International Women's Day - 8 March

And just like that, it's March! One of the exciting events this month is always International Women’s Day on 8 March. One might ask why, in 2023, we still observe International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a global celebration of the political, cultural, economic, and social achievements of women that also highlights the work that remains to achieve genuine equality. IWD invites us to reflect on gendered or diversity, equality, and inclusivity (DEI) issues and consideration within our own organisations, as well as those organisations that we support and across the industry.

NZISM is very fortunate to support the Women in Safety Excellence (WISE) network in New Zealand. Here it was established in 2010, and the network promotes the equity and advancement of women in the safety profession, striving to continuously influence the industry to address current and future safety challenges affecting women in the workforce locally, nationally, and globally. If you haven’t yet had the chance, explore WISE’s online resources and follow them on LinkedIn.

There is lots going on at the moment to support women. We heard last week that Thomson Reuters, in partnership with WISE, is planning its inaugural Women in Safety Conference. Watch out for further details in the NZISM newsletter. This is such an exciting opportunity for our female Health and Safety Practitioners. Thank you to Thomson Reuters for their leadership in this area; I cannot wait to hear more about it.

It is also timely that on 8th March Selena and our CPD Manager, Sara Dearsly, are hosting the second session in our CPD series called “myCPD Basics”, a step by step walk through of the NZISM myCPD platform, as this nicely aligns with the key theme for the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. (Although I should be clear that myCPD Basics is, of course, being delivered to benefit everyone!)

International scheduled events you may wish to check out include:

• OneWISH International Women's Day Event 2023: "Embrace Equity Through a Diverse and Inclusive Leadership" being held on March 7-10 (GMT). * Please check the start times as these are webcast from the UK *
• The Women in Safety & Health Network (WISH Network, Australian Institute of Health & Safety) are holding a 4-day webinar series “Celebrating Women in Safety and Health” between 6-9 March.

Thank you to all of our wonderful practitioners, and those supporting them.
And of course, we are looking forward to International Men’s Day on November 19.

Ngā mihi,

Robyn Bennett

President, NZISM