What is TupuToa and what do they do?
About the name: ‘Tupu’ is about flourishing, thriving and growing into who you were meant to be given the best conditions and ‘Toa’ means courage.
TupuToa seeks to ensure corporate Aotearoa is representative of our country, by developing and empowering our people and building the cultural capability of their partners. Their programmes aim to address the persistent inequalities facing our communities and disrupt intergenerational disadvantage.
TupuToa works to reduce entry and advancement barriers which are biased against Māori and Pasifika communities and support organisations in successfully recruiting and onboarding Māori and Pasifika peoples.
TupuToa’s Business Model
TupuToa run a national internship programmes to inspire and capture a growing number of Māori and Pasifika young people (210 in 2019) so as to prepare them for an internship alongside university and tertiary study. They cultivate an environment where young people can dream big and rediscover their unique cultural perspectives. TupuToa run diversity and inclusion training for partner organisations (90 partners to date and counting) to enable workplace readiness to receive TupuToa interns. TupuToa interns are placed in some of New Zealand’s leading organisations to learn and experience the corporate setting first hand.
After graduating, TupuToa alumni take up graduate positions in corporate organisations that best match their interests and aspirations. Many remain connected to the TupuToa community as alumni. TupuToa run leadership training to instill the right skill sets in their alumni so that they are better positioned to take up management positions.
TUPUTOA’S IMPACT
TupuToa are removing barriers for Māori and Pasifika young people entering the corporate workforce and enabling a collective belief in their own ability to create positive change in the world. After graduating from study, interns take up jobs in some of New Zealand’s most influential organisations which enables them to support their whānau and communities. To date they have placed over 450 interns into corporate and public sector roles, with more than 80% securing graduate jobs after their internship.
TupuToa alumni create a strong leadership network supporting each other as they create benefits for the business world and Māori & Pasifika communities.
Two interesting feedback loops:
TupuToa alumni fill leadership positions and influence workplaces to be more accessible and culturally diverse.
TupuToa alumni increase the wealth of Māori & Pasifika communities and influence community aspirations.
EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
TupuToa’s research shows that only 17% of New Zealand’s top 60 firms have an executive who identifies as something other than European/Pākehā. Although Māori and Pasifika comprise around 22% of the general population (a figure which is projected to rise to 30% by 2033), they are largely absent from the leadership of corporate New Zealand. No NZX listed company has a Māori or Pasifika CEO. This lopsided demographic creates a knowledge gap, deprives businesses of the well-established benefits of diversity, and inhibits business growth. New Zealand’s future economic and social prosperity requires the development of a new generation of Māori and Pasifika business leaders who are able to recognise and seize opportunities in increasingly diverse markets, both nationally and internationally.