Ex-PM urges young women to aim high

Helen Clark says her New York job is 'the right position for me'. Photo / Greg Bowker

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark last night encouraged young women to reach for the heights as she took time out from her job at the United Nations.

Helen Clark, now the head of the UN's Development Programme, was in Auckland to speak at a dinner marking the YWCA Auckland's 125th anniversary, a celebration of women's leadership.

One teenager she spoke to, 17-year-old Shukria Safdari, was more than impressed to meet the former Prime Minister.

"She's a great role model and quite an inspiration. So to speak to her is pretty great."

Ms Safdari's brother was one of the Tampa asylum seekers whom Helen Clark famously brought to NZ.

Helen Clark said being involved in an organisation such as the YWCA, encouraging leadership among women, has always been important to her.

"I've always supported the YWCA's leading women programme - I went to all their dinners while I was PM - because I could see that getting mentors to support young woman like Shukria was really going to make a huge difference to their lives."

Told she was an inspiration to many young women, and women generally, around New Zealand, she smiled.

"Well, I think those of us who've climbed to the top of the tree have a duty to be a role model to others," she said.

Asked how Prime Minister John Key was doing in his role, she said: "Oh, I never answer such questions."

What about the Labour Party's issues? "I don't get into those either," she said, laughing. Asked what her ambitions were, she said her dreams had already "absolutely" come true.

"I went up there [to New York] to do the UNDP job and I personally think it's the best job in the union. It's a huge development programme, connecting to good work with the sort of things I believe in, in virtually every developed country in the world.

"And I'm very happy with that. It's the right position for me. So that's my four years mapped out."