Being an ally means you are someone who works to understand your privileges and uses them to end inequities.
You can have (or lack) privilege because of your race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, education, religion, wealth etc. Because of these privileges or there lack of, we have unequal starting places. So being an ally is about recognising these unequal starting places and taking actions to address imbalances.
It is my warm pleasure to have two incredible allies I have met along my journey, Ruth James and Anthony Marter. They both work to understand their own unconscious biases and privileges. They understand that certain advantages and barriers exist for some but not others and give a lot to those individuals and communities who are less privileged. They will talk about their experiences of being an ally and share practical examples. This event welcomes everyone, as all of us can be an ally for someone less privileged.
Tickets can be purchased here. All proceeds will be donated to the speakers’ charities of choice. You can make a $5, $10 or $20 koha (donation).
About the Speakers
Ruth is the Tech Outreach & Engage Coordinator at Xero. She has spent the last eight years plus working in the tech outreach space in Aotearoa as well as volunteering for a number of charities who work in similar spaces such as Code Club, She# and OMG Tech. Through this work she has learned and understood the importance of being an ally and advocating for underrepresented groups in the technology sector.
When she's not doing Tech Outreach stuff she loves soap making, gardening and hanging out with her husband and two staffys.
Ruth’s charity of choice is DigiTautua, which came as a response to the need expressed by the Pacifica Community as a result of the COVID19 lockdowns and the educational inequities arising from a lack of devices and internet in the homes of their young people.
Anthony is passionate about great customer experiences and building leadership in the technology community. He has a diverse background across a wide range of industry sectors and is currently a product management coach and consultant. He's also a serial volunteer for industry, sports, arts and cultural community groups. Anthony strongly believes that the Aotearoa tech sector must become more diverse and inclusive in order to be successful.
Anthony’s charity of choice is Refugees as Survivors New Zealand, which is a leading mental health and wellbeing service for people from refugee backgrounds living in Aotearoa.