Ivy Waters Memorial Scholarships in celebration of International Women’s Day.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) today announced it will offer two new scholarships to support trailblazing, ambitious women starting out their financial services careers, or who are working at BNZ.

The first scholarship focuses on supporting women through their final year of study, and will include a mentor and an internship at BNZ to gain helpful experience. The second is available to women currently working at BNZ who are not yet at a senior level but show real potential in terms of attitude and ambition.

“Today, International Women’s Day gives us the chance to not only talk about driving gender equity, but to act on it. Supporting women as they enter the workforce, or when they show great potential ensures we are positioning them in the best possible way to succeed. I’m committed to a current and future workforce that is truly reflects who our customers are. For me, that means an organisation that is both diverse and inclusive to its core,” said BNZ CEO Angie Mentis.

The scholarships are in memory of Ivy Waters, the bank’s first female staff member and Angie describes the scholarships as a wonderful way to honour Ivy’s tenacious commitment to BNZ.

“Ivy Waters was a true trailblazer. She was 24 when she started working for us in 1915 and while most female BNZers returned to domestic duties after the war, Ivy stayed at BNZ for 32 years.”

Ms Waters nieces were delighted to learn that BNZ would be launching the scholarship in their Great-Aunt’s name:

“It’s particularly meaningful that these scholarships are this year, which is the 125th Anniversary of New Zealand women getting the vote. Ivy Waters started a proud tradition in our family of working for BNZ and we’re delighted this connection will continue with the scholarships” said Maryanne Richardson, great niece of Ivy Waters.

To register an interest in The Ivy Waters Memorial Scholarships, people should email scholarships@bnz.co.nz and they will be contacted by email when applications are open.

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