Five inspiring stories of Wahine Toa for International Women’s Day

Ahead of International Women’s Day, we highlight some of our inspirational current and graduate wahine toa that are making big waves in their chosen industry.

1. From teen mum to apprentice plumber

When we first interviewed Hera Eruera, only eighteen months prior, she was a stay-at-home mum of two kids. These days, Hera is working as a trainee tutor at MIT’s School of Plumbing and Gasfitting, while doing an apprenticeship.

An increasing number of women are seeking futures in the trades. But there’s a long way to go. At the moment, only around 3% of the workforce is female.

You can read Hera’s story here

2. MIT nursing grads ‘flipping the script’ on South Auckland through research

As the world watched New Zealand’s ‘go hard, go early’ response to COVID-19, MIT nursing graduates, Mary Roberts and Amio Ikihele, watched South Auckland playing its part, with a family-first, community-first approach.

“COVID-19 highlighted that Pasifika communities had the solutions within themselves,” explains Mary.

After graduating from MIT, the pair both worked in community-based nursing. Now, Mary and Amio are two of six Pasifika owners of Moana Research - a consultancy group of passionate researchers and clinicians committed to providing resources during pregnancy and in the first five years of life.

A large part of their work is challenging negative narratives directed at our communities and highlighting the positive narratives for Pacific peoples.

You can read Mary and Amio’s story here.

3. Building a bridge for more women in construction

At the end of 2020, Faith Sio-Namulauulu and Lottie Likati Tovia both walked away from MIT’s Trades Academy Prize Giving with a handful of top awards between them.

Both students from Auckland Girls Grammar completed their NCEA Level 3 Building and Construction at MIT – a skillset they wish to encourage other young women to explore.

This was the second year the Trades Academy has been able to celebrate the success of their students with Prime Minister’s Vocational Excellence Awards. Faith was one of 15 recipients for the award on the night – she feels “incredibly blessed to be able to accept it”.

You can read Fath and Lottie’s story here.

4. Strong growth in women enrolling for Engineering with MIT TechPark

Trisha Chand is following in her father's footsteps joining the engineering industry, but she’s also choosing her own pathway. On first leaving high school, Trisha was reluctant to sign up for another four years of study at a university without knowing exactly whether the field was right for her.

That’s why the 23-year-old chose to do the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering at Manukau Institute of Technology.

“One of the main reasons I didn’t go straight to a university was because I was unsure of myself and what I wanted to do,” explains Trisha. “I would have rather dipped my feet in first instead of going in straight to a bachelors. I wanted to see if I was going to do well in my field.”

You can read Trisha’s story here.

5. Shining a spotlight on parentification in Aotearoa

When Nadia Singh first learnt about the concept of parentification within her Bachelor of Applied Social Work Te Torino, she began to realise the process came close to home.

“Initially, I didn’t know it was, but when I looked further into it, it became an illustration of my upbringing,” describes Nadia.

Now a mother to two daughters, Nadia chose to explore the concept of parentification as her Year 4 student research project. She and 13 peers presented their work in Symposium Presentations at the MIT Wharenui last year.

Titled, Growing up in the shadows of parentification, Nadia talked about how there is a lack of cultural perspective documented in the literature about parentification, even though it is an issue in Māori and Pasifika communities.

You can read Nadia's story here.

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