First Ever Digital Directory for Kiwi Women Launched
YWCA Auckland and YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand launch new search engine for women’s services in NZ.
YWCA Auckland and YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand, with the support of the Ministry for Women, are excited to announce the
launch of The ‘W’ Directory for women.
The ‘W’ Directory is a first of its kind in NZ, a digital hub and search engine that brings together all the
organisations, services, funds and opportunities available to Kiwi women. ‘W’ stands for wāhine/women, and is designed
to be used by all women in New Zealand regardless of their age and stage in life.
Users can search for services to support them in all aspects of their lives, including topics as diverse as health and
wellbeing, parenting and personal development. The directory currently lists over 200 services nationwide and is still
expanding.
New Zealand women are greatly in need of more information on the services available to them. “Our annual Insights
research, undertaken among women between the ages of 16 - 60, has repeatedly shown that women urgently need information
on help that’s available to them,” says YWCA Auckland acting-CEO Kat Doughty. “However they do not know where to access
this information.”
Prior to The 'W', there was no database or overview of the services available to women in NZ. “The ‘W’ was created to
fill this need, so we may be better informed on how we can fill the gaps and avoid duplication when it comes to serving
the needs of Kiwi women.” says Liv Doogue, Executive Officer of YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand.
Furthermore in the wake of the #metoo movement, the need for women to be informed of and empowered in their options and
choices has never been a more relevant. “One of the issues that arose from #metoo is that women feel they have limited
resources for dealing with issues such as sexual harassment.” says Doughty.”Our mission is for every woman to know they
have choices available to them. And hopefully The 'W' Directory can help by providing clear information on all the help
and services available.”
The 'W' Directory is live now at wonline.nz
ENDS