Female students gather for Girl Empowerment Conference
Posted on June 22, 2021
On Saturday 12 June, female students from thirteen schools across Auckland attended the Fourth Annual Girl Empowerment Conference, led by Macleans College student Wei Tian Teo (Rutherford House).
The conference aimed to empower young females, especially in male-dominated career pathways, as well as to provide advice, motivation, and the skills to encourage the growth of female entrepreneurs.
Held in Hillary House, the full day started with two prestigious guest speakers, Golriz Ghahraman - the first refugee ever elected to parliament, and Stephanie Benseman - Investment Principal at Icehouse Ventures.
This was followed by a business simulation competition, where the girls were randomly assorted into teams, mimicking a working corporate environment. Within these teams, participants were to formulate business proposals within a limited amount of time in order to target a root issue in relation to the theme “Cultural Sustainability in relation to preserving New Zealand’s national Maori culture”.
Groups then presented their proposal to a panel of businesswomen from Massey University and Manukau Institute of Technology. The top three teams were presented cash prizes valued up to $900 - generously sponsored by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Manukau Institute of Technology.
Other spot prizes were kindly sponsored by Spookers, Countdown, CookieTime, Appleby Farms, Delta Force Paintball, Paradise, Gravity, Gong Cha and Cobb & Co.
Thank you to Mr Caley and Mrs Guthrie for giving their time and thought into the conference this year.
