Onwards and Upwards: From the Outback to the Bay

Women are finally making a stand in the workplace as females and males are considered more equal. Hellen Munro, a 44-year-old single mum, has already started this journey working at Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

Munro grew up traveling in a caravan in the outback of Australia for many years. The experience of moving to New Zealand made her a resilient and perceptive person. “It exposed me to different environments and different cultures, for example, on our travels in our caravan we associated with Australian aboriginals in the outback.”

Munro began her career in local government as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst and then became a Senior GIS Analyst. She recently took up the role of Team Leader of Data Information at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The job involves analysing and managing data, a career option unheard of when she was young. Due to her significant role, there is a lot of pressure from other work colleagues, especially males that are above her.