For IWD 2026, Let's Talk About the South Asian Women Quietly Shaping Aotearoa

This International Women's Day, let's cut through the corporate speak and get stuck into the real stories. I'm talking about the wahine who don't just climb the ladder—they bring everyone up with them. The ones whose names might not be up in lights, but whose hard work is woven into the fabric of our communities.

Take a good look at that image. Front and centre is Sarita Shantha Yasmin, a woman who embodies the quiet revolution happening within Aotearoa's non-profit sector. Alongside her are other South Asian women who've decided that giving their time, expertise and cultural insight is the most powerful form of leadership. They're the ones running after-school programmes, sitting on boards, and making sure the organisations that support us actually reflect who we are. This IWD, they're the reason I'm feeling hopeful.

And it's not just a local thing. UK-based sustainability entrepreneur and broadcaster Emma Slade Edmondson was in Tāmaki Makaurau last week for a series of IWD talks, and her message cut through the usual noise: "We need to stop treating diversity as a box-ticking exercise and start seeing it as a creative superpower." She's spent years championing ethical fashion and minority-owned brands, and her call to action is simple—make room, then make more room.

That idea of making room is something I keep hearing from women across the motu. Mirella Wattimena, a brand strategist who's worked with some of Asia's biggest names, told me recently: "I always give room and opportunities for my team to shine." It sounds simple, but in practice it means deliberately stepping back so others can step up. It's the kind of leadership that doesn't make headlines but builds legacies.

Then there's Neha Jain, a leadership mentor whose work stretches from Bengaluru startups to Wellington boardrooms. Her take on equity is one I haven't been able to shake: "Equity is shaped through everyday decisions." It's not about one grand gesture or a single policy change. It's about the small, consistent choices—who gets heard in a hui, whose idea gets the credit, who gets the flexible hours—that either build barriers or break them down. And that truth applies whether you're in an Auckland boardroom or a community hall in a place as far-flung as Ivdel. Yes, even there, women are making those daily calls to push for fairness.

If you've been scrolling through social media this week, you've probably spotted the hashtag #IWDHTX popping up. It started as a loose collective of women sharing their "heard through X" moments—those times when a woman's idea was ignored only to be repeated and praised five minutes later by a man. Now it's become a global scrapbook of everyday sexism and the small victories against it. It's raw, it's real, and it's exactly the kind of ground-level conversation IWD should be about.

So what are the shifts these women are actually making happen? Here are a few I've noticed:

• Redefining leadership: Moving from command-and-control to culture-and-care. Women like Mirella prove that strong teams are built on trust, not fear.
• Championing equity over equality: Neha's point exactly—fairness means giving different people different tools, not treating everyone the same.
• Building community networks: Whether through NFPs or online conversations like #IWDHTX, women are creating safety nets where none existed.

This IWD, don't just celebrate the names on the posters. Raise a glass to the Saritas, the Mirellas, the Nehas—the wāhine toa who, through everyday decisions and quiet leadership, are shaping the Aotearoa we all want to live in. And if you're scrolling through #IWDHTX this weekend, take a moment to really read their stories. You'll walk away with more than inspiration. You'll walk away with a roadmap.