Diversity Drive To Boost Maori & Pasifika Influence In Booming Tech Sector

Maori & Pasifika make up just 2% of NZ tech sector

Auckland Council’s addressing the disconcerting statistic of Maori & Pasifika making up just 2% of New Zealand’s tech-sector workforce.

In an effort to boost a critical diversity of influence in one of the world’s fastest growing sectors, Auckland Council’s Southern Initiative is partnering with career development organisation Mission Ready, to offer 31 tech-pathway scholarships early next year.

Mission Ready director Diana Sharma says New Zealand’s tech industry needs to avoid the consequences of an alarmingly disproportionate representation of Maori & Pasifika within their sector when those cultures represent a fast growing proportion of the country’s population - 16.5% and 9% respectively.

“The fact that technology has taken over our lives from the way we shop, to the way we communicate, only makes it more important for greater Māori and Pasifika input and insight into what is a very strategic and pan-culture sector,” says Diana.

“New Zealand’s tech companies also need to ensure diversity within their workforce in order to create products and services that will matter to, and reach, their customers.”

Mission Ready also emphasises the importance of growing a socially responsible - and socially responsive – talent pool for a sector that is facing a rapidly growing skills shortage.

“Mission Ready’s vision is to create a better world by developing and coaching talented, creative individuals and guiding them into exciting tech-enabled careers with organisations that care,” says Diana.

The scholarships are on offer from February next year for Maori and Pasifika candidates aged 16 to 40 years. For more information about the scholarships please click here.

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