Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate achievements and raise awareness about women's equality. The day has been celebrated since 1911 and is a national holiday in many countries. This year's theme is "Choose to Challenge" with the idea that a challenged world is an alert world and,
International Women's Day: Northland's inspirational women share insights
By Jodi Bryant
Multimedia journalist for the Northern Advocate·Northern Advocate (Whangarei)·
17 mins to read
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• Your most memorable received piece of advice? Always be yourself.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? Right now – too late to lament smooth skin, too soon to lament achy joints, still active, alert and inquisitive. Every age is a good age, make the most of it.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? Leapt out of an airplane – with a parachute.
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• What advice would you give your younger self? Trust your inner voice.
• What is your motto? Always look on the bright side of life.
• What message do you have for young women? There are absolutely no limits to what you can achieve.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? A chance to reflect on the impact women have had, and continue to have, on our world.
• What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? I have never broken a bone (if you don't count teeth!), I am shy, and I can't move my little left toe.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? Dance the Tango with Mike.
Name: Sandra McKersey
Title: People Potential founder
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• What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a teacher.
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? My mother was an inspirational woman. She was courageous and outrageous in her own way. I loved the fact that she was quite secure about who she was and unafraid to try new things.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? I have had lots of really great advice and one thing I try to remember (quite unsuccessfully sometimes) is to wear the world like a loose garment.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? My favourite age is now because I appreciate that so many people do not have the privilege of growing as old as I am. I have a wonderful family, lots of friends and I am still up for new adventures.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? It's hard to separate three things – sky diving, going to Bangladesh by myself and writing a book.
• What advice would you give your younger self? Be proud of where you come from.
• Why do you do what you do? I want to continue to be useful and to have absorbing projects to be involved in.
• What is your motto? Just say yes.
• What message do you have for young women? Try not to doubt yourself. You are just excellent as you are.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? It means the celebration of the bravery and courage, of cleverness and talented women all over the world.
• What is your guilty pleasure? I love chocolate and marshmallows and coffee. That is my evening meal very occasionally.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? I was born in Scotland and I was a 10 pound pom; I cannot see out of one eye; I love to travel on my own to another adventure.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? I will take my grandchildren to Bangladesh.
Name: Te Ropu Smith
Title: CEO, Te Hau Ora O Ngapuhi
• What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to do communications/engineering in the Airforce.
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? My grandmother because she was the best cook, hardworking, caring, loving and te reo Māori was her first language. She spoke very little English.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? Work hard, always try to be the best at what you do, learn the way of the Pākehā but never forget who you are and where you come from. Walk in both mainstream and te ao Māori with confidence.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? My favourite age was when I was 12 because my grandfather taught me how to drive his Toyota Landcruiser, ride a horse, catch eels and hunt goats.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? I was 16 years of age when I called the Fair Go show to complain about a Queen St clothing store who wouldn't refund my deposit on a layby.
• What advice would you give your younger self? Be respectful, learn quickly from your mistakes and set personal goals.
• Why do you do what you do? It is a privilege to work for my whānau.
• What is your motto? Always be respectful, open, honest and caring.
• What message do you have for young women? Be proud of who you are, where you come from and set yourself a five year plan.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? Women get to celebrate, showcase the many successes and achievements.
• What is your guilty pleasure? Cadbury Caramilk Chocolate.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? I am a petrol head and love Classic Holden and Chevy V8 motors, John Travolta is my favourite actor, I mow the lawn to relax.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? To restore and rebuild a V8 classic car.
Name: Ady Mckenzie
Title: Qualified firefighter, Whangārei
• What did you want to be when you grew up? I enjoyed racing in endurance events so wanted to be an elite athlete and then join an emergency service.
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? My mother, she has always unconditionally loved me.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? 40 is the new 30.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? Become a mum.
• What advice would you give your younger self? Never have regrets.
• Why do you do what you do? Because I'm always learning and developing myself and I enjoy people and helping my community.
• What is your motto? Smile... it makes people wonder what you've been up too.
• What message do you have for young women? Never give up on your dreams.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? A time to celebrate wāhine achievements.
• What is your guilty pleasure? Hot chips and beers after racing.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? That's hard as I'm pretty much an open book... I enjoy a beer or two, I love dancing and looking for adventures.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? I want to complete a big event called God Zone.
Name: Ashley Johnston
Title: Programme manager at the Northland Road Safety Trust
• What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a police officer. I joined the New Zealand Police when I was 19 and loved it every moment of it (well, almost every!). I resigned from the police after 10 years to move into the role as the programme manager for the Northland Road Safety Trust, I feel incredibly grateful to still feel like I am making a big difference in the community.
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? My mother-in-law is a pretty inspirational women – she has a kindness and an empathy that I admire and is incredibly selfless. She reminds me and my husband to enjoy the little things instead of always racing towards big goals. I also admire Charmaine O'shea – she was my dad's business partner for many years at Johnston O'shea and, throughout the years, watching her incredible work ethic has been inspirational.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? Comfort zones are cosy, but nothing ever grows there.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? I recently turned 30 and I think this age right now is a pretty exciting stage of life; we have beautiful little family and the balance of our careers and family feels like a great stage of life.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? It was quite scary resigning from the police in the middle of a global pandemic for my new role!
• Why do you do what you do? I developed a bit of a passion for road safety during my time in the police – after 10 years I saw some pretty horrible things on our roads and advising families that they had lost loved ones on our roads was something that will stay with me forever. When the role came up at the Northland Road Safety Trust, I thought it was a real opportunity to be at the "top of the cliff" in terms of education around road safety.
• What is your motto? Comfort zones are cosy, but nothing ever grows there.
• What message do you have for young women? You have to love what you do – not every day, it's not always perfect, but it should ignite a passion in you. I remember when I was leaving high school – everyone wanted me to become a nurse. I wasted a little bit of time at university studying trying to convince myself I didn't want to join the police.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? A day to celebrate the achievements of all of our wāhine, and a focus point in the movement of women's rights.
• What is your guilty pleasure? I don't know about guilty, but I compete in show jumping when the time allows – it gives me a little bit of "me" time and I think that is really important. I feel lucky enough to have a very supportive husband who is a super modern day father.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? I won a national series in both eventing and show jumping in the last five years. Becoming a mum has made me more determined than ever to grow in both my career and as a person but it has also made me a softer person – stopping to enjoy the simple things more often. Attending fatal car crashes was the hardest part of my policing career – especially advising families.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? I would love to go to the Olympics with my family (as a spectator!), and run a marathon!
Name: Skyla Anderson-Wynn, 18
Title: Former Tikipunga High School deputy head girl dux and triple scholarship winner
• What did you want to be when you grew up? My mum says that I wanted to be a marine biologist as a kid, but I remember wanting to be like Beyonce since I was quite young. I remember having so much energy (as most do) throughout my childhood, and watching her on MTV as Sasha Fierce and just being so inspired with the way she curated her art! I definitely feel like my heart resonated with her fiery energy from my earliest days, and even up to who I am today.
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? Other than Beyonce, of course it'd be my mum. She was 18 when I was born and when I think of the struggles she went through as a single mum at that age with no one to lean on, it brings me to tears. She gave up so much to raise my sister and I, and even then, sometimes it wouldn't be enough. Despite the troubles she faced, she put up a strong front not only for her kids, but also for herself. She took some time to better herself and turn her life around, and because of this, I'm very proud of her - my mother is a woman of the greatest resilience. She inspires me beyond explanation because she didn't let her circumstances consume her.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? My dear biology teacher in high school, "People will remove you from their lives not because of something you did to them, but rather, what you did for yourself." I think of it every day.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? I'm definitely enjoying the newfound freedom at 18, and not necessarily in relation to age-restrictive activities. Instead, it's the first time I've ever felt quite free from the mental confinement of my childhood tribulations that carried into my teen years. I relish in the uncertainty that 18 holds and hope to consciously seek better avenues for myself and others who walk beside me at this age. It's certainly my favourite age so far because I have liberated myself from myself and found freedom.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? It could be seen as courageous to some, outrageous to others, but the most courageous thing I've done was decide I wanted more than what I was given. I wanted to be heard and had enough of being talked over, so I started talking back. That definitely set the tone for what was yet to come.
• What advice would you give your younger self? I wouldn't say anything, I'd just give her a hug.
• Why do you do what you do? Some days I do what I do to prove a point to my past. Other days, it's to free myself from the fears of the future. But as I've gotten just a little bit older, I've learned to stop living out of insecurity, and more so in a way that supports the path that I want to walk and bring others on to as well. Many things I do won't end with me, it's a chain reaction that only evolves and improves with every heart that is touched along the way.
• What is your motto? "Be grateful for what you have and gracious for what you want."
• What message do you have for young women? There's a significant difference between self-confidence and self-belief. Self-confidence is an accessory, whereas self-belief is a mindset. You have the choice whether to nurture one, both or neither of the two. It's a decision you can make, but a well-accessorised mindset will take you far.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? International Women's Day in my eyes is a day that represents all who identify themselves as women - this is regardless of ethnicity, cisgender, sexuality, way one presents oneself, disability and so forth. Being a woman is not exclusive of others, nor is it a VIP club with a verification process. We know very well how it has been for women to be excluded in numerous areas of life and history, so why would we be exclusive in the sense of being able to identify as a woman? International Women's Day is a day to celebrate and rejoice in who we are, collectively. There's enough joy to go around for us all - we all deserve to be celebrated.
• What is your guilty pleasure? I still watch Barbie and Bratz movies and Beyonce's Homecoming Live on repeat. Apparently it's annoying.
• What are three things about yourself that will surprise? 1. I'm both the early bird and the night owl 2. I like to write, compose and produce music and taught myself to play guitar in three hours. 3. I've been pescatarian since I turned 15 - my mum was near horrified at the thought of it.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? For me personally, I prefer to call bucket lists by a checklist. My father's side once had an exceedingly long line of successful lawyers and judges in England, spanning over a course of 650 years. One thing on my checklist that I'm determined to do is, not only revive that legacy, but to raise a new one as the first female lawyer in the lot.
Happy International Women's Day!
Name: Emily Henderson
Title: Dr, MP for Whangarei
• What did you want to be when you grew up? A ballet dancer or a novelist. I've got two left feet so ballet was never going to happen. I still have hopes for that retirement novel...
• Who do you look up to as an inspirational woman in your life and why? I've been blessed with a lot of amazing women mentors, but my mum, Patsy Henderson-Watt, who set up and still runs the Miriam Centre child and family crisis centre while being the most loving and supportive mum imaginable, remains top.
• Your most memorable received piece of advice? "You're good enough. Now put your big girl pants on." I think a lot of women have difficulty believing in ourselves – I know I do.
• What was/is/will be your favourite age and why? This one. Old enough to have some skills. Young enough to still have working knees. Plus, whatever age I am I will always be 18 months younger than my husband, so it's all good.
• What is the most courageous thing you've done? Put in an application for a fellowship I then won, which enabled me to do a huge piece of research and paved the way for me to help reform the way the criminal court works with vulnerable people. It changed my life, and I almost didn't do it.
• What advice would you give your younger self? Actually, you're more capable than you think you are. Don't listen to the doubts, just do it.
• Why do you do what you do? To help people. Pure and simple.
• What is your motto? "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today."
• What message do you have for young women? Believe in yourself. If you want to see a change, go for it. You are good enough.
• What does International Women's Day mean to you? It's a celebration of all the amazing women out there, women working in the background more often than out in front. A reminder of all the great women who worked so hard to get us here and the responsibility to make it better for the next generation.
• What is your guilty pleasure? Oh boy ... Chocolate and country music ... but the cool kind, you know.
• What are three things you can reveal about yourself that will surprise? I can't spell for peanuts. I did te teo right through high school. I have a PhD from Cambridge University in criminal evidence and trial theory.
• What is one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? Make a real difference for Whangārei. Write a novel. Possibly give ballet another try.
