Summer reissue: As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. First published June 13 2020 A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started … Read more
With women making up only 3% of tradespeople in New Zealand, it can be tricky to find one for a construction job. That’s why this website has put all the details in one place. Hiring a tradesperson to do a big job on the house can easily turn into a stressful experience. It’s not just … Read more
A legal challenge to the University of Otago’s diversity policy for medical student intake doesn’t deserve to succeed, write Maria Hook, Jane Calderwood Norton and Andrew Geddis This week the Christchurch High Court is hearing a legal challenge to Otago University’s medical school ‘Mirror on Society’ policy, and associated admission scheme. Full details of the … Read more
People have been writing about what diversity can add to an organisation for literal decades, and yet we find ourselves with two major political party leaders that either can’t or won’t accept some very easy-to-grasp concepts. Gerry and Judith, this is for you. New National Party leader Judith Collins announced on Wednesday that she would … Read more
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change. Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much discussion among those in … Read more
On the back of co-authoring a white paper on the subject, Steven Moe explores how artists and poets can bring colour and creativity onto boards. The Covid-19 crisis has shown us that we need new paradigms of thinking. We have all been impacted by the pandemic which has challenged us to think and act more … Read more
In our RNZ podcast Conversations With My Immigrant Parents, immigrant whānau across New Zealand have frank conversations about ancestry, love, expectation, acceptance – and food. We asked immigrant kids to listen to the podcast and share with us their responses. Last year, we had the immense privilege of making the first season of our podcast … Read more
As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started in response to the death of George … Read more
As both negotiate the complexities of being part memorial, part protest and part celebration, an empathetic allegiance between Waitangi Day and the Auckland Pride Festival has the potential of collective empowerment, writes Richard Orjis. Waitangi Day falls in the middle of this year’s Auckland Pride Festival. Rather than being strange bedfellows in the summer cultural … Read more
Summer reissue: Lani Wendt Young writes powerful Pasifika women who summon earthquakes and crack whips of pure flame. In a fierce lecture presented by the New Zealand Book Council, she landed hit after hit on the all-white castle of publishing, finishing with this rallying cry for change. First published 28 August, 2019. I read Little … Read more
With 12,000 employees from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, The Warehouse works hard to make end-of-year celebrations as inclusive and warm as possible. Dina Gharbo may not celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense, but says it’s hard for her not to get swept up by the good vibes of the New Zealand festive season. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wellington’s new mayor faces difficult three years, Zero Carbon bill select committee report comes back, and extremist preacher barred from NZ Partly because it was a widely unexpected result, the opening days of Wellington mayor Andy Foster’s tenure have been gripping. He has inherited a Council … Read more
Art activist group the Guerrilla Girls has been calling out gender bias in the American art world since 1985. Their survey show, Reinventing the “F” Word, is in its final weeks at Auckland Art Gallery. But what’s the picture on gender representation closer to home? How equal are the opportunities for male and female artists … Read more
Lani Wendt Young writes powerful Pasifika women who summon earthquakes and crack whips of pure flame. Today, in a fierce lecture presented by the New Zealand Book Council, she landed hit after hit on the all-white castle of publishing, finishing with this rallying cry for change. I read Little House on the Prairie to my … Read more
In government departments, Pākehā are the norm and Māori are optional extras. Fixing that requires fundamental change. In not so shocking news, some government departments are devoid of Māori staff. Or close to it, anyway. The State Services Commission has a bunch of roles including supporting government agencies with workforce and talent management. In December last … Read more
From a mostly-Māori rural community to the centre of one of the country’s biggest banks: in the latest episode of The Good Citizen, Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani tells Jeremy Hansen how we can do diversity better. Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani didn’t grow up thinking about diversity. She didn’t have to: the small community in rural Tairāwhiti where … Read more
Leonie Hayden went in search of the people behind community access radio station Planet FM, and their newly minted and very silly Twitter account. She discovered a group of people who love their jobs and the communities they help. Community access radio station Planet FM gives good content. If you had any investment in this … Read more
For 15 years Unitec has been working with the New Zealand Police to help diversify its intake of students. Jihee Junn looks at how Unitec’s ‘pre-police’ course is changing the demographics and culture of the police service. On a dreary, rainy Monday evening in Mount Albert, Sergeant John Brown is delivering a speech in front … Read more
In the ongoing palaver around the non-appointment of a chief technology officer, we’re awash in opinions from pakeha blokes. It’s not good enough, and we’re getting very tired of having to say so, writes Anna Connell It’s a hard road finding a CTO for New Zealand. After one failed attempt we were left flailing in … Read more
As we celebrate Suffrage 125, let us not forget that just as disabled people were excluded in 1893, many continue to feel excluded from society today, writes Hannah Gibson. This week, we celebrated 125 years of women finally getting the vote in Aotearoa. It’s indeed something to celebrate. It took a petition of 32,000 individuals … Read more
A new English-language paper highlighting the stories of New Zealand’s multiethnic communities published its first issue at the start of this month. The founders of Multicultural Times explain why they wanted to launch a newspaper, what they hope to achieve, and how they plan to work within the country’s existing ethnic media landscape, in an interview with … Read more
One of the best reasons for lighting the Auckland Harbour Bridge is that it makes diversity impossible to ignore, writes Vector’s Beth Johnson. These days, the words ‘kia ora’ are everywhere: it’s part of our everyday chat throughout New Zealand. It’s how we say hello. In the not-too-distant past greeting customers with a “kia ora” … Read more
The winners of this year’s Hi-Tech Awards showcased how New Zealand isn’t just good in tech, but good for tech as well, with gender diversity and cultural inclusion taking centre stage more than ever before. Whether it’s tall poppy syndrome or just genuine humility, New Zealanders are pretty terrible when it comes to shouting about … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Jennifer Rutherford from the Hi-Tech Trust about how … Read more
New Zealand has a diversity problem in governance and business leadership. That is just a fact, argues Jazial Crossley. Only 19% of NZX directors are female. Only one company on the NZX 50 currently has a woman chief executive. This is not a New Zealand problem – just 4% of Fortune 500 companies have women … Read more
Brannavan Gnanalingam writes about the overwhelming whiteness of English literature as taught in New Zealand – and throws down a challenge to the gatekeepers, including the Spinoff. UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph caused a stir in October with a front page story about a black Cambridge student who had “force[d] Cambridge to drop white authors”. The Telegraph‘s … Read more
There’s been a lot of talk about the environment for women in tech, but most of the conversations centre on Silicon Valley. BizDojo’s Tracy Moyes takes a look at the situation for New Zealand women in the tech and start-up sectors – and delivers a call to arms for her colleagues in the industry. It’s … Read more
The speakers assembled to mark The Royal Society Te Apārangi’s 150th anniversary sends a dismal message about the reality of the organisation’s stated commitment to diversity, writes Kate Hannah With great fanfare, the Royal Society of New Zealand rebranded itself earlier this year, as The Royal Society Te Apārangi. The bilingual name symbolises the work … Read more
Uber seems like a terrible company. But beyond binning an app, the challenge for the tech industry is to delete an entrenched, monolithic culture that sees women and minorities leaving in droves, writes Sacha Judd This week, Susan Fowler published a blog post about her time working as an engineer for Uber, and why she … Read more