Girlboss Nz Facebook

Motivated by the idea that “you cannot be what you cannot see”, an innovative partnership was formed to show young women exactly what’s on offer in a career in technology, innovation and STEM.

Just three per cent of high school girls are interested in a career in technology, and only 18 per cent of Fletcher Building’s staff are female. Determined to grow and nurture talent for the future, the company joined forces with Girl Boss NZ, an organisation founded by Alexia Hilbertidou to close the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, maths, entrepreneurship and leadership.

The GirlBoss Advantage programme gave 28 young women the chance to spend a week not just hearing about STEM, but actively participating and contributing. They undertook site visits to see the latest Fletcher Building projects, learned about personal branding and networking, and took park in a Dragon’s Den-style challenge, designed by the Fletcher Building Innovation team. The interns were invited to design the house of 2030, giving them a context to gather information during the week. They presented to senior leaders at the end of the week.

Ministry For Pacific Peoples — Girlboss Leads By Example

Prior to the GirlBoss Advantage Programme I lacked confidence in myself. On the first day, I didn't speak up in group discussions, but as the week progressed, being around 27 other intelligent girls who shared my interest in STEM and the supportive staff created such an empowering, welcoming and inclusive environment. By the graduation, I was able to confidently speak to Fletchers' employees to help me work towards my goal of becoming a civil engineer, ” she says.

“This was something I wouldn't have been able to do before this programme. To be surrounded by girls who have the same passions as myself allowed me to understand that I am not the only one. The STEM industry can be quite daunting as it is so male-dominated, but the Girl Boss and Fletcher teams constantly reminded us that we are just as credible as any male. They all did an amazing job of creating a safe space for myself and the girls to unapologetically share our passions and aspirations.”

“For any business that wants to thrive, having an open door for the most talented and determined new employees is vital. Our industry has in the past not been seen as having an open door for women to the same extent as for men, which means that women and girls are missing out on amazing careers where they would excel, and we are missing out on great people. Technology, innovation and STEM areas are the foundation of what we do, which is why programmes like GirlBoss are so important, ” she says.

Pwc Partners With Girlboss To Ignite Future Careers In Technology

“They are a big ‘welcome’ sign on the door into non-traditional fields for young women and girls. As a female engineer I know how important this kind of encouragement is and I hope we conveyed that while hosting the Girl Boss cohort. We had leaders from all across the business involved throughout the week and the consistent feedback was that they felt energised and inspired by the [girls’] fresh ideas and hands on approach. We were so impressed that we offered a paid summer internship to five students on the day.”GirlBoss New Zealand’s most recent offering, GirlBoss Edge Healthcare, has supported a new wave of wāhine to forge their own path into industries like health, science and sport – and to be unapologetically ambitious in reaching their potential. 

With the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™, now is the perfect time to create and deliver new and exciting opportunities for girls and young women.

GirlBoss New Zealand founder and CEO Alexia Hilbertidou says participants in their latest programme are “part of a wider movement and wave of empowered, confident women who are stepping forth into these industries and are having an incredible impact in these fields.”

Girlboss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award

GirlBoss Edge Healthcare took place over the April school holidays as an interactive 10-day school holiday programme. It was rolled out online and featured a series of Facebook Live events, Q+A sessions, team challenges, kōrero and one-on-one mentoring from over 150 healthcare professionals including doctors, surgeons, midwives, and CEOs.

Edge Healthcare application numbers were estimated to sit at around 400. To the great surprise and delight of GirlBoss NZ, the series garnered nearly 1, 000 applications. They were granted extra funding to offer full ride scholarships to 825 young women.

The programme was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to raise the profile of women and girls in society as part of

Girl Bosses To Mana Wāhine

Across all of the GirlBoss NZ programmes, there is focus on enabling engagement and interaction between the mentors and the network of young women.

The virtual events are carried out in a way that champions collaboration and strays away from a traditional speaker and passive listener interaction. This sets them apart from other online programmes and is why their community keeps growing. 

“You’ll never see a GirlBoss event where a young woman is just sitting there passively in the crowd, listening to someone else speak on stage and then going home. We’re not in that game. We’re in the game of action and genuine confidence, which is built through experiences and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.”

Future Female Leaders Develop Solutions To Real Financial Problems

Edge Healthcare speakers and mentors included health industry professionals like Jazz Thornton (mental health advocate), Dr Hinemoa Elder (psychologist, forensic psychiatrist, and neuroscientist) and Dr Justin Sung (former medical doctor, author and co-founder of Foster Our Future, a New Zealand registered charity aimed at reducing education inequities).

Like all GirlBoss initiatives, Edge Healthcare was designed to be active rather than passive, with participants expected to execute plans, and move from a state of inspiration to real action. 

“We teach them how to introduce themselves to somebody, how to go up to somebody at an event, how to do an elevator pitch. They’re learning everything, and then they put it into practice the next day, which is cool. They can solidify their learning.”

What You Need To Know About The Girlboss Awards

Participants of Edge Healthcare were given an unmatched experience and skills that will benefit them when taking the first steps on their professional journey. 

“What we’re doing is teaching key career skills, they’re getting a CV worthy experience, and joining a community and network. Every single day they’re doing different things and it’s a very challenging environment because we want them to emerge with genuine confidence.”

In addition to gaining industry connections, learning CV preparation and creation, and undertaking problem solving challenges, it was hoped all participants would leave the course with something far more important and invaluable – inner confidence and self-assurance. 

Head Girl Founds Hijab Firm

“Every single young woman who did that programme now knows how to introduce themselves, how to answer the question, ‘what do you want to do once you leave school?’ and say it in a really positive and compelling way.”

Following the commencement of the programme, feedback from attendees showed that 90 percent of alumni felt the course was life-changing for them. For Alexia, that is the key metric to measure success of the programme, and it’s also the ‘why’ behind what she does.  

GirlBoss NZ was founded in 2015 by Tāmaki Makaurau local, Alexia Hilbertidou. At 16 years old, while a student at Albany Senior High, Alexia developed the now 13, 500 member strong network of young women.  

Alexia Hilbertidou On Linkedin: Girlboss Edge: Healthcare

Throughout her education, Alexia went to a number of schools dotted across East and West Auckland and the North Shore. Raised by a single mum who worked as a teacher, furthering knowledge and seeking higher education were values held in high regard in the household. Naturally, Alexia has come to love education in all forms, both educating and being educated.

“You can have a conversation that provides an experience to a young person which completely changes the trajectory of their lives. That’s something very special and unique in the education space.”

GirlBoss NZ programmes help young women who are looking to enter into, and succeed in, fields such as science, technology, engineering, maths, entrepreneurship and business. Their various offerings equip participants with LinkedIn accredited skills, ongoing mentoring, specially developed professional coaching, and a large network of supportive wāhine.

Alexia Hilbertidou On Linkedin: Finally! For All The Parents Who Have Been Messaging Me

Seven years on, the GirlBoss NZ community has seen immense growth – both by way of member numbers and the empowerment gained by being part of the network. Over 13, 500 young women from one hundred secondary schools across Aotearoa are involved in GirlBoss NZ and the initiatives rolled out by Alexia and her team. 

Science and technology were where Alexia’s interests and passion lay, and she spent much of her senior years in the high school labs. As she sat in her Digital Technology class, she noticed all of her classmates were male.

Alexia knew there was nothing inherent about these subjects, or human biology, that made the young men sitting next to her more suitable for science-related careers. Nevertheless, this gender disproportionality was evident across her other science and technology classes.

Alexia Hibertidou, New Zealand

Despite her academic skills which matched and sometimes exceeded classmates, Alexia felt a sense of displacement among her peers. At 16, the term ‘imposter syndrome’ wasn’t part of the everyday vernacular of high school students, but it was what she and

Berbagi :