It's been a year since the police announced new measures to get more women into the force. One of those measures was a reality tv show, "Women In Blue", that followed seven female police officers on the job. Among them was Constable Bridget Suckling, who specialises in disaster victim identification. She juggles major operations such as Pike River and the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes with her work on the Auckland Search and rescue squad.She talks to Katy Gosset about why she joined the police and the impact of "Women in Blue".
A document with photographs and details of the four researchers from the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) project, Women's Voices: Recording women's stories of the Canterbury earthquakes. The researchers include Amanda England (from 2011 - 2012), Elizabeth Ashby (from 2013 - 2014), Rosemary Baird (2012 - 2014) and Brigid Buckenham (2013 - 2014).
A presentation by Dr Rosemary Du Plessis at UC CEISMIC's Contestable Fund mini-conference. The presentation was titled, "Women's Voices: recording women's experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes".
A video of a CTV News broadcast of a Ministry of Women's Affairs initiative to attract more women into trades and construction related jobs.
A series of SCIRT advertisements which feature images of women in construction.
Slides from a presentation by Dr Rosemary Du Plessis at UC CEISMIC's Contestable Fund mini-conference. The presentation was titled, "Women's Voices: recording women's experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes".
A document with a photograph and details of the Research Committee of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) project, Women's Voices: Recording women's stories of the Canterbury earthquakes. The Research Committee consisted of Liz Gordon, Rosemary Du Plessis, Judith Sutherland, Helen Gibson, Maureen Fordham, and Cheryl Anderson.
Information sheet and consent forms used on the Women's Voices project.
A copy of the first issue of Doing Gender & Disaster, a journal produced by the Gender & Disaster Network. The issue examines the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) project, Women's Voices: Recording women's stories of the Canterbury earthquakes.
A document which describes the establishment of the SCIRT Women in Construction (SWIC) group and its achievements.
Christchurch Womens Refuge says its safe houses are full as women have fled the worsening domestic violence in the city following June's powerful aftershocks.
Young women's experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic - Information sheet.
A National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) report to the Christchurch City Council. The report was written by Liz Gordon, Rosemary Du Plessis, Judith Sutherland, and Helen Gibson from the Women's Voices Research Committee. It is titled, From Stories to Action: the policy implications of the NCWNZ Women's Voices Project.
Making the most of now: Young women's experiences of COVID-19 - PowerPoint Presentation.
A report about the Women's Voices project, titled, "Movers and Shakers: women's stories from the Christchurch earthquake". The report was written by Liz Gordon, Judith Sutherland, Rosemary Du Plessis and Helen Gibson.
Report outlining the process of how the Women's Voices project was conducted.
Exploring women’s experiences of entering, working in, or leaving the Christchurch construction industry between 2010 and 2018 led to the creation of the theory of “deferential tailoring.” Deferential tailoring explains how women shape their responses to industry conditions as an intentional behavioural adjustment process. Most importantly, this theory provides insight into women’s unseen efforts to build positive workplace relationships, their capability to advance, and challenges to existing views of gender roles in this context. Research on women in construction focusses primarily on identifying and explaining barriers that impact on women’s entry, progression, and retention in the industry. There is an absence of process studies that explain the actions women take to manage industry conditions in business-as-usual, let alone post-disaster contexts. In the eight years following the 2010 Canterbury (New Zealand) earthquakes, rapid changes to the construction industry meant women had unprecedented access and new opportunities in this historically male-dominated domain. This setting provided a unique context within which to investigate how women respond to industry opportunities and challenges. The aim of this interpretive research was to construct a response theory, particular to women working in the Christchurch construction industry. Applying a constructivist grounded theory approach, theoretical sampling, coding and memo writing allowed for the collection and comparative analysis of 36 semi-structured interviews conducted with women working in a cross-section of industry occupations. Three inter- related categories were built: capitalising on opportunity, building capability and token tolerance, which together constitute the deferential tailoring process. Akin to building an invisible glass scaffold, women intentionally regulate their behaviours to successfully seize opportunities and manage social challenges. In building this scaffold, women draw heavily on personal values and positive, proactive attributes as a response to industry conditions. In contrast to previous research, which suggests that women conform to the male-dominated norms of the industry, the theory of deferential tailoring proposes that women are prepared to regulate their behaviour to address the gendered norms that impact on their work experiences. This research contributes towards an evolving body of knowledge that aims to understand how women’s entry into the construction industry, retention, and workplace relationships can be improved. By expanding the view of how women respond to industry conditions over time, this research has generated knowledge that addresses gaps in construction industry literature relating to the management of coping strategies, capitalising on opportunities, and building positive workplace relationships. Knowledge and concepts generated from this research could be integrated into recruitment and training programmes to enhance women’s professional development, shift perceptions of women’s work, and address cultural norms that impact on women’s retention in the construction industry.
A photograph of two women wearing masks on the Worcester Boulevard bridge. The women are carrying FESTA programme guides.
A photograph of two women wearing masks on the Worcester Boulevard bridge. The women are carrying FESTA programme guides.
Two women wearing dust masks.
Poster inviting potential participants to contact researchers engaged in the Young Women's Experiences of COVID-19 research project.
CTV news clip created about the Women's Voices project.
Presentation about the Women's Voices Project at NCW Hilda Lovell-Smith Suffrage Celebration, 18 November 2012
A document outlining Rosemary Du Plessis's background and work as the Research Coordinator for the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) project, Women's Voices: Recording women's stories of the Canterbury earthquakes. Du Plessis was the recipient of the May Fran Myers Award for 2014.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's Blog for 14 January 2014 entitled, "Women on Wall".
An award submission nominating SCIRT Women in Construction (SWIC) for the 2015 Diversity Awards: Category: Empowerment.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 30 December 2011 entitled, "Working Women's Waypost".
A presentation which outlines SCIRT's approach to raising the visibility of and enabling women working in construction across the SCIRT programme.
An award submission nominating SCIRT Women in Construction (SWIC) for the Hays NAWIC Excellence Awards 2015: Category: Helen Tippett Award.
Colleagues of a Christchurch man killed in February's earthquake today relived the frightening moments when the quake struck.