Erin Roxburgh, Deputy Chair of Women in Sport Aotearoa 09.04.25

Ko Hikurangi te maunga

Ko Waiapu te awa

Ko tinaatoka te marae

Ko Te Uruahi a te Whanau te hapu

Ko Ngati Porou Te Iwi

Ko Erin Roxburgh Ahau

Being the only person like you around the board table is exhausting.

As a young Māori wahine, I am expected to speak for all young people—or all young Māori wahine. I am expected, as one person, to contribute at a board level and somehow represent countless voices of diversity. I sit at these tables and wonder—why aren’t there more voices like mine? Why am I often the only one?

Age, gender, and ethnicity seem to be barriers before we even step into the room. When I’m the only young Māori wahine at the table, how could they not be? The feeling of not being taken seriously, being boxed into fulfilling certain roles, having your advice valued only on select topics, being told you need “more experience” (when the only experience that’s valued is the one they’re looking for), “earning your stripes,” being labeled a leader of tomorrow—but why not today?

What frustrates me the most is that leadership is often framed as something that must be earned in a particular way—through years of service in the same rigid structures that have historically excluded us. But leadership isn’t just about how long you’ve been in a space. It’s about the impact you create while you’re there. And young women? We are already leading.

Why Governance Matters

Governance is about decision-making at the highest level. It determines who has power, who makes decisions, and how those decisions impact people. Governance affects everything—from the policies that shape our sports organisations to the funding allocated for community initiatives, to the opportunities (or lack thereof) available for marginalised groups. It is the framework that holds organisations, institutions, and governments accountable.

Good governance ensures that leadership is diverse, ethical, and representative of the people it serves. It is about setting direction, making sure resources are allocated wisely, and ensuring that systems work for everyone—not just a select few. But when governance structures lack diversity, they fail to reflect the realities of the communities they serve. This is why it’s so important to have young women, particularly young Māori wahine, in these spaces. Not just as token representatives, but as decision-makers.

Recycling Leadership & the Need for Change

The governance system needs a fundamental shift in how it values experience. Young women’s perspectives need to be recognised beyond just “youth issues.” Our generation brings different ways of thinking, new ways of leading, fresh solutions to old problems. That’s not a weakness—that’s an asset. Especially when the people around the board table are all the same age, making decisions with the same old mindsets.

And yet, the same people rotate in and out of governance roles like an exclusive club. Too many board directors move from one position to another simply by virtue of having had their previous role, not necessarily because they are the best person for the job. This perpetuates the same governance structures, the same decision-making styles, and the same resistance to change.

Mandating youth positions on boards could be one way to shift this cycle. But let’s be clear—this doesn’t mean unpaid intern positions where the “youth voice” is tokenised while everyone else gets a paycheck. It means real, meaningful positions where young people’s contributions are valued, respected, and compensated.

Redefining Leadership

We also need to rethink what leadership looks like.

The other day, on a work call, I felt so overwhelmed that I cried. And that’s something I’m learning to lean into. I am leaning into the ability to cry as a strength, not a weakness. It means I care deeply, that I am present, that I feel the weight of the work I do. I know that my ability to be vulnerable, to feel deeply, and to lead with empathy makes me a stronger leader. Yet, I also know that empathetic leadership is still looked down on.

Leadership has long been defined by toughness, by strategic thinking, by an almost ruthless ability to separate emotion from decision-making. The generations before me were taught that leadership meant being stoic, composed, and pragmatic at all times. I know that when they see me—a leader who embraces emotion and leads with empathy—they don’t always know what to make of it.

But leadership is evolving. We are evolving. And our governance spaces need to evolve with us.

Young women are already leading—it’s time they’re recognised.

And as young women, we need to keep knocking on those doors until they come crashing down.

Especially in my field—sports governance—I see so many young women doing incredible, governance-like work, yet they tell me they don’t have enough experience. But they do!

If you’ve organised an AGM—that’s governance.

If you’ve run fundraisers, applied for grants, or created spaces for people’s voices to be heard—that’s governance.

If you’ve managed a team, led a project, or built something from the ground up—that’s governance.

We need to stop gatekeeping what “counts” as experience and start recognising the leadership that’s already happening.

I have had the privilege of helping facilitate Whanake o te Kōpara, a young women’s leadership program, for the past few years. And these wahine make me believe anything is possible.

I see women leading in so many different ways—by being mothers, running sports teams, building communities, being empathetic friends. These voices are not just “potential” leaders. They are already leading.

And yet, they’re still being shut out of governance spaces.

These young women don’t just need a seat at the board table—they need seats. Young wahine can’t do this alone. The research is clear: meaningful change happens when there are multiple voices in the room. One person cannot be the single representative for all young people, for all young Māori, for all young women. We need systemic change, not just token representation.

Hold the Door Open (Or Build a New One)

I am fortunate that women ahead of me have held doors wide open for me. But from what I see, that isn’t the default. Governance positions come with power and influence, and too often, that power is protected rather than shared.

But if you are in a position to—please, hold the door wide open.

Or better yet, build a new door if there isn’t one.

So we can get these incredible young wahine around the table where decisions are made. Because we aren’t the leaders of tomorrow.

We are the leaders of right now.

Nga mihi

Erin

Written by Erin Roxburgh