Vanisa Dhiru MNZM is an equity champion who has worked in various advocacy and leadership roles, from CEO of Volunteering New Zealand to president of the National Council of Women. Dhiru also finds time to sit on advisory panels and boards for NGOs and government departments.
A lot of your work revolves around helping people from differing backgrounds and ethnicities live together peacefully. It sounds admirable – but how do we achieve that?
First, we need to understand that Aotearoa stands on bicultural foundations, then we need to ensure we are a welcoming, multicultural society. Which means everyone has to work to understand one another to have meaningful dialogue. We also need to be at peace with ourselves to work productively with others, which can be hard work, as that requires conversation and reflection, thinking and listening.
You managed to get two tertiary qualifications in just 4 1/2 years: an honours degree in design from Massey and a graduate diploma in marketing and commerce from Victoria. Why the hurry?
Neither of my parents had the opportunity to pursue higher education, so they placed enormous emphasis on formal and informal education and they always dreamed that my brother and I would go to university. So, to please my parents, I needed to get a degree because their drive for higher education was so strong. But I wanted to get university over and done with as quickly as possible, so to achieve that, I did summer schools and extra courses. I wasn’t much of a formal learner, either, and I knew I’d learn more from working than sitting in a classroom.
What was your first job after graduation?
I started at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise as an executive assistant. From there, I worked for various government agencies, a couple of non-profits and some corporates. I was mainly in comms, marketing and sponsorship until eventually I landed the CEO role at Volunteering New Zealand. From there, I led the 20/20 Trust and the YWCA, before moving to InternetNZ.
What’s something positive you’ve seen through your work recently?
Mental health is more respected now. As we come out of Covid and other national tragedies, people are more conscious of other people’s feelings. Previously, we were a bit more blasé about how people were doing mentally. Now, people can talk about their feelings more freely. There is also increased discussion around how we might support a person going through a difficult time. We can still do better, but with more of a spotlight on mental health, there’s also greater understanding, and that’s positive.
What have you learnt from leading workshops around unconscious bias?
I do unconscious-bias training with organisations that are struggling with diversity and inclusion. That work has taught me that inclusion doesn’t happen overnight, and that it needs constant repeat messaging from a range of voices.
We also need to practice those things to create the harmonious society we all want.
How do you get participants to examine their thinking when certain views are so entrenched?
It’s about getting people to imagine what it is to walk in another person’s shoes, to think deeply about their own upbringing, to understand what influence that has had over the course of their life and career, how who they associate with has led them to unconsciously decide how they will live their lives. The more people realise how some groups are excluded from their world, and think consciously about that, that will help lessen unconscious bias.
What lessons did you learn growing up, living behind your parents’ Manawatū dairy?
Our family business embedded us in our community, and we were raised to be helpful. To say hello to everyone who came in. To be kind and polite. To address people by their name if we knew it. To say thank you. Everyone knew everyone else, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to learn about excellent customer service; to know what it looks like and how it feels, because it’s about being respected.
How did your parents keep you connected to your Indian heritage?
When I was eight and my brother was 11, our parents sold their dairy in Roslyn [Palmerston North] and took us to India for six months, which really helped us understand our roots. Upon returning, they bought a store in the suburb of Hokowhitu, which they ran for 17 years.
What was it like, being eight and going from Palmerston North to India?
When we left, the principal of my primary school said it would probably be the most educational period of my school career, and it was. As well as learning an entirely new language, we also met our whānau for the first time – people who were connected to us by blood. And because our family home in India was right next to the village library, people were always dropping in to see what we were doing. I have strong memories of us constantly offering cups of chai to visitors.
Where in India was this?
In Gujarat, about five hours north of Mumbai and 20 minutes from Dandi Beach, where Mahatma Gandhi collected salt for his famous nonviolent march. My grandfather actually witnessed the Salt Satyagraha, which inspired his belief in nonviolence. Those values were then handed to me, which is partly why sharing truth and supporting society through charitable work has permeated my life.
Why did your parents choose New Zealand?
My mother is Indian, but she was born and bred in New Zealand, and she went over to India in 1975 with the intention of meeting someone. She and my dad discovered each other, and when my grandparents found out, a match was eventually agreed to, but it wasn’t an arranged marriage.
Was your father happy to leave his homeland, or did he need convincing?
Back then, many people in India thought the promised land lay outside India. That is changing now but, back then, Dad was keen to start a new life under a new name in a new country.
A new name?
Dhiru, my last name, was my grandfather’s first name, because our family last name is Patel, as you’ll know, a very common surname. So when he left India, he took his father’s first name as his surname, as a way of paying homage to his forefathers. Even today, every time I see my name I am reminded of my ancestors.
With so many demands on your time, and working in areas that confront some of society’s biggest challenges, how do you decompress?
I love sewing, the creative nature of designing clothing, and if I can do it on a shoestring budget with recycled materials, all the better. In many Indian households there are often lots of old saris, and I’m always interested in repurposing those.
What are your hopes for the future of Aotearoa?
We may be a small country, but I see us as a multicultural society sitting on the doorstep of an amazing indigenous population. We have the opportunity to really think about how we can be a great nation and showcase that harmony to the rest of the world.
