Female leaders have historically been forced to tread lightly in order to succeed in male-dominated industries. But as IT executive Hilary Walton writes, women don’t need to change – the system does. Imagine for a minute you’re a female manager. You overexert yourself to be nice and likeable at work while still trying to balance … Read more
Milk and Honey Festival organisers Lani Purkis and Teresa Patterson on celebrating women in the New Zealand music industry on International Women’s Day. What’s the Milk and Honey Festival? A platform for women to celebrate women in the NZ music industry on a day internationally set aside for women, a platform for younger women to … Read more
Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michèle A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture, with thanks to our friends at The Women’s Bookshop. A very late February episode of On the Rag appears, complete with Michele’s pitch perfect Jordan B. Peterson impersonation, outrage over gender fluid clothing, and some scary truths about a … Read more
In honour of International Women’s Day, Tara Ward rounds up the best BFFs you can hang out with through the screen. Not only are women taking over an entire day in the calendar, they’re taking over the bloody television too. Better living everyone, because TV keeps giving us brilliant and amazing women inspire us, make … Read more
Re-introducing On the Rag, The Spinoff’s feminist podcast that is launching as a webseries next Wednesday. Any woman that has ever been to a sleepover, a coffee group, or assembled drunkenly in a bathroom knows that a very special thing happens when we get together in a tight circle. Safe from the rest of the … Read more
International Women’s Day is a day to reflect on how far women have come, and how far we still have to go. Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond looks to the future and what sexual and reproductive health barriers remain to be overcome. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding voting rights, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Queenstown to hold referendum on visitor levy, Willie Apiata VC says he got no support for PTSD, and Rugby World Cup concerns for rural households. It turns out that announcement about Queenstown that was teased yesterday was actually pretty important. Local mayor Jim Boult says there will … Read more
Commentator and former Black Fern Melodie Robinson has become the first New Zealander to be given the Barbie treatment. Melodie Robinson used to imagine she was a superhero and her power was the ability to turn her eyes blue. Not so that she could see in the dark or shoot lasers, but to look more … Read more
Tomorrow, early childhood educators and support staff around New Zealand will be wearing black and white. Teacher Mel Burgess explains why. There are plenty of ways to mark International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March. You can take some time out to honour women who have blazed trails in the past or look to those … Read more
Milk and Honey is a nationwide music festival happening on International Women’s Day this Friday. Anny Ma talked to its organisers, Lani Purkis and Teresa Patterson, about why it’s so necessary. Milk and Honey is a music festival touring four cities and six venues, but all of the shows will happen simultaneously on one night: … Read more
Equality and fairness for all is the end goal, but PledgeMe founder Anna Guenther says first we have to make a proactive effort to level the playing field. You know what? If it’s an -ist, I’m probably it. Sexist, racist, ablest (I know, that’s -est not -ist). Not consciously, because those are fucking horrible things … Read more
How Māori women can find our way back to equity through the stories of the past. In 1993 a group of Māori women filed a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, now known as the Mana Wahine Claim. The claimants included a list of dream dinner party guests – all of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, Lady … Read more
Journalist Mihingarangi Forbes was the MC of Wednesday’s launch of #Suffrage125 – the 125th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage petition. There were oysters, cakes and many prominent New Zealand women. But there was an important voice missing. Why on International Women’s Day did I wake up feeling hōhā? My great-great-grandmother Jennie Lovell-Smith was part of … Read more
Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten 181 runs in yesterday’s ODI victory against the England men’s team. Madeleine ChapMAN accurately reports. After his heroic innings, Ross Taylor stood on the boundary rope at University Oval and stared adoringly at his wife, Victoria Brown. She was largely to thank for this moment, having also been a top … Read more
Alex Casey has lunch with The Red Hat Society in Auckland, a group of retired women who don’t give a hoot about growing old. It was honestly like Geoff’s Emporium threw up. An orgy of red tulle and faux fur, pearls, tiny top hats stapled onto larger top hats, diamantes, glitter and feathers. Whether intentional … Read more
Taking the time to celebrate women in the business community is a very special thing, and what better time to do this than on International Women’s Day? Rebecca Stevenson and Jihee Junn present ten women in business who deserve your attention. The positive impact women make in New Zealand’s business community can sometimes fall under … Read more
A renewed focus on women’s and gender issues around the world has provided a backdrop for New Zealand’s first women’s charitable fund, writes Auckland Foundation CEO Dellwyn Stuart, who launched the fund last November. New Zealand has long been one of the first nations to see the light when it comes to gender equality issues. … Read more
As New Zealand prepares to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage there is plenty to celebrate – but as the #metoo movement shows, there is still much to be done, says Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy On the 19th of September, 1893, my predecessor Lord Glasgow, officially signed the bill giving women the right to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Sign up here to get The Bulletin direct to your inbox every single morning. Public money has been used to spy on earthquake victims, Amy Adams gets a top job in National, and marine protection network proposals in the South Island are disappointing to environmentalists. Patrick Gower returns to Newshub in his … Read more
Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court assemble in front of a live audience for this International Women’s Day podcast special. ‘Twas a drizzly International Women’s Day when we recorded this live podcast at the Generator, hoping to dissect the previous month in women-hood in New Zealand whilst not throwing up in front of an … Read more
We recently asked a class of first-year students, most of them young women, to think of a scientist, writes Siouxsie Wiles. And who do you think they chose? Today was the day to wear red. It’s a colour I mostly avoid because it clashes with my pink hair, but it wasn’t the day for worrying … Read more
New Zealand’s new minister for women has explained why she described herself as a feminist ‘most days’, prompting fresh criticism. But one thing is sure: she is an upgrade on the last effort. Paula Bennett, deputy PM and minister for women, this week spoke out robustly and laudably on pay equality and domestic violence. She … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Jackie Clark, donations co-ordinator for several women’s refuges in Auckland, about New Zealand’s gender violence problem and what people can do to help. Trigger warning: partner violence and emotional and psychological abuse. The first time I met Aunty Jackie she was flashing her breasts at an MRA activist on Queen Street … Read more
From an all-male radio station panel to a bad Paul Henry poll, Jessica McAllen digs through the shittiest New Zealand contributions to International Women’s Day. In case you missed the Beyoncé memes and “go girl” quotes clogging up social media, yesterday was International Women’s Day. In accordance with age-old tradition, many men and corporations marked the day with ill-advised … Read more