Wāhine Māori in Leadership Report

Me aro ki te hā o Hine-ahu-one: Wāhine Māori in Leadership report

A new report into current and aspiring wahine Māori secondary school leaders recommends robust, tailored mentoring programmes, innovative ‘apprenticeship’ models and more professional development opportunities to support them.

The research, carried out by Te Wāhanga - the NZ Council for Educational Research, for PPTA Te Wehengarua, involved a survey completed by more than 340 wāhine Māori and interviews with 24 participants.  More than 90 percent of participants work in English-medium secondary schools and just under 10 percent work in kaupapa Māori secondary schools.

The research came about as a result of a literature review of research into women in leadership positions in New Zealand secondary schools The PPTA Women’s Summit in 2020 commissioned the review which uncovered an almost complete lack of research into the experiences of Māori and Pasifika women in leadership positions in New Zealand secondary schools. One of the outcomes of the Summit was to develop supports for Māori women in, and aspiring to be in, leadership positions. In order to be able to do that, we first needed to know how many wāhine Māori were in these positions, how many wanted to be, and what things would best support them to get and stay there – hence this report.

Ngā mihi nui to all the participants for giving your time, experiences and insights into this research.