Helen | Waitākere
“Probably many, many women, but I’ll start with my mother, as she was there for us.
She didn’t work when we were young and growing up and she was there for us. The way I feel influenced by her is [that] she taught us to share, to really consider others, and be aware of nature as well. In fact, my grandmother; her mother was a really good artist in a way, and drew a lot of natural world, and so I got very aware of [the] natural world. I think Mum taught us some really good values, how to re-use things and taught me how to bake, and have pride in myself, and dress well. She was a good sewer, and she made us great food, nutritious food. You really appreciate good nutrition growing up. So yeah, very there for us.
As a woman, taking pride in myself, and good self-respect, and I can go to another influential woman, I think. Golly, there’s been many, but my mind and heart goes to some amazing female leaders in the environmental area like Joanna Macy. She’s an American Buddhist lady, very aware of the cycle of life, and into connection of all things, and she’s involved in awakening the dreamer, and just the connection of all things on the earth. I find that is Mother Earth. It’s the connection of all things. I find women are very attuned to that.
Gender equity; most important. We’ve all got our brains work in different ways. Maybe our men’s and woman’s brains have different mechanisms, however we are all people. Really, the bottom line is we’re people and we have skills, and we can learn the same skills. So a man and a woman employed in the same position; absolutely. Equity. It is important, to bring a balance. Absolutely, very important. Strong woman role models in the community, because we all have different ways. It’s a huge subject actually. It’s the way we see things.
There just needs to be that balance brought into the community where there are more women leaders. There are many male leaders. We need women leaders to bring in that balance in community and connection and caring. It’s the nurturing aspect. It’s the all enfolding aspect which women are more naturally attuned to, perhaps some are more right-brained creative approach to society and business. I think we can see that in the female leaders we have; it can be a more diverse and rounded way and in caring for our communities, that nurturing, and also very sensible, very grounded approach to business and looking after the environment. Women have long looked after the environment in a way, in many ways. So I think it’s really important to bring back that balance, because there is an imbalance, as we see worldwide, nationally and internationally, imbalance in male and female approaches, and we need that definitely.
Huge area; could go on, but it’s the land, it’s the growing and bringing communities together. Women often are the glue in our communities. Doing all the background work, need to be recognised more, recognised in the home and the people at home, on the home front, and of course there’s more men working from home too and being home-based dads, and it’s actually balance and equality, and recognising the respect. The bottom line is respect for everybody, doing what they can.”
