Investing in Indigenous Women: A Path to Intergenerational Change.
Women in Māori and many Pacific Island Nations are pivotal and respected leaders in their families and communities. They not only nurture and rear children but also play significant roles in the economic sphere, caring for the health and wellbeing of Elders and advocating for the rights of their people. Handing down skills from generation to generation, as both custodians of traditional knowledge, and as contemporary people, women’s multifaceted leadership is indispensable in shaping Indigenous societies now and into the future.
“I have four children so investing in me is impacting 4x future families. Four men who will go onto having their own families. For every mama, every one of us who changes the pathway for their family, there are multiple people who benefit. Investment in me is multiplied.”
Inez White Faitala, 2023 Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity
Inez is part of the first generation to grow up outside of the pā. Her tamariki are uri of Māori, Moriori, Niue and Atiu whakapapa. Inez holds dinner table conversations with them to normalise homeownership and wealth, with the hope of seeing them grow up empowered in their own homes on their lands. She shares her story with people on social media to encourage and support others to do the same.
Inez started her own business, Indigenuity Limited, to address a knowledge and equity gap she saw in Māori communities, with the goal of demystifying homeownership for Māori families on general and Māori land. She started her career as a property valuer in Australia in 2006 and now specialises in customary land, valuation of marae, Māori homeownership and is part of a team building an iwi-led lender (which they hope to grow into a bank in the future).
“My goal is that we see a future where our mokopuna will not be tenants on our own land.”
2023 Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity Marina Alefosio is developing an international residency for Pasifika and Indigenous spoken word artists and practitioners to strengthen their voice, leadership capability and connection to culture.
Marina is an Aotearoa-born Samoan poet based in South Auckland. She has ancestral ties to the Samoan villages of Mulifanua, Leauva’a, Faleasiú and Falefa. Marina has worked with spoken word art forms, including hip-hop and theatre, for more than ten years and is passionate about using the arts to support her community with a focus on youth and women's groups.
“Investing in Indigenous communities starts with investing in families – community is family and women are the backbone of our families. When our mokopuna look back at their nurturers, and matriarchs I want them to see that she did it, she changed the story for their family.
Until being accepted into the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity program I only ever dreamed of going to university. As a single mother, graduating from this program has been a milestone for me.”
Marina Alefosio, 2023 Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity
“Investing in women for me, means nurturing my children's dreams. To be valued as a mum of two amazing island children, acknowledges that my dreams matter too, and that I am still counted as someone who can bring positive social change to the world in a creative way.”
Investing in women is key to social change because when women are given opportunities to earn, learn and lead – entire communities thrive. 70% of the 2024 Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity cohort identify as women.
We are investing in women as leaders of intergenerational social change.
Translations/definitions:
Iwi tribe, peoples, nation
Marae communal and sacred tribal meeting place
Mokopuna grandchild, grandchildren
Pā Māori village/settlement
Tamariki children
Uri descendant(s)
Whakapapa lineage, heritage, genealogy
Māori land refers to land that is owned or governed by Māori individuals, families, or communities according to Māori customary or ancestral rights (native title).
General land refers to land that is owned by individuals or entities, including the Crown (government), local authorities, or private individuals.