The research

This research was commissioned under te Mahere Whai Mahi Māori – the Māori Employment Action Plan. The vision for the Action Plan is that Māori exercise rangatiratanga to create intergenerational wellbeing through work (page 28).

One of the immediate actions of Te Mahere Whai Mahi Māori is researching how workplaces can be more inclusive for kaimahi Māori.

Source: Ibid, page 3.

This summary report is based on the research funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and undertaken by Professor Jarrod Haar (Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Mahuta), Associate Professor David Brougham and Professor Maree Roche (Raukawa).

The research focused on answering the following questions:

• What does inclusion mean for kaimahi Māori?
• How can workplaces be more inclusive for kaimahi Māori?
• What operational tools or policies can support a more inclusive workplace for kaimahi Māori?

The research followed a kaupapa Māori approach with 2 phases:

• In-depth interviews with 32 kaimahi Māori focussing on their experiences around inclusion
• 15 case studies of Aotearoa/New Zealand businesses with 47 interviews including business owners, executives, managers and employees.

This summary focuses on key findings from the research. The full report detailing the research and findings can be found here:

Te reo Māori words and their meanings as used in this report are as follows:

• aronga takirua – the cultural double shift where kaimahi Māori act as cultural guides and navigators in the workplace along with their usual workload
• hapū – kinship group, subtribe
• iwi – extended kinship group, tribe
• kaimahi – worker, employee
• kaimahi Māori – a Māori worker or employee
• kaitiakitanga – guardianship, stewardship
• karakia – blessing, prayer, chant
• rangatiratanga – self-determination, sovereignty, self-government, self-determination
• tangi – rites for the dead, funeral
• te reo Māori – Māori language
• Te Tiriti (o Waitangi) – The Treaty (of Waitangi)
• tikanga Māori – Māori customs, protocols
• whānau – extended family, family group
• whanaungatanga – relationship, kinship, sense of family connection.

< Inclusive workplaces for kaimahi Māori | The key findings >