“The Māori economy is not a ‘grievance’ economy - it is a burgeoning economy; an opportunity. The mindset has shifted in my 40 years of being an adult in New Zealand, and we don’t want to go backwards.” Theresa Gattung

“I’m the eldest of four girls and I’ve felt well supported by my sisters all my life. Then there’s exactly what Kiri said, the sisters of the heart. You do life with a partner, but you also do life with your closest girlfriends as well. And then there’s the sisterhood as a political movement, which is how I spend my time and money. I never realised it was wealthy women, often widows or heiress’s daughters, who funded the women’s right to vote in the US.”

“Get people who shine where you don’t, it’s the only way to take an organisation forward.”

“Women, especially women of colour, continue to face deep-seated gender inequality and are massively underrepresented when it comes to venture capital for start-ups. I’m a firm believer that through business, we can create a fairer world.”

All of the 25 young female leaders honoured in last year's Y25 Awards were entrepreneurs, she points out.

"There wasn't a single woman there who was working for a pay cheque and had a boss. And that is the future – if women aren't supported to stand powerfully in that future we're not going to be able to create a better world than the one we're currently living in."

Global Women, an organisation championing diversity in leadership, has calculated a 9.1 percent pay deficit - meaning women will be working for free until the end of the year from Monday.