Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui

Kia ora koutou. This week, we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week), an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand. The theme for Te Wiki 2024, ‘Ake ake ake – A Forever Language,’ captures the resilience, adaptability, and enduring spirit of te reo Māori. Te Reo Māori is an ‘inclusive’ language. Well-being is also encompassed within te Reo, for example, ‘manaakitanga’. This is to enhance (aki) the inherent self-worth (mana) of an individual. As we mark our 10th year of delivering rainbow inclusion services, we are excited to announce our new name: Toitū Takatāpui. This name honours the enduring presence of tāngata Takatāpui and underscores our role as a Kaupapa Māori provider of diversity and inclusion services.

This month our team was thrilled to welcome Wiki and Taylor from Rainbow Tick Toitū Takatāpui to our space, where we hosted a regional network event with other accredited network members from Ōtautahi Christchurch. Network members include those who have gone through a thorough evaluation of workplace culture, policies, and practices by Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui. Once specific criteria are demonstrated and met, members achieve certified accreditation. CerebralFix became an accredited member for the programme in 2024. At the network event we connected and shared learnings and ideas over a delicious breakfast together. Hosting this event was a great way to share our experience with others in the network, and build strong continuing relationships. We are so proud of the work done by our team and other accredited members in the region, alongside the team at Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui, to create inclusive workplaces for members and allies of the LGBTTQIA+ community. #RainbowTick #CerebralFix #ChristchurchNZ

🌈 Connecting for Progress: Newmarket Rainbow Network Meeting🌈   This week, Kimberly-Clark hosted the Newmarket Rainbow Network meeting at its Newmarket office. This quarterly gathering is a valuable opportunity for Rainbow Tick certified organizations in Newmarket, including Kimberly-Clark and Vector Limited, to connect and share their ongoing DEI journeys. Our Accreditation Manager, Wiki Gillard, and Accreditation Specialist, Taylor Le Cui, PhD, represented Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui at the event. By bringing these certified organizations together, we aim to foster meaningful connections and explore new opportunities for collaboration.   Interested in joining this vibrant network? The Newmarket Rainbow Network meets quarterly. If your organization is Rainbow Tick accredited and based in the Newmarket area, please reach out to Shayleen Taylor at staylor@kcc.com.

🌈 Rainbow Tick Regional Networking Event in Christchurch 🌈   We're delighted to announce that Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui recently organised a dynamic regional networking event in Christchurch, kindly hosted by CerebralFix Limited. This gathering was a fantastic opportunity for our Christchurch accredited members to network, share experiences and discuss strategies for promoting Rainbow Inclusion in their workplaces.   Our Accreditation Manager, Wiki Gillard, and Accreditation Specialist, Taylor Le Cui, PhD, represented Rainbow Tick at the event. Following the networking session, they joined the celebration at Chapman Tripp's Christchurch office, where we proudly marked their impressive achievement of Rainbow Tick re-accreditation for the third consecutive year.   By facilitating these important conversations and connections in Christchurch, we aim to raise the visibility of Rainbow and support ongoing discussions about inclusion across the South Island.

Last week our teams came together to celebrate achieving Rainbow Tick re-accreditation for the third year in a row. Whether it be with cupcakes with the Christchurch team or Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at our Wellington and Auckland offices, the teams took a moment to reflect on our progress to date. Accreditation with the Rainbow Tick recognises the dedicated efforts to implement and maintain inclusive practices, fostering an environment where all people can bring their authentic selves to work. We were also joined by Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui Programme Director Wiki Gillard and Accreditation specialists Taylor Le Cui, PhD, who congratulated the work we have done so far including building strong Rainbow communities and our ongoing commitment to providing regular education and training.

Our teams were celebrating our Rainbow Tick re-accreditation and Wear it Purple Day at all of our sites across NZ today. It was great to see so much purple around the clinics as our teams showed their support for Rainbow youth. 💜🌈 #RainbowTick #WearItPurpleDay #Diversity #Inclusion #Safety #Kindness #EyeInstitute #RainbowYouth

Our team at Eye Institute are celebrating our Rainbow Tick re-accreditation (4th year in a row) and Wear it Purple Day at all our sites across New Zealand today. Our team showing our support for Rainbow youth 🌈🌈😊. Eye Institute

🌈 Promoting Active Allyship at Partners Life 🌈 Recently, Pam Slater, our Rainbow Tick | Toitū Takatāpui Education Specialist, conducted an Active Allyship education session at Partners Life, one of our Rainbow Tick certified clients. Things kicked off with a lively Craig David-themed “What’s Your Flavour” icebreaker, courtesy of the Partners Life Rainbow Network. With the energy raised and the ice well and truly broken, the group delved into the concept of allyship. They explored some key principles of being an ally, with some common themes emerging among the group: to stand with, to hold space, to tautoko, to advocate, to amplify, to stand up, and to speak up. Participants also examined some common barriers to safety and inclusion for Takatāpui and Rainbow communities, discussing how unintentional and even subconscious comments or actions can reinforce harmful stereotypes (microaggressions) and the impact this can have. They also worked through specific examples of microaggressions in the workplace and explored some practical strategies for responding as an ally. One participant shared, “Rainbow Tick sessions always make me feel more comfortable with my journey as an ally. I used to pressure myself to know everything about the Rainbow community and to speak out at every moment of perceived injustice or discrimination. The session with Pam reminded me that allyship is an ongoing journey, the community is ever-evolving, and it's crucial to consider our approach before acting. Sometimes, our efforts to advocate for inclusion can unintentionally harm those we aim to support.” Pam said she thoroughly enjoyed her time at Partners Life. “The team extended beautiful manaakitanga and were incredibly open and eager to engage in important kōrero. Their genuine commitment to learning more and contributing to greater safety and inclusion for Takatāpui and Rainbow communities was evident.”

Toitū Takatāpui: A new name honouring the enduring existence of tāngata Takatāpui and recognising our positioning as a Kaupapa Māori provider of diversity and inclusion services.    We are thrilled to share our new name, which has been gifted to us by Tipene Lemon (Ngāti Hine), Pou Tāhuhu | Deputy CEO of Kāhui Tū Kaha. Our new name has been endorsed by Prue Kapua, Chairperson of the Kāhui Tū Kaha Board of Directors, and other leaders.   Toitū Takatāpui is a name that speaks to the enduring existence of tāngata Takatāpui. A name that we humbly accept as a constant reminder of the history of Aotearoa and of the responsibility we hold to extend manaakitanga on behalf of Ngāti Whātua. Toitū Takatāpui is a name that grounds us on this whenua and honours those who went before us. Colonisation brought restricting constructs of gender and sex to these lands but our history also teaches us that it is possible for us to integrate difference in mana-enhancing ways.   We are honoured to receive this name. We see it is a reminder – Ka mua, ka muri, we should look to the past to inform the future. The enduring existence of Takatāpui will power our efforts to advocate for the safety and wellbeing of all rainbow communities at work. Please visit our new website https://lnkd.in/gFS7nBN6

Ngā mihi to Pam from Rainbow Tick for facilitating the Rainbow 101 training for Tū Ora online 🏳️🌈 As part of our recently launched Rainbow Strategy, we had over 50 kaimahi attend online to cover the foundation understanding about the Rainbow community, a brief history in Aotearoa and different genders and sexual expressions, including pronouns. Awesome turn out - thanks team!