Women at Unitec are invited to help to plan and roll out a diverse, inclusive programme for our staff: ‘Women@Unitec’. You’ll get to know an amazing group of women and help build a more inclusive culture at Unitec, and have lots of fun in the process. See the below invitation from the wāhine of the Diversity & Inclusion Rōpū…
This ‘brain cloud’ captures some of the discussion and words that came up during the March session
Kia ora e wāhine mā,
You may recall back in March (seems like a long time ago now!) we invited all women (staff) at Unitec to join us for a lunchtime session to share kai and kōrero about what a diverse, inclusive women’s network or programme at Unitec could look like. Around 50 to 60 wāhine from across Unitec joined us for a very lively, engaged and inspiring discussion.
One of the first questions we asked was whether we needed a programme for Women@Unitec and the answer was a resounding YES! Our wāhine felt there would be huge value in coming together as women to share our stories and to learn from and support each other.
Ideas for Women@Unitec
There were lots of fabulous ideas around what a Women@Unitec Programme could involve – here are just a couple of the key themes:
- Women’s health and wellness activities
- Cultural events and activities
- Forums to share the stories and celebrate the strength and diversity of our mana wāhine
- Opportunities to engage with the story of Wairaka and other tupuna/rangatira of significance to Unitec
- Meet-up groups / support networks around issues specific to women
- Peer group support for women’s personal and professional growth and development
- Giving back – getting involved in events or initiatives aimed at supporting women in our broader community
Now we just need your help to make it happen!
We’re looking for women from all areas across Unitec to form a small core working group to help us plan and roll out a programme for ‘Women@Unitec’ based on some of the initial amazing ideas. This core group would plan and facilitate events, invite the participation of other women and link in with the Diversity and Inclusion Rōpū.
Interested?
If you’re interested, let us know by Tuesday 30 June. Drop us a line at diversityandinclusion@unitec.ac.nz or come and have a chat to one of us.
You will need to be able to commit a few hours here and there and ideally for an extended period (at least a year) as we’re looking for people to get actively involved. If you’re keen, have a chat with your manager and look at building it into your ADEP.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Nga mihi nui
The wāhine of the Diversity & Inclusion Rōpū
Donna Cavell, Gia Ngatai-Smith, Julie McGregor-Martin, Kristie Venegas, Maja Zidov, Mirela Szekely, Nirmala D’Souza, Norasieh Md Amin, Pauline Bishop and Roisin Bennett.