The Circular

Dunedin's Inspiring Young Women Breakfast

On August 10th, Year 12 and Year 13 young women from nine local high schools and colleges sat down at 7 am in the Edgar Centre to breakfast in Dunedin. While eating hash browns, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and breakfast sausages they listened to six wonderful successful women who are leaders in their professional fields. The panelists included a woman who employs 200 game designers, a leader in the fashion world, a forensic anthropologist, a firefighter and a leader in sustainability. All the speakers encouraged the students to go with their passions, to take every opportunity offered, to work through obstacles and to remember the fact that success may mean following many surprising pathways.

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8 September 2026

  • Dunedin's Inspiring Young Women Breakfast

    On August 10th, Year 12 and Year 13 young women from nine local high schools and colleges sat down at 7 am in the Edgar Centre to breakfast in Dunedin. While eating hash browns, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and breakfast sausages they listened to six wonderful successful women who are leaders in their professional fields. The panelists included a woman who employs 200 game designers, a leader in the fashion world, a forensic anthropologist, a firefighter and a leader in sustainability....

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    8 September 2026

  • President's kōrero, August 2026

    Kia ora te whānau - and I do feel like I’m talking to family here. We’ve been through a good few years together. I look forward to seeing many of you at our biennial Conference, and hope you also enjoy the chance to get together with like-minded people. As NCWNZ transitions to new leadership, some things will change - and many things will continue because they are core to our mahi, our values, our collective kaupapa. NCWNZ is not defined...

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    31 August 2026

  • NCWNZ's CEDAW Committee needs you

    After considering a State party’s report, the UN CEDAW Committee selects up to four sub- paragraphs from its concluding observations and requires the State party to report back on progress within two years. This is known as the follow-up procedure. The procedure allows NGOs to submit their own information for the Committee’s consideration. Submissions must not exceed 3,300 words (including footnotes) and are due four weeks before the session at which the State party’s follow-up report will be assessed. A...

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    31 August 2026

  • New statue in Auckland celebrates mana of wāhine

    Wāhine is a 3.7-metre-tall bronze sculpture on Victoria Street West in Auckland CBD, depicting a Māori woman performing a karanga call of welcome. The statue is located near the north-eastern exit of the Te Waihorotiu Station on Victoria Street West, Auckland CBD, and faces up the hill toward toward this new station for the City Rail Line. The figure stands on a low basalt plinth, wears a korowai, woven cloak, and hei tiki, pendant, and carries kawakawa leaves, a sacred...

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    31 August 2026

  • NCWNZ and POWER UP! Game Jam for Women 2026

    This year, NCWNZ is proud to be partnering with Power Up! Game Jam and promoting this amazing, fun and free event designed to encourage women and non-binary people into the computer games industry. Computer gaming is an important and thriving segment of the software development sector, and more and more young women are keen to break into this multi-million dollar industry. Encouraging more women into this field is another way we can promote gender equality in the STEM disciplines.

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    25 August 2026

  • Hackathon Synthesis Report from Geneva, NGO Committee on the Status of Women

    With the potential merger of UN Women and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Geneva encouraged dialog and consultations for potential solutions. On 31 July 2026, the NGO Committee held a hackathon, inviting all to contribute their ideas to a single document. There were nearly 90 different statements with many insightful views and diverse perspectives. The final statement recorded left a sting: 'Questions need to be asked about why it is UN Women and...

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    25 August 2026

  • President's kōrero, June 2026

    With my time as President of NCWNZ coming to an end, I’m preparing for the transition and reflecting on the last 5-6 years. Recent comments by an external stakeholder referring to the stability of NCWNZ leadership as a positive feature of recent times is something I’m proud of, working alongside some wonderful Board members. I especially want to acknowledge Kerri, who has been working with me on the Board since only a few months after I took on the Presidency....

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    2 July 2026

  • Submissions update: hot off the press

    There's been a massive effort from all those involved in the submissions process resulting in five submissions lodged this month. These are publically available on the NCWNZ website at Submissions - National Council of Women of New Zealand. Deepfake Digital Harm & Exploitation Bill - S26.07_Deepfake_Digital_Harm_and_Exploitation_Bill_.pdf . Online safety, including safety for women and children, is a key concern for NCWNZ members. The Bill is too narrow in scope and will merely amend a broken legislative and regulatory environment. There are...

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    2 July 2026

  • 2026 PACIFICA Grants

    From a media release from Pacific Allied (Women's) Council Inspires Faith in Ideals Concerning All, Incorporated (P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. Inc.), 15 June 2026. In its 50th year, PACIFICA is proud to announce a record number of 2026 PACIFICA Grant recipients. PACIFICA provides financial assistance to Pacific women and girls with their educational development and to help fulfil their dreams and aspirations. This year, PACIFICA received a very high number of worthy applications from Pacific women and girls demonstrating their achievements, financial need,...

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    1 July 2026

  • Recent activities in the NCW Manawatu

    This year’s theme of equality has led us into a range of events. In February we joined Wanganui NCW to listen to actress and producer Daisy Boulton speak about the plans for an upcoming film about New Zealand suffragists and the vote. (Listen more about this in her RNZ interview on 6 February 2026.) In April, the Palmerston North City Library invited us to be part of their Heritage Month presentations. For this, four NCW Manawatu members shared a panel session...

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    21 June 2026