Kia ora,
November already! This is our penultimate newsletter before we break for Christmas. Personally, I am stunned that it’s November. Never has a year been so fast, so long, and such a rollercoaster.
Financial crunch, redundancies, slumping house markets, global leaders being unpredictable, comets coming towards Earth, rich people going to space, ridiculously expensive groceries (have you seen the price of butter?). But out of these ashes, we are seeing new buds of growth.
For example, TechWomen has grown from 350 members in 2020 to nearly 900. We have increased our LinkedIn community membership to over 4,000. Our family of partners is growing, we have added new subcommittees, and our connection with other similar and supportive groups continues.
Women in New Zealand are involved in more start-ups. Did you know that in 2025, women led an estimated 20–25% of IT, AI, and digital startups in New Zealand? ChatGPT tells me that there was “notable growth in AI accessibility, health tech, and conversational platforms.” Which doesn’t surprise me, I mean, we are the chatty ones, right?
Growth and change – that comes out of the crumbling of something unstable or destroyed – new buds emerge. Change forces growth. The world is changing, NZ is reshaping industry, TechWomen is growing, and I am sure you are too in some way during 2025.
This is going to be the topic of our end-of-year Christmas panel gathering (see below for registration information). We look forward to seeing you in person again this year. I shall be in Wellington and Yvonne will be up in Auckland, along with other TechWomen members.
Heads up: We will be running a quiz, and maybe a few spot prizes will be on hand (let’s see what I can rustle up! I better talk nicely to our hosts…!). The quiz will be on what we have done this year. Check out the articles below and our website to jog your memory.
Happy Advent Calendar buying!
Amanda Watson
Executive Council Member
& Events Committee Chair
TechWomen
Read full news here: Celebrating growth, connections & what’s next
