About Mana Wāhine
Network membership is open to anyone with an affiliation to Aotearoa New Zealand’s energy sector. To join the network, subscribe to our communication channels, including the subscribed email contacts list and our LinkedIn page.
There is no cost to join or attend events – our events are led by women and generally our presenters are women who have experience in the energy sector.
Our objectives
Grow career opportunities for women in the energy sector
Encourage women in the energy sector to develop their networks
Stimulate women’s and girls’ interest in entering the energy sector
Build awareness of the network and grow our membership
Grow the network’s reach in other areas of the country
MEET OUr org committee
rebecca mehrtens
Energy & Industrial Leader, Aurecon New Zealand
Rebecca has worked in New Zealand’s infrastructure sector for almost 20 years, with key roles across government, private sector, and consultancy. Currently leading the Energy and Industrial practice for international consultancy Aurecon, Rebecca has a wealth of experience leading teams, and working with a wide range of stakeholders. She’s passionate about Diversity & Inclusion and has been instrumental in establishing Aurecon New Zealand’s wāhine group.
Areta mackey
Site Support Services Manager,
Huntly Power Station - Genesis Energy
Areta leads the many supporting functions on site at the Huntly Power station. An HR practitioner by background but a convert into the world of operations, Areta loves to champion initiatives that enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. With a passion for te ao Māori and on a lifelong learning journey herself, Areta believes it can be the magic ingredient that enhances organisational culture.
li ing peh
Senior Strategic Engineer,
Transpower
Li Ing is an accomplished engineer with 17 years of experience in project management, asset maintenance and reliability engineering from manufacturing and energy sectors in Aotearoa and the United States. A strategic and influential leader with proven track records of leading change across multi-teams and disciplines by creating inclusive culture to collaborate.
megan matthews
General Manager, Global Compare Group Limited & Counties Energy Trustee
Megan has spent 15+ years in the energy industry heading up growth, operations, marketing & customer experience for key retailers. She’s committed to fostering inclusivity & outcomes through her role as a Counties Energy Trustee & GM of Global Compare Group, working with government, community & retail stakeholders across energy, telco & the finance sectors.
bRIGHID KELLY
Executive General Manager, People, Transpower
Brighid joined Transpower in 2018 and is the Executive Sponsor of Mana Wāhine. Previously, Brighid was General Manager People at Tourism NZ and held senior roles at Te Papa, Telecom, BNZ and Fletcher Challenge Forests. She is currently responsible for the implementation of Transpower’s workforce plan and health and safety. Brighid is the driving force behind a sector-wide Diversity, Equity and Belonging Working Group that is striving for real change in the sector.
gaya paranisamy
Senior Cost Estimator, Transpower
Gaya Paranisamy brings over 15 years of experience as a Quantity Surveyor and Cost Estimator across diverse industries. In her role at Transpower, she is responsible for estimating Substation and Lines projects. In addition to her professional role, Gaya has also served as the President of the United Nations Association of New Zealand, advocating passionately for Climate Change and Gender Equality.
Pledge your support
We continue to partner with and seek support from aligned organisations to grow opportunities for women in the energy sector. If you’re interested in supporting our Mana Wāhine network please contact us.
about FAQs
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The energy sector is critical to meeting climate change objectives but is skills constrained, with an ageing workforce and an ethnic and gender diversity that does not reflect the communities in which it operates. To support the energy transition we need a diversity of skills and solutions – old thinking won’t get us there. As an industry we need to be an attractive employer for people from all demographic groups, ethnicities and genders. We have chosen to focus our effort on women, as it can be hard being a woman in the energy sector of today.
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Our mahi focuses on creating spaces for networking, mentoring and learning. We’ve found that our members really value our events as ways to connect with each other. These connections can be crucial to women developing engaged, successful and personally rewarding careers in our sector. We hope that by giving our time we can make it that little bit easier for women to thrive and at the same time make the sector more accommodating of diversity. We all win when we have a bigger skills pool and we have more diverse inputs to energy sector conversations.
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