our own bosses if you like. It's the freedom to do really crazy things if we want to. The agility to pivot onto something different."

"It's really amazing to be able to work with people, patients when they're ill. And obviously there's some sad parts to that, but there's also some really fulfilling parts. And most of the time if I meet a patient with a serious infection in hospital, they recover and I see them in a month or two in my clinic looking so much better. So usually you're part of helping people through a really difficult time or a crisis in their life and helping them get better."

"I think there's a bit of misconception around tech. People often think that you have to be the math or science geek and be really switched on in terms of numbers. But to me, tech's really just more creative. I like the possibilities of what you can build, how you can improve lives, how you can solve problems all through tech and you can do it in a pretty cost-effective, quick way."

Born in South Australia, Jane’s father was a contract grape grower. She gained a degree in Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide. Jane moved to New Zealand in the 1980’s and headed Montana’s viticulture team.

Jane met and married Irishman Ernie Hunter in 1984, and after his untimely death in 1987 she took over running Hunter's Wines which Ernie had established in Marlborough in 1978. 

The winery has continued to grow in size, annual output and reputation. Hunter’s has grown to 5 times its original size. The list of awards and accolades is impressive: now having won over 250 gold medals and more than 45 trophies both in New Zealand and around the world. Jane is supported by her nephews, James Chief-Winemaker and Edward Asst. General Manager as the business moves to a new era of innovation and sustainability. 

Jane herself has won national and international recognition for her work including being the first ever woman to be inducted into the NZ Wine Hall of Fame in 2013 and being inducted into the NZ Business Hall of Fame in 2019.

"When I was growing up, I really didn't have any idea what I wanted to be. And even through secondary school, I didn't really have any clear direction. Where I've ended up to a lot of people, myself included, has been quite astounding."

Chlöe has been a law student, journalist, business owner and a community project leader. When interviewing politicians of all stripes on daily issues she found that too often they had become out of sync with everyday people’s lives. She couldn’t see herself, her friends, or her whānau in politics.

So, in 2016 Chlöe did what any reasonable, disillusioned 22 year old would do. She ran to be the Mayor of Auckland. Almost 30,000 Aucklanders gave her their vote after Chlöe and her team campaigned for just 4 months on a shoestring budget.

As a next career step, Chlöe stood as a candidate for the party whose values matched hers and was elected as a Green Party MP into Parliament in 2017 after a particularly gruelling campaign.

She is the youngest MP in Aotearoa for over 40 years. She entered parliament to show people that politicians can look a little different, sound a little different, do things a little different, and to drive home the message that politicians work for people.

Chlöe is the Green Party spokesperson on issues that she can really get her teeth into: Education (including Tertiary), Internal Affairs, Sensible Drug Law Reform, Local Government, Arts Culture & Heritage, Small Business, Broadcasting and Youth.

"Whatever you do in your career, things are going to be hard at points along the way. And to me that demonstrates a massive sense of empowerment because regardless of whether you choose to work nine to five desk job that perhaps you hate or pursue your passion and start something from the ground up, both of those things are going to be hard in quite different ways. You will go through periods of suffering, of ups and downs and that's what it means to be alive. You know that you have things to contribute and you know that there is more to come."

If you would like to be one of the first to hear other inspiring career stories of a diverse rang of women of Aotearoa New Zealand, please do sign up to our mailing list - you can find the sign up form at the bottom of The Female Career website.

In this episode, Jo shares:

• How the 'wiggly-woggly' variety of roles in her early career have helped her enormously in running her own business
• How she combines purpose, profit, and passion
• How she agreed with her husband that he'd be the stay-at-home parent for their son while she runs the business

Traci has been named as one of the top ten most influential women in New Zealand agribusiness and the Listener’s top ten influencers in New Zealand. She won the Westpac Fairfax Media Women of Influence Board and Management award and has been named on Westpac’s New Zealand Women Powerbrokers list. Traci has been awarded the Massey University Distinguished Alumni Service Award for services to New Zealand agribusiness and Māori, and named amongst the BBCs 100 Most Influential Women in the World. Traci has recently been made a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, the highest level of the IODs Chartered categories, making her a nationally recognised role model for other directors and business leaders.

Traci has an MBA from Massey University and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a Justice of the Peace and a Marriage Celebrant.

In this podcast episode she shares:

• How broad work experience early in her career has helped her in her variety of governance roles
• How she handles incidences of racism or chauvinism that she encounters in her life and work
• That her life is busy but she tries to also keep it 'simple' - taking care of herself and asking for support when needed

In this episode, she shares her career story including:

• How her sporting career taught her focus, determination and teamwork
• Why she doesn't let criticism and being called 'abrasive' stop her from fighting for others' rights
• The challenges of sexism, racism and homophobia she's faced along the way in her career

In the episode, Laura shares:

• How she's coped with the challenges of Covid-19 for her Queenstown tourism business
• Why feeling satisfied is more important to her than being happy
• How she shifted through several roles and companies in her 20s, never staying for more than 18 months at a time, before finding her career purpose
• How anyone can build their confidence - but it involves taking on unfamiliar, uncomfortable tasks

In this episode, Jessie shares her career story, including:

• How moving between jobs early in her career has been hugely helpful now in her Governance roles
• How she's learnt something from every career twist and turn
• Why farming is a great career for women

Here, Gemma shares her career story, including:

• How a 'non-linear' accident helped her discover her passion for jewellery at age 27
• How it's an ongoing challenge to balance creativity and running a business
• How she created a community of jewellers to support each other
• That it's ok to not know what you want to do as a career, and to keep asking questions until you discover what makes you happy

Here, she shares some highlights and challenges from her career journey, including:

• Why she finds law to be both creative and fun, and how her science background has helped her as a lawyer
• How she manages the juggle between being a partner in a law firm alongside being a single Mum and a widow
• How she's navigated her way through burnout and bullying in her career
• How she feels part of the fabric of Christchurch after being involved in resolving so many post-Earthquake insurance claims

Ruth Richardson rose to international prominence in her role as a reformist minister of Finance in New Zealand in the 1990s - the first and so far only woman to hold this role. Following her political career, Ruth has worked extensively in New Zealand and internationally as a Public Policy Consultant and Board Director. She currently holds a number of Directorships including NZ Merino, Synlait Milk and Bank of China (NZ) and has previously served on numerous Boards including Jade Software, the Reserve Bank, Oyster Bay and Wrightson.

In this interview she shares the story of her career, including:

• Declaring at age 15 that she wanted to be a politician and then strategically pursuing this career path
• As a change agent and reformist, why she's focused on being respected, not being liked
• How important family is to her, with a new granddaughter born the morning of the interview!

• The challenges and preconceptions she's faced as a Māori woman in business
• How she responds when people assume her husband runs the business, rather than her
• How she coped after both her Dad and Grandfather passed away in 2017, and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer
• Her take on work-life balance and how she juggles having 5 kids, her business, and her Board and charitable work

• The huge cloud of self-doubt she felt when she first made the shift from HR to a line role
• Why she believes women should know there's no magic rule book for leadership and business
• How she's handled stepping into the entrepreneurial world, after many years in a global corporate
• Why her proudest career moment involves her daughter figuring out what her Mum actually did for a job
• And that it's ok not to be superwoman!