News Backing the next generation of wāhine in infrastructure 14/04/26 Sponsorship and sleeves rolled up The timing worked out well. On International Women’s Day, we got to announce our continued partnership with Alexia Hilbertidou and the team at GirlBoss New Zealand – and it’s a partnership that sits right in our wheelhouse. We’re sponsoring the GirlBoss Edge: Sustainability career accelerator this April, along with Orion NZ, MainPower, Omexom, Vector, Waipā Networks, and Counties Energy. Together, we’re making the 10-day programme completely free for high school students across Aotearoa. Our people are stepping up as mentors too – including Head of People and Culture Mark Lewis – sharing what a career in infrastructure actually looks like and how electrifying our economy connects to Aotearoa’s decarbonisation goals. It’s pretty hard to be what you can’t see. GirlBoss helps fix that. Why it matters to us The energy sector is changing pretty fast. To tackle the electrification of our economy and get serious about decarbonisation, we need fresh thinking and a strong local talent pipeline. GirlBoss gives young wāhine access to role models, networks, and workplaces they might not reach in their everyday lives. When rangatahi in our communities see a clear, supported path into infrastructure, it strengthens our industry and benefits the neighbourhoods we serve. GirlBoss is one part of a wider picture. We sponsor Connexis Girls with Hi-Vis to get students out of the classroom and onto our sites, so they can see what our field crews do every day. Internally, we support our current team through Te Puna Manawa, the Christchurch City Holdings Ltd Women’s Leadership Development Programme, making sure the wāhine already in our team have the backing to step into leadership roles. Tracking the numbers We’re not just backing this and hoping for the best. In September 2025, our gender pay gap dropped to 14.5% (total fixed remuneration), down from 17.3% in March 2022. Over the same period, the proportion of women in our team grew from 12% to 15.6%. To keep closing that gap, we need more women in senior and trade roles. We know balancing a career and a whānau is a real challenge, so we’ve also updated our flexible working and parental leave policies so every team member can share childcare responsibilities. When the whole whānau is supported, everyone has more room to grow. “If one conversation changes the way a young wāhine sees her options, that’s a pretty good use of a Tuesday afternoon.” — Mark Lewis, Head of People and Culture
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