Te Tāpui Atawhai - Auckland City Mission’s work to improve Māori outcomes and intentionally privilege Māori development is having a far-reaching positive impact on those working in the organisation and the people in need they support every day.

The Mission won the Supreme Award at the 2023 Diversity Awards NZ™ announced in Auckland tonight.

Diversity Works New Zealand Chief Executive Maretha Smit says the Mission has made a very real commitment to acknowledging the relationship between Māori and Tāngata Tiriti under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Two years ago, the Mission was gifted the name Te Tāpui Atawhai, representing its connections and approach to care and support. As part of the unveiling the name, the organisation acknowledged the Mission’s role in colonisation and apologised for the harm it had caused.

It went on to appoint a General Manager Māori and set up Manurau, a Māori caucus made up of 10 Māori team leaders and managers from across Te Tāpui Atawhai.

Manurau has set three main goals around promoting Māori values and practices within the Mission, Smit says. These include influencing the organisational culture, campaigning for best practices in tikanga and te reo Māori and delivering effective services to Māori.

“This mahi recognises the needs of kaimahi Māori working at Te Tāpui Atawhai as well as those accessing the organisation’s services. More than 50 per cent of those people are Māori.”

Te Tāpui Atawhai has established several programmes aimed at strengthening and healing including te reo Māori classes that acknowledge language traumas, leadership wānanga for Māori staff, a monthly pōwhiri to welcome new team members and spiritual and physical wellbeing initiatives.

Te Tāpui Atawhai General Manager Māori Joanne Reidy says, “It all creates a workplace where Māori are empowered to work in a way where they are allowed to be unapologetically Māori, which in turn will allow Te Tāpui Atawhai to operate in a way where Māori solutions are able to be developed and offered to the people who we support.”

Te Tāpui Atawhai - Auckland City Mission was also the Medium-large Organisation Winner in the Ngā Āhuatanga o te Tiriti category at the awards.

The Diversity Awards NZ™ programme offers organisations an opportunity to showcase a variety of innovative people initiatives and publicly commit to being held accountable for tangible progress in building work environments where everybody is safe to bring the best version of themselves.

Here is a full list of 2023 winners:

Leadership Award
Medium-Large Organisation Winner – Plant and Food Research New Zealand

Diverse Talent Award

Small-Medium Organisation Winner – Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand
Medium-Large Organisation Winner – LawVu
Medium-Large Organisation Highly Commended – Constellation Brands NZ

Inclusive Workplace Award
Medium-Large Organisation Winner – Hīkina Whakatutuki - Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE)
Medium-Large Organisation Winner – New Zealand Steel

Ngā Āhuatanga o te Tiriti Tohu
Small-Medium Organisation Winner – Toi Mai
Small-Medium Organisation Highly Commended – Te Kāhui Tātari Ture | Criminal Cases Review Commission
Medium-Large Organisation Winner – Te Tāpui Atawhai - Auckland City Mission
Medium-Large Organisation Highly Commended – Plant and Food Research New Zealand

Impact Award
Winner – Le Va
Highly Commended – Talent International (NZ) Ltd

Diversity Champion
Winner – Stacey Mendonca, National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)

Supreme Award
Winner: Te Tāpui Atawhai - Auckland City Mission

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