12 Questions

Vanisa Dhiru is the new national president of the National Council of Women NZ. Founded by Kate Sheppard 121 years ago, the organisation is marking Suffrage Day with a new Gender Equal NZ campaign

1 What do you hope to achieve with the National Council of Women?

New Zealand is now ninth in the OECD for gender equality. We used to be first. Part of that is because of our violence statistics. One in three New Zealand women combat some form of violence in their lifetime whether it’s physical, emotional or sexual. We’re launching a Gender Equal NZ campaign because the gender space has changed. Younger people often don’t feel like gender binaries fit for them and we need to know to how gender inequalities harm.

2 But you are a council for women, aren’t you?

Yes but the fact is gender stereotypes hurt everyone. When we tell boys they can’t play with dolls, say, we’re really stopping them from practising being dads. Having conversations about why men are told to “man up” but women aren’t told to “woman up” may start to alter our attitudes.

3 Have you ever suffered discrimination?

Yes most commonly around my name — how it’s spelt and how it’s said. People see it and make judgments about, “Is she born here? Does she sound like a Kiwi? Will she know what I’m talking about?” Names are important because they mean so much to people. My surname Dhiru is my granddad’s first name which Dad took instead of Patel when he came to New Zealand, so it’s special to me. I’ve also felt gender discrimination when I’ve walked into a board room and someone’s assumed I’m there to pour the coffee when actually I’m there to chair the meeting. I am young, 37, so people sometimes