Vanisa Dhiru | |
---|---|
Occupation | Not-for-profit leader |
Vanisa Dhiru MNZM JP is an executive leader in the not-for-profit sector in New Zealand. In 2017, she was appointed the national president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand. [1]
Dhiru was born and raised in Palmerston North, to Indian parents; her father was born in Gujarat, India, and her mother was born in New Zealand. [2] Her parents owned and ran two convenience stores in the town. [3] [4] She was inspired by her parents to volunteer for school and community activities from a young age. [3] In 1999, Dhiru moved to Wellington to attend Victoria University of Wellington. [2]
After graduating, Dhiru worked for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. [5] Dhiru was the youngest president of the YWCA of Wellington and Hutt Valley and represented New Zealand twice at World YWCA young women's forums. [6] She has served on the board of a number of charities such as Inspiring Stories Trust, Dress for Success Wellington and Trade Aid. In her work for Trade Aid, she travelled to India and Bangladesh to record stories of the Trade Aid partner groups which she then delivered to school, community and business groups to promote Fair Trade. In 2006, Dhiru entered the Miss India New Zealand beauty pageant as Miss Trade Aid, to promote the organisation and raise funds; she raised over $1,000 for the charity. [2] She also worked on the Make Wellington Fair Trade campaign, which resulted, in 2009, in Wellington City Council committing to become a Fair Trade City. [6] She has also been a member of the Wellington Ethnic Women's Group and the Wellington Indian Association. [7]
In 2011, Dhiru was appointed chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand. [2] In 2013, she became a global fellow of the International Young Leaders Network of the BMW Foundation, the only New Zealander in the network. In 2015, Dhiru was appointed executive director of 2020 Communications Trust, an organisation focused on supporting digital literacy for all New Zealanders. [8] Dhiru also sits on the Victoria University of Wellington Business School Advisory Board and on advisory groups for the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry for Women. [1] [9]
Dhiru was the vice-president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand from 2015 to 2017, when she was appointed president. [10]
In 2010, Dhiru was a finalist in the Kiwibank Young New Zealander of the Year Awards. [7] In the 2021 New Year Honours, Dhiru was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to community and gender rights. [11]
Dame Kerry Leigh Prendergast is a New Zealand politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of Wellington between 2001 and 2010, succeeding Mark Blumsky. She was the second woman to hold the position, after Fran Wilde.
Elizabeth Patricia Tennet is a former New Zealand politician.
The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is the official student association at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. VUWSA was established in 1899 as the Victoria University College Students' Society.
Maryan Street is a New Zealand unionist, academic and former politician. She was president of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1993 to 1995 and a Labour Party list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2005 until 2014.
Dame Theresa Elizabeth Gattung is a New Zealand businessperson and the former chief executive of Telecom New Zealand (1993–2007).
The National Council of Women of New Zealand was established in 1896, three years after women in New Zealand won the right to the vote, as an umbrella organisation uniting a number of different women's societies that existed in New Zealand at that time. Its founding president was Kate Sheppard, who had led the campaign for women's suffrage. The NCWNZ went into recess in 1906 but was reformed in 1919. As of 2021, the NCWNZ remains a leading and influential organisation that works to achieve gender equality in New Zealand. Since 1896, members have agreed resolutions by majority vote at national conferences, which form policies for the NCWNZ's work. These resolutions inform submissions made by the NCWNZ to Parliament, government departments and other organisations.
Daisy Elizabeth Platts-Mills was a New Zealand medical doctor and community leader. She was the first woman medical doctor in private practice and served on numerous community organisations, particularly those concerned with the health and welfare of women and children.
Margaret Home Sievwright was a New Zealand feminist, political activist and community leader. She was particularly active in the temperance and suffrage movements, and became president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand.
Lily May Atkinson was a New Zealand temperance campaigner, suffragist and feminist. She served in several leadership roles at the local and national levels including vice president of the New Zealand Alliance for Suppression and Abolition of the Liquor Traffic (1898–1921); president of Women's Christian Temperance Union New Zealand (1901–1905); and, vice president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (1901–1903).
The Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Award is an award made annually on September 19, known as Suffrage Day, in New Zealand. This day is the anniversary of women winning the right to vote in New Zealand in 1893.
Dame Therese Maria Walsh is a chief executive and business leader from New Zealand. Her particular successes include her roles as the chief operating officer for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and head of the organising body for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand.
Hilda Kate Lovell-Smith, generally known as Kitty Lovell-Smith, was a New Zealand businesswoman and community organiser.
Sarah Trotman is a businesswoman, director, celebrant and community advocate from Auckland, New Zealand. She has been a member of the Waitematā Local Board of Auckland Council since 2019.
Abbie Reynolds is a New Zealand climate change and sustainability advocate.
Jennifer Mary Gill is a semi retired executive from New Zealand who works in philanthropy. She was New Zealand's first full-time paid employee working in philanthropy, and the chair of Philanthropy New Zealand.
Mavis Ada Tiller was a New Zealand women's advocate, scientist and president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 1966 to 1970.
Gillian Brooker Greer, also known as Gillian Boddy, is a New Zealand teacher, a literary scholar specialising in the works of Katherine Mansfield, a heath advocate, an advisor to the New Zealand Government and has been an administrator of numerous non profit organisations. She was the chief executive of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 2017 to 2018 and an assistant vice-chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington.
Una Porter was an Australian psychiatrist and philanthropist. As senior psychiatrist at Queen Victoria Hospital, she established their first clinic of psychiatry. She was active in the Australian Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and served as world president from 1963 to 1967. She was appointed an officer in the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1960, and elevated to CBE on 1 January 1968.
Brenda Pilott is a New Zealand public servant, and has advocated for greater recognition of the issue of domestic violence, fair pay, and more resources for public services. In 2021 Pilott was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to social and public service sectors.