Equal measures: Living behind her parents’ dairy taught Vanisa Dhiru to be helpful
Living her parents’ dream: Vanisa Dhiru got two university qualifications in 41/2 years. Photo / Supplied
Vanisa Dhiru MNZM is an equity champion who has worked in various advocacy and leadership roles, from CEO of Volunteering New Zealand to president of the National Council of Women. Dhiru also finds time to sit on advisory panels and boards for NGOs and government departments.
A lot of your work revolves around helping people from differing backgrounds and ethnicities live together peacefully. It sounds admirable – but how do we achieve that?
First, we need to understand that Aotearoa stands on bicultural foundations, then we need to ensure we are a welcoming, multicultural society. Which means everyone has to work to understand one another to have meaningful dialogue. We also need to be at peace with ourselves to work productively with others, which can be hard work, as that requires conversation and reflection, thinking and listening.
You managed to get two tertiary qualifications in just 4 1/2 years: an honours degree in design from Massey and a graduate diploma in marketing and commerce from Victoria. Why the hurry?
Neither of my parents had the opportunity to pursue higher education, so they placed enormous emphasis on formal and informal education and they always dreamed that my brother and I would go to university. So, to please my parents, I needed to get a degree because their drive for higher education was so strong. But I wanted to get university over and done with as quickly as possible, so to achieve that, I did summer schools and extra courses. I wasn’t much of a formal learner, either, and I knew I’d learn more from working than sitting in a classroom.
What was your first job after graduation?
I started at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise as an executive assistant. From there, I worked for various government agencies, a couple of non-profits and some corporates. I was mainly in comms, marketing and sponsorship until eventually I landed the CEO role at Volunteering New Zealand. From there, I led the 20/20 Trust and the YWCA, before moving to InternetNZ.
What’s something positive you’ve seen through your work recently?
Mental health is more respected now. As we come out of Covid and other national tragedies, people are more conscious of other people’s feelings. Previously, we were a bit more blasé about how people were doing mentally. Now, people can talk about their feelings more freely. There is also increased discussion around how we might support a person going through a difficult time. We can still do better, but with more of a spotlight on mental health, there’s also greater understanding, and that’s positive.
What have you learnt from leading workshops around unconscious bias?