Creating a space to empower women in the Workplace Health & Safety Profession

The Women in Safety Excellence NZ network was established by Margaret van Schaik and Helen Parkes in 2010 and now has over 700 members around New Zealand, across all sectors of business and industry.

The network promotes the equity and advancement of women in the safety profession, striving to continuously influence industry to address current and future safety challenges affecting women in the workforce locally, nationally and globally.

The WISE Governance Committee oversees the ongoing management of the WISE NZ network on behalf of the NZISM Senior Leadership Team. Their role is to support the delivery of the WISE National Events programme, develop communications, work with branches to develop local chapters, develop sponsorship opportunities, develop social media and marketing content, provide research and thought leadership, and develop CPD opportunities including webinars and other online engagement opportunities.

Internationally, Women in Safety Excellence (WISE) common interest groups are well established with the goal of advancing their members and the safety profession through education, mentorship, networking, collaboration, research and innovation.

Regional network groups

There are 12 WISE regional network groups across the Motu, each led by a volunteer Regional Lead focused on developing a collaborative and supportive network in their local region.

The purpose of the WISE Regional network groups is to:

• Build a community by developing collaborative and supportive networks of women working in safety and health disciplines (as reflected in the HASANZ membership) in their home regions.
• Inspire women to connect, collaborate, learn, grow, and impact the wider safety and health system.
• Share our greatest achievements and biggest challenges, learn from each other, and support one another.

If you would like to enquire about networking in your area, please email Pam Mitchell at [email protected].

Keep in touch

To become a member of the WISE network all you need to do is register below and join our LinkedIn page.

Having your contact details enables us to communicate effectively and keep you updated on relevant events, initiatives and outcomes, and to understand a little more about you and how we can best support you.

As a WISE Network member you can also sign up to receive a copy of NZISM's fortnightly e-Newsletter. (Please don't do this if you are an NZISM member as you will receive it twice.)

Capability Development Project

One of our key initiatives is the WISE Capability Development Project, which aims to support and encourage female OHS practitioners to move from a technical level, into leadership and governance roles.

The project is supported by the HASANZ WISE Scholarship.

Career Development Pathway Report

In 2021, in support of the capability project, WISE completed research into professional development opportunities available for OHS practitioners wanting to move into leadership and governance roles. The outcome is the Career Development Pathway Research Report.

The report provides a useful overview of the availability and cost of courses/short courses/programmes (both domestic and international) available to help OHS practitioners take their next step forward.

We hope you find it an interesting read and encourage you to share it widely amongst your colleagues and peers. Good luck to those of you who have set your sights on leadership or governance positions. With a lot of the 'leg work' done for you, we hope you find the report a useful resource that will help make your next step forward just that little bit easier.

HASANZ Women In Safety scholarship

The WISE Network is delighted, with the support of business partners, to sponsor one of the HASANZ scholarships.

Each year, the HASANZ WISE Scholarship supports a female health and safety professional in up-skilling from a technical level into leadership and governance in order that they can positively influence future health and safety practice in Aotearoa.

2022 - Candis Hawkins earned the HASANZ WISE Scholarship and used the funds to complete the Executive Ready Programme run by Women & Leadership Australia (WLA). The programme has enabled Candis to drive safety differently as a strategic game changer for multiple angles.

2023 - Deborah Cameron and Miriska Gerber were both awarded the HASANZ Women in Safety scholarship. They will be using their scholarships to extend their development into governance by attending the IoD's Company Director's Course.