Over 18-19 August 2020, the National Women’s Committee (NWC) and union staff will be coming together for the EmPOWERing Women in Union hui in Wellington, with a political panel on the Tuesday night that will focus on gender equity.

As part of this year’s hui, NWC will host a political panel that will hear from members of Aotearoa New Zealand’s major political parties regarding their policies on advancing gender equality in the tertiary education sector.

Panel speakers include members of parliament Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Labour), Julie Anne Genter (Green), Tracey Martin (NZ First) and Barbara Kruger (National).

TEU’s Women’s Officer Sarah Proctor Thomson says that gender discrimination and sexual harassment continue to mar our workplaces, homes, and communities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted structural inequities in its impact on working women. The EmPOWERing Women in Union hui comes as Stats NZ figures show the impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand jobs during the June quarter was disproportionately felt by women, with women making up roughly 10 000 of the 11 000 people who lost their jobs.

TEU’s National Women’s Committee exists to be an active voice for women in TEU, the tertiary education sector, and in society more broadly.

Proctor Thomson says we’ve got a really strong Gender Equity Vision to share with women at the hui and skills workshops to ensure we advance our vision,

“The vision recommits TEU to advancing gender equality, to wāhine Māori and Pākehā working together to look after Aotearoa, and, to celebrate the richness and diversity of women.”

The political panel will provide an opportunity to get politicians onboard with our vision, in particular to ensure equity is a focus of tertiary education in the coming years.

Seats to the political panel are limited. RSVP by 14 August to kylie.cox@teu.ac.nz

Visit the Facebook event here.