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
Summer reissue: The lack of female faces in the hallowed halls has been put down to their traditional roles in our colonial society. Now the digitisation of historical records is blowing that theory out of the water. This story was first published on 11 October, 2019. There are 171 people in the New Zealand Business Hall … Read more
Catherine Bishop is embarking on the mother of all author tours for her significant new book, Women Mean Business. It’s a colourful history of women in business in 19th century New Zealand and it is busting with yarns and subtle zingers, beautiful old photos and a thoroughly-painted, confronting social context. Bishop writes about dozens of … Read more
Quotas of women at the top are creating a backlash; an ‘opt-out’ system of considering all suitably qualified females for promotion is a better way forward, argues an expert. For years women have been told that to break through the glass ceiling they need to be proactive, find mentors, deconstruct the barriers they create for … Read more
Alex Casey braves blue alcohol at 10.30am and social media paparazzi to learn female entrepreneurial lessons at the petal cupcake-festooned Girls in Business gathering. The day opened with an emergency announcement: the free fake tan in the goodie bags was leaking. “Make sure you keep them upright ladies,” event organiser Iyia Liu advised the 450-strong crowd. … 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 is joined by Iyia Liu, a master of social media marketing. … 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
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
Luxury brand Lonely is launching its first-ever maternity range, so co-founder Helene Morris talked to Jihee Junn about how and why it’s catering to mothers (as well as busting a couple of bra-based myths in the process). Last year, Auckland-based lingerie brand Lonely went viral for a simple ad campaign featuring two women in their … 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. Today Simon talks to former Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung. At the age … Read more
It’s only been going since June, so how did startup Sharesies capture thousands of customers and millions of their hard-earned money? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Sharesies founder Sonya Williams to find out how they did it. Got a fiver? Want to make it a tenner? Up until earlier this year if you wanted to … Read more
Book an Uber, an Airbnb and a stranger to look after your child? Maria Slade looks into the potentially risky business of online parenting services. Coverage of Balmoral mum Jane Haagh’s new childcare venture, Sitterzen, sent Facebook into a frenzy this week. Dubbed the ‘Uber of babysitting’, the aspect of her web-based service which most … Read more
The Social Enterprise World Forum in Christchurch may be over, but the conversation continues on The Spinoff, with a list of the coolest Kiwi social enterprises selected by those in the know. Alex Hannant (Ākina Foundation) – Pomegranate Kitchen My favourite social enterprise…? Tough question – there are so many enterprises that I admire and … Read more
With three restaurants in Auckland, Bird on a Wire is already a success story. So why did Sophie Gilmour jump on a plane bound for China to open a pop-up restaurant? It was an opportunity to good to pass up. New Zealand food incubator, Hatchery, offered Kiwi food company Bird on a Wire the chance to … Read more
With an aim to empower both women in the workplace and girls in school, two young entrepreneurs have launched a drive to provide free sanitary products through corporate partnerships. Jihee Junn talks to Jacinta Gulasekharam of Dignity to find out how it all works. Menstruation! Lady business! That time of the month! Whatever medically accurate … Read more
Michelle Sharp was a corporate go-getter, working for Vodafone before co-founding a successful tech company. But the Kilmarnock Enterprises CEO says she found her path to happiness when she stepped off the business treadmill. Steve Jobs said “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”. … Read more
She’s done customer support from the school pool, a kayak, the beach and the Twizel RSA. Rebecca Stevenson finds out how Helen Beech went from holding a tech golden ticket to hocking original art from the Bay of Islands. Helen Beech is the unlikely face of a tech company. Ducks, goats and the blue-hued paintings … Read more
Following on from our hit Business is Boring podcast, The Spinoff is pumped to bring you its newest product, The Spinoff Business. Its editor, Rebecca Stevenson, explains what to expect. Did you know 362,856 New Zealand businesses have zero employees? There’s an interesting wee one-page fact sheet available from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and … 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 Miranda Burdon of the 1 Day for … 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. Today’s guest has broken new ground, confounded any stereotypes and excelled at … Read more
It’s a proven fact that women are paid significantly less than men for the same or equivalent work, but too many people just don’t want to face the truth. Tao Lin rebuts some of the most common ways the gender pay imbalance is dismissed. Here’s a cool party trick: bring up the fact that in … Read more
In the second post from our new collaboration with Figure.NZ, a glance at the proportion of women bosses in New Zealand, plus how the numbers look in higher education. Last week Alex Casey spoke to Tara Moss, “activist, author, journalist and very cool legend” about her book Speaking Out, and why women have been so … 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. To people in New Zealand Karen Walker is a household name as a designer and … Read more
With a bit of luck, the response to Saatchi guru Kevin Roberts’ brain-fart suggests off-the-cuff bullshit about women in business won’t be tolerated so easily any more, writes Michele A’Court On Saturday, Business Insider (Australia) published an interview with Kevin Roberts, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Executive Chairman and Head Coach at the advertising agency’s parent company, … Read more