Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 28, 2019
When Queen Elizabeth appointed her as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit as a part of her Birthday Honours List in June 2016, we said that Dr Pushpa Wood richly deserved the honour and that it was long overdue.
She received the honour for her services to Financial Literacy and Interfaith Relations.
She was the first woman and first New Zealander to be awarded for the services mentioned.
Now, the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre Director has been named one of the 30 Finalists in the year’s ‘NEXT Woman of the Year Awards.’
The Winners will be announced at the Awards Night scheduled to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2019 in Auckland.
Improving financial literacy
“While New Zealand is doing well in terms of global ratings for financial literacy, Pushpa says that there are gaps in knowledge among youth, and Maori and Pasifika people. A recognised international expert in financial literacy, she has conducted 30 years of high-quality research and translated this into ‘real world’ training resources,” the NEXT intro on its website said.
Ms Wood has worked across the School, Tertiary, NGO and business sectors.
The gallery of finalists will do us proud as New Zealanders.
Celebrated Finalists
One of them had two patented innovations to her name before the age of 25, while another has an asteroid named after her.
“These women are successful with a capital S. But what makes them truly remarkable, and why we think it is so important to celebrate them, is that their efforts are for the good of others. Their success makes a difference to New Zealand as a whole. And that is inspirational. Whether they are empowering others in their field, directly benefitting their communities or forging a new path to widen industry opportunities, our aim is to shine a light on the incredible work this diverse set of women do,” the NEXT website said.
The Awards recognise contributions of women in six categories, including Arts & Culture, Sport, Education, Community, Health & Science, and Business & Innovation.
