Kia ora tātou,

I write this on Mātariki weekend, and I hope you are all enjoying the events that are occurring to celebrate this midwinter time of looking towards the stars, the turning of seasons, remembering the old stories and the people who have passed. A uniquely Aotearoa celebration with themes that echo in cultures all around the world.

Reflecting on our past year is something we are in the midst of, as we prepare our annual report for the year April 2023-March 2024. The summary of our mahi over the year always brings me pleasure. We do so much, with minimal financial and material resources! Pat yourselves on the back, we deserve it. Much of the work of compiling the report, both financial and narrative, is thanks to Sue Bingham our finance volunteer and Mathilde Le Goff, our current Board administrator intern. I say ‘current’ but am feeling very sad that in a week’s time that will no longer be true. Mathilde’s time with us has come to an end, and she will be travelling our beautiful country for a short while before returning to her studies in France. Merci beaucoup Mathilde, you have been fabulous to work with: I asked you to ‘be my brain’ while you were here, and that is what you have done – parfait!

It was fantastic to be on the steps of Parliament last Wednesday 26 June as part of the team handing over the petition to put the offence of stalking into The Crimes Act. Presenting the petition to the Minister of Justice, Hon Paul Goldsmith, MPs, Hon Ginny Andersen, and Hon Marama Davidson was the latest stage of a campaign that has been underway for the past several years.

Two members of the NCWNZ Wellington Branch have been recognised for their volunteer work and leadership.

Harita Gandhi-Kashyap receiving her award at the Volunteer Wellington Mahi Aroha Awards 2024

Harita Gandhi-Kashyap has received a number of awards and honours in 2024. Harita’s contributions to NCWNZ include being the Wellington Branch Treasurer, founder of the Conversations with Wāhine radio show and podcast, and member of the Parliamentary Watch Committee. Harita also volunteers with Wellington Indian Association, Crohns and Colitis NZ, and runs another podcast Coconut Chats. She is an accountant in her day job. Congratulations to Harita for receiving the following awards and honours, recognising her unwavering commitment to her volunteer work:

• Vibe Lifter Award from Raglan Food Co
• Top 40 under 40 for 2024 for the Indian Achievers Club
• 3rd Place for the Mitre10 MEGA Wellington Volunteer of the Year Award at the Volunteer Wellington Mahi Aroha Awards 2024

The NCWNZ Hutt Valley Branch mourns the loss of Patricia "Paddy" Rosaleen Byrne (3 September 1943 – 24 April 2024). Paddy was a Catholic Women’s League delegate to the Hutt Valley Branch from 1997 until she became an individual member in 2017. Paddy served on the Branch Executive as Treasurer from 2011-2015 and was a member of the Parliamentary Watch Committee 2009-2016. She also volunteered in the National Office, e.g., for the mail out of The Circular.

New Zealand can boast of many different global "firsts" for women. Here are just a few:

1893: All adult women citizens (including Māori) gained the right to vote in national elections, the first self-governing country in the world to do so. 

1902: Ellen Dougherty of Wellington, 58, was the first name on the registered nurse roll - New Zealand was the first country to pass legislation on the registration of nurses. 

1929: Phoebe Myers of Wellington, 57, was the first woman to represent her country at the League of Nations. 

1934: Jean Batten of Rotorua, 35, was the first woman to achieve a solo flight from England to Australia and back again; her 1936 flight from England to Brazil was a first for women aviators and set a record for the fastest crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean. 

Irene Ryan

On Monday, 8th April, the NCWNZ Auckland Branch invited Dr Irene Ryan to give an overview of a research project she and Branch Chair, Associate Professor, Barbara Myers are working on exploring the life stories of older, single women, aged 50-70 years. Irene began with a story that had provided the impetus for the research. Similar stories resonate today: groups of seemingly ‘invisible single women’, labelled as older, insecure, and struggling, despite many still being in full time employment.

Barbara Myer

The wider study sought to examine how the gendering of social class intersects with ageing, producing lines of privilege and (dis)advantage for single, employed, older women, who over time experience precarity at multiple levels of life’s domains. Irene outlined how the research, unfortunately hindered by COVID and its aftermath, is significant because it shifts beyond the usual ‘snapshot’ chronological age approach. The study considers the biographical dimension of a life course of gendered paid and unpaid work experiences, resources accrued (or not) and the challenges, which have rarely been heard. It does so by looking at ageing (not just chronological age), gendering (which refers to the process of socialisation according to the dominant gender norms), overlaid by social class (defined as the intersection of two-axis: socio-economic power and occupation), to show how identity markers and their boundaries are not fixed and how their social and political meanings vary over time.

The first King’s Birthday list awarded 176 honours. Men received 52% with 91, women received 48% with 85. Men and women equally received the higher awards (ONZ to MNZM). Double the number of awards (30) were given for sports related activities than for arts related activities (15).

NCWNZ members have had a busy week hanging out with Deborah Frances-White, host of the internationally acclaimed The Guilty Feminist podcast. They did live shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. 

Read about this award-winning podcast at the website: https://guiltyfeminist.com/.

The list of tour dates for The Guilty Feminist Down Under 2024 series and panelists can be found here: https://guiltyfeminist.com/aus-nz-tour2024/

Eid Mubarak (Arabic: عِيد مُبَارَك‎ ʿīd mubārak) is an Arabic phrase that means “Blessed feast/festival.” The term is used by Muslims all over the world as a greeting to celebrate Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha (which is in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah).

Kia ora koutou,

Some of our NCWNZ email addresses have been the target of spoofing attacks in the past year, and we'd like to give you some tips on how to recognise these phishing attempts and what to do about them.

A short tutorial called "How to recognize phishing and spoofing emails" is now available for our members to use as a resource. This tutorial can help you recognise these fraudulent emails and some actions you can take to avoid falling victim to them.