Year: 2025

Welcoming Tania Pouwhare as Chief Executive

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tania Pouwhare as the next Chief Executive of Good Shepherd New Zealand. Tania brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to advancing social and economic justice, particularly for women, whānau and communities most impacted by inequality and harm.

Over more than 20 years, Tania has worked across Aotearoa and the UK in roles spanning policy, campaigning, community innovation, and Indigenous economic development. Her pioneering work includes introducing social procurement in Aotearoa, co-founding Amotai (which has enabled over $460m in spend with Māori and Pasifika businesses), and leading system-change initiatives at The Southern Initiative a social innovation team at Auckland Council focused on Māori and Pasifika whānau.

She has also had a long-standing commitment to supporting women impacted by family and economic harm, including early roles with Women’s Refuge in Aotearoa and a decade leading policy and campaigns at the Women’s Resource Centre in London.

Outgoing Chief Executive, Emma Saunders, says “I’m thrilled to know Tania is stepping into the role. Over the last two years, the team has created the strong foundations needed for even more social impact in New Zealand — building capability, organisational resilience, trusted profile and presence, data and insights, new partnerships and services, and more. The Board and I wanted to ensure the next CEO could really leverage what’s been built to deepen and widen our impact for mission. Tania is a fantastic choice for our next phase. We are proud to welcome her to the team.”

Tania is widely recognised as a thought leader and changemaker. She is a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Social Equity Fellowship, an Honorary Fellow of Engineering NZ, and earlier this year was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to social innovation.

Board Chair Gael Surgenor says, “In my own experience working with Tania at Auckland Council, I have seen her combine sharp systems thinking with deep relational leadership. She is both visionary and practical – able to influence policy and strategy, while also building strong partnerships and delivering tangible outcomes. Above all, she brings an unwavering focus on equity and justice for women and girls, which sits right at the heart of Good Shepherd’s kaupapa.”

Tania will be joining us formally in late September, with time for a handover with Emma before she leaves. We’re grateful that Emma will also remain available in an advisory capacity, to help a smooth transition of leadership and continuation of our important services, pilots and partnerships.

New paper exploring dignified income

Today we released our latest policy paper, “Defining dignified income”. We use the term ‘dignified income’ to describe income that is more than just enough to scrape by – it allows for women to live fulfilled lives.

This paper explores the issues preventing women from receiving equitable employment outcomes and breaks down how we define dignified income to better understand the factors which support women’s financial outcomes.

We want to understand both the opportunities and the barriers to dignified income, to inform future work on how these opportunities can be maximised and barriers overcome.

We know that women often experience poorer pay and employment opportunities than men, and that access to income is essential for women’s quality of life, access to goods and services, financial security and safety. Having enough income is essential to ensure bills can be paid, food can be put on the table, and children can receive the resources they need to thrive. Without this, women are vulnerable to poverty and may become dependent on others to make ends meet.

In this paper, we define dignified income as enough to pay the bills with some leftover for emergency savings and treats, it’s stable and secure, and it’s safe from harm and harassment. Ideally, income is also adaptable enough to enable a fair work/life balance, and the work experience is appropriate and fulfilling. These factors are all important to ensure a person’s income is dignified, but there are many compromises people make in relation to employment and income to make work suit their lifestyle and life stage. So, one way to look at dignified income is being able to meet basic needs and earn an income that aligns with a person’s more aspirational goals and values at the time. It’s about unlocking the privilege of choice.

Read our report on defining dignified income

Reflecting on the 2024-2025 financial year

We are proud to report on the team’s operational activities and achievements over the 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 period.

The 2024-2025 financial year saw Good Shepherd New Zealand:

delivering services to thousands of women, girls and their families experiencing harm and hardship
raising awareness of social issues causing harm and hardship, and driving improvements to systems that hold people back
strengthening our capability, profile, and infrastructure, so we can make even more impact in the year to come.

It has always been a privilege to support individuals, families and communities, and we’re encouraged by the effect our services have in wider society. Analysis this year shows just how much better off everyone can be when women are safe, strong, well and connected. For example, for every dollar invested in our Family Violence Economic Harm support service, we create over $11 of social impact for New Zealand – ie, savings in healthcare, the justice system and the economy.

Our efforts brought new opportunities to reduce pressure and harm for women. Importantly, we gained support of two new funders to design and deliver a service for single older women experiencing financial barriers to housing. Given the long-term impact of gender inequities earlier in life, and the hidden problem of women’s homelessness, we are excited about what this new service might enable.

In addition to our work locally, we continued to tighten connections with Good Shepherd in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The opportunity to leverage strengths in each country will mean even more local impact. A new governance structure will bolster this enduring and vital relationship, honouring an important connection for the Sisters and mission.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have supported women and girls in New Zealand for around 140 years. We acknowledge their commitment to mission, their ongoing work and their legacy. We are deeply grateful to our incredible team and the extended governance group supporting their work. Ultimate recognition belongs to the women, girls and families we serve, whose determination and integrity spurs us on. Our work and impact from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 is summarised in the 2024-2025 Year in Review.

Learning and connection with the Sisters

The last few months brought three opportunities for Good Shepherd’s New Zealand team to spend quality time with the Sisters carrying on a legacy of purpose first established in 1886.

Good Shepherd was originally founded in France in 1835 by Saint Mary Euphrasia, with the determination to assist women and children in most need. The mission spread around the world. The Sisters began to serve in Ōtautahi / Christchurch about 50 years later.

Over the last decade, our local Sisters have started to retire. Others continue the work as ‘Partners in Mission’. Our connection with the Sisters locally and globally remains important. Reconnecting with their wisdom and leadership is an energising experience and a valued privilege for our team.

In May, the Sisters and other leaders of Good Shepherd in New Zealand and Australia attended a three-day Province Assembly in Melbourne. The event’s theme was ‘Journeying together with hope’. Joined by Sr Joan Lopez, Congregational Leader, and three members of the Congregational Leadership Team – Srs Josita Corera, Marie Francoise Mestry and Yolanda Sanchez – we reflected, shared perspectives and talked about the future we are working for. This brought a treasured opportunity to collaborate in person and determine how we will work alongside others and provide support in our wider Asia-Pacific region. The Sisters in New Zealand and Australia have always worked closely and we continue as partners in our mission.

Following the Province Assembly, Sisters from the Congregational Leadership Team visited Good Shepherd’s Auckland office. It was an honour to host them and talk together about the mission in New Zealand, strengthening connections and sharing stories of our work.

In July, our team and board were thrilled to welcome a group of Sisters and other governance leaders from New Zealand and Australia for a day of collaboration and connection at Te Māhurehure Cultural Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau. The day was a chance to deepen personal connections to the mission, absorb the wisdom of the Sisters, and reflect on changes we want to make to our services to make even more positive impact for people.

Emma Saunders, Chief Executive at Good Shepherd New Zealand says:

“Time with the Sisters is always incredibly enriching. They dedicate their lives to service for our mission. The team loved hearing their thoughts about issues facing women, girls and their families in Aotearoa, and discussing existing and future services.”

Social return on investment reports show value of GSNZ services

Independent analysis finds that our services deliver incredible social good for New Zealanders – between $3.40 and $11.80 generated for every dollar spent.

Over the last few months, Good Shepherd NZ has been working alongside MartinJenkins to calculate the social return on investment for two of our services: Good Loans and the Family violence economic harm support service.

Social return on investment calculates the value to society from every dollar invested in a service. This includes factors such as economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits, as well as financial benefits from cost savings (avoided government expenditure).

MartinJenkins used data collected by Good Shepherd NZ through our regular impact surveys to provide an independent assessment on whether outcomes are being achieved. They take a robust and conservative approach to quantification, focusing on impacts with the biggest quantifiable benefits and using peer-reviewed academic literature and systematic reviews to provide evidence of benefits.

Our Chief Executive, Emma Saunders says “We are deeply grateful for the time and effort of the MartinJenkins team to deliver these reports. It is important to measure impact so we know which aspects of our work could be continued, improved or reconsidered to make sure our efforts get the best results for women, girls and their families.”

Social return on investment assessment for the GoodLoans service, as delivered in 2024, shows that for every $1 invested, $3.40 of social impacts were generated. This number is generated from the quantified benefits (estimated value of the benefits of improved financial wellbeing for adults on low incomes), to a total to $4.7 million, and the cost to run the service.

Social return on investment assessment for the family violence economic harm support service, as delivered in 2024, shows that for every $1 invested, $3.49 of social impacts were generated. This number is generated from the quantified benefits (the estimated value of societal benefits of improved financial wellbeing of adults on low incomes), to a total to $4.4 million, and the cost to run the service.

In calculating the full cost of the family violence economic harm service, MartinJenkins included the costs to businesses who write off debt. When business write off debt, they miss out on the income associated with the debt being paid back. If only the cost to Good Shepherd NZ is considered in the analysis (i.e. the amount of money we spend to run the service) and cost of writing off debt is excluded, then the ratio changes. When costs for businesses are excluded, for every $1 invested in the FVEH support service, $11.80 of social impacts are generated.

The reports also show that our services have other benefits to society that we don’t currently have the data to quantify. This includes improvements across mental and physical health, housing, income, safety, and connection to community.

Read Good Shepherd NZ’s social return on investment reports

Insider’s Guide podcast focuses on economic abuse

The Are You OK family violence support platform has released a podcast episode to help people understand what it’s like to experience and overcome economic abuse connected to family or partner violence.

The Insider’s Guide series explores issues connected with family violence and offers information and support for people experiencing it. People who have experienced abuse share their stories to help others understand they’re not alone and support is available.

In the ‘Surviving Economic Abuse’ episode, Good Shepherd’s Family Violence Economic Harm Service Manager Beryl shares her perspectives about this form of abuse and the harm it causes. The episode follows the story of an incredible woman whose strength we got to see firsthand as we supported her to uncover and recover from abuse.

We acknowledge the support BNZ provided to help the featured Good Shepherd client navigate the process of resolving debt taken out in her name without consent.

The Insider’s Guide is an excellent resource. This episode can help anyone wanting to better understand the lived experience of family violence economic abuse and the barriers to addressing it.

Listen to the Insider’s Guide

Family violence economic harm in the spotlight

Good Shepherd New Zealand is proud to contribute to the fantastic Breaking Silence video series, now in its fourth season.

One woman’s experience helps to shine a light on family violence economic abuse and harm in a Breaking Silence episode dedicated to illustrating how this type of harm can occur.

The woman, whose identity is protected, is a client of Good Shepherd. She shares how a loving marriage evolved into a controlling relationship, and how her husband racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in her name.

Good Shepherd team member Vanessa Mazzola also appears in the story to discuss the signs of economic abuse relating to family violence, and what banks are doing to better support affected customers.

We are grateful to have walked alongside the woman featured in this story, whose resilience and hope continue to motivate us.

Thank you to the excellent team behind Breaking Silence, and to Tagata Pasifika for helping to tell these important stories.

New report on the financial barriers to exiting abusive relationships

Today we released our report on “Barriers to Exit: How financial barriers prevent women from leaving abusive relationships”. This work pulls together information from our client research with academic and cross-sector findings to tell a story about the financial challenges facing women when they try to leave an abusive relationship.

We see that there are many expenses involved with leaving an abusive relationship, and without accessible money it can be hard to start fresh. When including the cost of a bond to secure rental accommodation, the purchase of a car to escape, and all the associated costs of setting up a household, our analysis finds that the up-front cost of leaving an abusive relationship comes to nearly $10,000.

The inability to leave due to not affording these expenses can be a major restriction for women seeking safety. Without financial independence, women become trapped in abusive relationships and are subject to further harm and hardship.

This paper details how abusers can utilise behaviours that weaken their partner’s financial wellbeing and security so that they have less resources available to meet these costs and leave the relationship. This includes creating a culture of financial dependency within the relationship, and leveraging joint finances to exploit and disadvantage victim-survivors. The impacts of this behaviour can put victim-survivors into serious financial hardship. Without access to wages or savings and with debt taking a cut from their weekly budget, many victim-survivors cannot purchase the goods and services needed to escape, and they cannot afford to access legal advice needed to ensure their rights and obligations are met.

We have developed seven recommendations which we believe would help victim-survivors to exit abusive relationships. There is a need for targeted interventions across a range of sectors to ensure victim-survivors do not end up trapped in abusive relationships because of a lack of finances. Not only do businesses need to improve their policies and practices for supporting customers experiencing family violence economic abuse, but cross-government action is needed to provide targeted funding and assess current settings. Joined up efforts are needed to address the complex challenges caused by family violence economic abuse, and help victim-survivors keep themselves safe, recover and thrive.

Read the report and our recommendations for change

New report on issues facing women experiencing harm and hardship

Today we are excited to release our report “Issues facing women experiencing harm and hardship” which focuses on the key financial and economic challenges that women are facing. This paper pulls together research and data from several sources and serves as a point in time view of how different factors come together to disadvantage women in New Zealand.

The paper shows that, while there is important work being done by the community, philanthropic and government sectors, there is still significant need for change. Women continue to face worse financial outcomes and remain vulnerable to harm and hardship.

On-going pay equity disparities mean women still struggle to access dignified income, which impacts their financial wellbeing and leaves them vulnerable to harm. It is also apparent that problem debt remains a pervasive issue for those in hardship and especially for those experiencing family violence economic abuse.

These challenges are harder for certain cohorts of women. In particular, Māori and Pacific women are overrepresented in family violence, housing deprivation, and gender pay gap statistics. The proportion of women on the sole parent benefit, difficulty re-entering the labour market, and the high value of unpaid child support debt shows that single mothers are also a cohort in need.

This reaffirms that women’s financial lives are not the product of discrete factors, there are many structural, systematic, and demographic issues that interact to impact whether a woman experiences hardship or harm. Complex challenges require complex solutions. We have undertaken this research as part of our work to identify and address social issues where they intersect with our financial and economic wellbeing work. This information will be used to support or identify changes that reduce and remove barriers to financial inclusion and economic participation for women. Going forward, we intend to deep-dive into some of the issues noted in this paper and present recommendations for changes that create better outcomes for women.

Read the full report

Partnering to support single older women into housing

17/04/2025

Good Shepherd New Zealand, the Selwyn Foundation and the legacies of Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and Yvonne (Mollie) Carr, proudly managed by Perpetual Guardian, are coming together to design and pilot a new support service for single older women experiencing housing instability.

Lower average salaries, economic harm from family violence, and higher representation in casual and part time work can make it hard for women to save for their future – despite wanting to. The number of people entering their senior years as renters is also increasing.

Emma Saunders, Chief Executive at Good Shepherd NZ, says:

“As a result, single older women can face financial barriers to living in healthy, secure and affordable homes that meet their needs. Some don’t have enough money to pay for bond or advance rent, afford essential appliances, make small changes to keep a home safe and accessible, or connect to utilities. We have some tools that can help.”

We are thrilled to be partnering with two organisations and the proud legacies of former Auckland Mayor Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and his daughter Yvonne (Mollie) Carr, who all have a strong track record for supporting women into their later stages of life. The Selwyn Foundation provides services to older people and their families, and uses its financial assets and leadership to drive positive social impact at scale. Perpetual Guardian has been providing estate planning options for New Zealanders for over 145 years, alongside enacting the wishes of philanthropists like Sir Ernest and Mollie, to provide social support to older people experiencing poverty and homelessness.

Thanks to funding from all parties, Good Shepherd NZ will co-design and work alongside these and other organisations supporting single older women experiencing housing challenges. We will leverage Good Shepherd’s financial wellbeing services and tools as part of an innovative and community-focused package of support. This includes our no-interest loans and family violence economic support for those experiencing intimate partner or elder abuse.

Liz Gibbs, Chief of Social Impact at The Selwyn Foundation, says:

“Through this work, we hope to remove the financial barriers for some single older women accessing safe and stable housing. We also hope to contribute to the social sector’s understanding of the experience of older women, the barriers they face, and how best to assist them.”

Supporting single older women is an important part of our mission to help women, girls and their families be safe, strong, well and connected. Their needs, priorities and decisions will guide this pilot programme so our help is effective in ways that uphold mana and dignity.

Kirsten Kilian-Taylor, Head of Philanthropy at Perpetual Guardian, says:

“The Selwyn Foundation and Good Shepherd NZ are doing great work in spaces that align beautifully to the legacies of Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and Mollie Carr and their heart intentions that our older generations are supported into housing and to move beyond deprivation and financial insecurity. This is an exciting collaboration, and we look forward to working together to help lift older women out of hardship and increase their financial and holistic wellbeing.”