Join us for lunch to celebrate the launch of our Next Gen Inclusion Toolkit!

Shaped by the voices of more than 600 young women and gender-diverse people across Aotearoa, the Toolkit is designed to help employers understand and respond to the needs of the next generation. Gen Z is bringing fresh perspectives, courage, and values-driven expectations to the workplace. This event will highlight how organisations can create environments where young people feel included, motivated, and empowered to contribute. 

The Toolkit brings together youth perspectives and practical guidance, including a roadmap for employers, a youth engagement maturity stocktake to assess current practices, and workshops to share insights from young employees with senior leadership. It is a resource created to inspire meaningful action and provide organisations with clear pathways to build workplaces that young people want to be part of. 

Hear from a panel of young leaders and members of our community who are championing youth inclusion in their organisations. Together, we’ll discuss what matters most to Gen Z in the workplace, the challenges and opportunities they see, and what employers can do to respond with authenticity, care, and impact. 

• Keynote: Tania Domett (she/her), Cogo Research
  Tania is the managing director of Cogo, an insights agency she founded in 2014 that delivers research, evaluation, and strategy to clients across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is also one-third of Project Gender, a social change agency that delivers research and campaigns to improve gender equity in Aotearoa, and a co-founder of Violence Against Women charitable trust The Backbone Collective.

  She has over 20 years’ experience as a researcher and policy analyst and is a member of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA), Research Association New Zealand (RANZ), and Global Women.

  Tania uses every platform available to her to drive positive social change. In recognition of her impact, she received the 2024 Diversity Champion Award from Diversity Works.

  Tania conducted our research into ‘Workplace Insights from Young Women and Non-Binary People’.

• Young leaders panel with:

  • Holly Simpson (she/her), SkyCity Entertainment Group
    Holly Simpson is a champion for employee voice and workplace wellbeing, passionate about creating environments where people feel heard, valued, and empowered to thrive. With a background in youth development & mental health, she brings a people-centred perspective to building inclusive and supportive workplaces.

    As Chair of SkyCity’s Elevate Employee Resource Group, Holly leads initiatives that amplify young voices and promote belonging. She is dedicated to supporting the next generation of employees, helping organisations implement meaningful practices that enable them to grow, succeed, and flourish in their careers.

  • Nele Kalolo (she/her), Advocate for Pasifika Youth
    Nele Kalolo - Faga, Vaimoso, Iva, Safotu, and Puleia- strongly believes in the power of Pacific youth voices in intergenerational dialogue to build a better future.

    Through her experience as an educator and youth advocate, Nele has supported the platforming of youth voices in organisations such as Le Va, PHARMAC, and UNICEF Aotearoa. She has also been able to share Pacific youth stories internationally at United Nations COP28 in Dubai and a Prime Minister Scholar recipient at UC Chile in Santiago.

    Nele advocates in the climate sector, serving spaces such as MANAVA for Climate Resilience, Pacific Climate Warriors, and the Fossil Fuels Non-proliferation Treaty. Her work looks to create pathways for Pacific peoples to use their ancestral knowledge to combat climate change. Nele believes that cultural connection is the foundation of all Pacific youth leadership, and when we nurture our families, we encourage the next generation of Pacific excellence.

  • Sala McCarthy-Stonex (she/her), Le Sala, Tāpui
    Sala is an indigenous woman of Māori, Kanaka Māoli, Sāmoan, Tongan, Scottish, Irish, German, Welsh, and English descent. With more than a decade of professional, academic, and lived interdisciplinary and cross-sector experiences from across the globe, she is a confident strategic leader, expert systems and realmspace navigator, and natural change maker.

  • Zina Abu Ali (she/they), Aurecon
    Zina is a queer Palestinian researcher, storyteller, and DEI practitioner dedicated to advancing social transformation and justice. Grounded in her intersectional identities and proud of her heritage, Zina’s work centres lived experience and equity through initiatives, policies, and campaigns that dismantle inequitable systems and create meaningful change.

    With a background in architectural engineering, Zina is passionate about inclusive design and embedding Indigenous practices within engineering and infrastructure spaces.

    She has held multiple governance roles, beginning as Community Vice President of AUTSA during her studies, and currently serves as an Executive Board Member of Rainbow Auckland.

    Zina’s research and storytelling highlight the experiences and systemic barriers faced by queer ethnic young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her co-authored publications have appeared in LGBTQ+ Family, the Journal of LGBT Youth, SAGE, and other forthcoming journals, contributing to the growing body of work on queer ethnic communities.

We warmly invite you to join us for this important kōrero, to celebrate the launch of this exciting new resource, and to connect with one another over yummy kai. 

Event details 

• Date: Thursday 30 October

• Time: 12:00 – 1:30pm 

• Location: Powerplant Meeting Room at Precinct Flex Wynyard Quarter, 12 Madden Street, Auckland Central

• Please RSVP by Friday 24 October using the member and non-member forms below.