Future events
International Women's Day Celebrations – Friday, 7 March 2025
Staff Women's Caucus invites you to celebrate International Women's Day 2025 on Friday 7 March with two events on the Dunedin campus:
- A shared breakfast with Graduate Women Otago and guest speaker Anna Grimaldi: 7:15am–8:30am
- An informal BYO lunch (tea, coffee and orange juice provided) and an opportunity to meet Trish Oakley (University Chancellor): 12noon–1:00pm
The theme for this year is “March Forward! It’s time to turn promises into progress”.
Breakfast at The Perc
When: Friday 7 March, 7:15am for a 7:30am start
Where: The Perc Cafe, 30 Anzac Avenue (next door to Unipol in the University Plaza Building)
Cost: $25 per person buffet style. Sample menu includes vegetarian and bacon, egg and hashbrown baps, sweet and savoury brioche, muesli cups, plus gluten free friands, scones with jam and cream, fruit juice, tea and percolated coffee (Barista coffee at your own expense). Pay on the day.
RSVP: No later than 5pm Monday 3 March. Please indicate any dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian, vegan or gluten free).
Email admin@gwotago.co.nz
Anna Grimaldi, a gold medal winner at the Paris Paralympic games, is our speaker for the IWD 2025 breakfast. Anna is a proud young Dunedin woman, who has gained world recognition for having won two gold medals in the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris. She was also one of the two New Zealand flag bearers at the games. Come and join us in our celebrations and hear how Anna ‘marched forward’ overcoming significant life challenges to triumph against the odds.
Informal Lunch
When: Friday 7 March, 12noon–1:00pm
Where: Seminar Room 4, first floor Central Library
Bring your lunch (tea, coffee and orange juice provided) and join us for an informal get together and meet Trish Oakley (University Chancellor), Dunedin members of the SWC Committee and women across the University in celebration of International Women’s Day.
No RSVP needed.
Ideas for future events
We welcome your ideas for future events/speakers. Please send your suggestions to:
Email staffwomenscaucus@otago.ac.nz
Payment
Internet banking:
- Bank
- Westpac
- Branch
- Dunedin North
- Account number
- 03 0883 0189838 00
- Particulars
- Your name
- Reference
- Event name or reason (e.g. SWC AGM, SWC Theatre or SWC Koha, etc.)
Please also send Karin (karin.warnaar@otago.ac.nz) a confirmation message so that she can match up the details.
Past events
9 December 2024: Re-framing the menstrual cycle and menopause: how to reclaim the power and joy of your female experience
An interactive workshop led by Melanie Laird (both a certified Menstrual Cycle and Perimenopause coach and a Research Fellow in reproductive biology at the University of Otago) in which she shared practical tools and resources to help women confidently navigate their current menstrual/menopausal challenges by living cyclically, no matter what phase of life they’re in, and reclaim the joy, mana and power of their cyclic experience.
21 November 2024: Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Thank you to all those who came to our Annual General Meeting AGM (in-person and virtually). Once the formalities were over, Professor Emerita Helen Nicholson shared insights from her leadership journey.
17 October 2024: A conversation with Professor Emerita Dawn Elder (UOW)
Dawn graduated from Otago Medical School in 1980 and undertook postgraduate training in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In 1995 Dawn was appointed Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at the then Wellington School of Medicine (a joint clinical academic appointment) following completion of advanced training in neonatal medicine in Perth, Western Australia. She worked as a neonatal medicine specialist at Wellington Hospital until 2004 transferring then to retrain in paediatric sleep medicine and also worked clinically in the area of child protection. Dawn was Professor and HoD of the Dept of Paediatrics & Child Health, UOW from 2013 until her retirement in 2022. She then provided locum cover for another year until July 2023. She currently chairs the Organising Committee for the Otago Medical School’s 150th celebration in 2025.
Watch the recording (32 minutes)
15 October 2024: Lunchtime Casual Catch-Up
An informal BYO lunch at the University Staff Club providing an opportunity to meet the committee and meet/catch up with other women staff from around the Dunedin campus.
16 September 2024: Suffrage Lecture 2024 – Mana Wāhine Mana Motuhake
This year's presenter s Metiria Stanton Turei – social activist, lawyer, and former co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Mana Wāhine Inquiry was initiated by the Waitangi Tribunal in 2018 , nearly 25 years after the first statement of claim was filed by the past presidents of Te Ropu Wahine Māori Toko i Te Ora, the Māori Women's Welfare League. The Tuapapa foundational hearings have been completed and we await a number of research reports and the resumption of hearings. The evidence follows four themes, Atua Whaea, Relationality and Balance, Wāhine Mana and Rangatiratanga and Domains of Wāhine Authority. Wāhine Māori have waited decades for this Tribunal opportunity to speak to the colonising experience of wāhine and to correct the patriarchal assumptions that have undermined mana wāhine for nearly two centuries. The Inquiry is at its early stages just as the Waitangi Tribunal faces its most voracious political threats.
6 August 2024: A conversation with Professor Emerita Nicola Peart
Professor Emerita Nicola Peart joined the University of Otago Law Faculty in 1987 and has taught Property Law, Wills and Trusts and Advanced Family Property Law over her academic career. She was one of the expert advisors to the Law Commission on three of its recent projects - Trust Law, Relationship Property Law, and Succession Law. She has been an active supporter of Staff Women’s Caucus and women’s equity at the University.
Nicola retired in 2020, and continues to do some teaching in Property Law and remains active in research. In the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the law.
Watch the recording (44 minutes)
11 July 2024: A conversation with Associate Professor Diane Kenwright
Associate Professor Diane Kenwright (HoD Pathology and Molecular Medicine (UOW), and co-Chair of the Science, Research and Scholarship Curriculum Domain group) shared her life and career journey to date with insights into her leadership and interpersonal style - especially in times of change. Her open mind, positive attitude, enthusiasm and warmth are evident in this interview with Kathryn Tsikanovski (one of our two SWC Committee members based in Wellington).
Watch the recording (37 minutes)
22 May 2024: Lunchtime Casual Catch-Up
An informal BYO lunch providing an opportunity to meet the committee and meet/catch up with other women staff from around the Dunedin campus.
14 May 2024: The Underestimated Power of Doing Stuff for Free
Sze-En Watts (Manager, Social Impact Studio) shared her personal journey to a career in volunteering. Working across students, staff, community organisations, funders, and local government, Sze-En brings people and resources together to realise the power of doing stuff for free and the positive impact it has on the University, the Ōtepoti community, the environment and our individual and collective wellbeing!
Watch the recording (30 minutes)
24 April 2024: Medieval Women: Surprisingly Human
Women in medieval literature might be assumed to be figures of silence, obedience, good breeding and manners. The women in Geoffrey Chaucer’s poetry, however, show a great deal more complexity and humanity than is popularly ascribed to medieval women including characteristics of: anger, humour, intelligence, slyness, rashness, prudence and physical strength, among other things.
Professor Simone Marshall (Head, School of Arts) examined a selection of Chaucer’s women to show the wide range of humanity exhibited in their personalities, and why Chaucer appears to show such an interest in women.
Watch the recording (41 minutes)
11 April 2024: Celebrating Women in Tertiary Education
In conjunction with the Tertiary Education Union ( TEU ) we welcomed the TEU ’s Te Pou Whirinaki / National Women’s Officer, Bronwyn Larkins, to Ōtepoti Dunedin. Bronwyn introduced herself and shared aspects of the TEU Women’s Officer role, a few short-term goals, and updates on the Pay Equity campaign.
Bronwyn was supported by President Tāngata Māori of the TEU : Hūhana Wātene, and the Vice-President of the TEU ’s National Women’s Committee: Siân Halcrow (University of Otago) and Jodi Hawe (Otago Polytechnic|Te Pūkenga).
8 March 2024: International Women's Day (IWD)
We again partnered with Graduate Women Otago to celebrate IWD with breakfast at Ombrellos Cafe and Bar and excellent guest speaker Trish Oakley, a member of University Council and an executive at Forsyth Barr.
Find out more about events we've organised for our members in previous years