This conference will be delivered in four themes, to be released each week from 17 November to 8 December 2020 as a series of pre-recorded webinars.
Opening Address: Colonel Kate Lee
Colonel Kate Lee opens the conference by discussing the aim and intent of the NZ Army’s “Gender Inclusive Army” project, and introducing the project manager Captain Ruth Cornelius.
Theme 1: Gender and Physicality (Release 17 November 2020)
DR Beth Greener: “Gender Matters”
DR Greener provides a review of what “gender” means, and why it is important to develop a gender awareness in the military context.
Major Jacques Rousseau: Females in Uniform: Physiological Adaptations to Military Training
Major Rousseau provides an overview of his current research into the physical fitness and conditioning of women in the NZ Army.
Elyse Gagnon: Military Menstruation: Stories of gender and periods within the New Zealand Army
Elyse Gagnon discusses her current PhD research which will explore the menstruation experiences of women in the NZ Army.
Theme 2: Motivations and Identity (Release 24 November 2020)
Flying Officer Lenee Jefferies: Why are Women Motivated to Join the Military?
Flying Officer Jefferies provides a summary of her Masters research project which explored the motivations of women enlisting into the NZDF, and specifically into combat trades of the NZ Army.
DR Ellen Nelson: The Social Well-being of Women Officers who have left the NZ Army
DR Nelson discusses the findings of her PhD study which sought to understand the social wellbeing of women officers serving in the NZ Army and how this may have impacted on their retention.
Flight Lieutenant Mark Mieremet: The Lived Experience of Transgender NZDF Personnel
Flight Lieutenant Mieremet presents key findings of his research which explored the ways in which transgender personnel manage their gender identity within the NZDF.
Kiri Stevens & DR Bethan Greener: Masculinities in Military Contexts
DR Beth Greener presents research findings based on Kiri Steven’s Masters degree research which explored the construction and employment of military masculinity within a peacekeeping setting.
Theme 3: Performance (Release 1 December 2020)
DR Megan MacKenzie: Women in Combat
DR Mackenzie provides a review of combat exclusion policies and the findings of research into the experiences of the US military’s integration of women into combat roles. DR MacKenzie will also give an overview of her research into military sexual violence Erica Dill-Russell: The NZ Female Engagement Team
Erica gives an overview of her research into the NZ Army’s first Female Engagement Team
DR Kate Lewis: Leadership Experiences of Senior Women in the NZ Army
DR Lewis provides a review of research conducted by herself and Major Amy Brosnan in 2017 which explored both the leadership challenges and career enablers of senior women officers of the NZ Army.
Theme 4: Where to from here… (Release 8 December 2020)
Massey/Army Project Team: “Rebalancing” the NZ Army
This presentation introduces a new research project designed to develop an understanding of how gender is understood and performed within the New Zealand Army.
Major Kate Hockings-Mackie: Diversity: The value of Inclusivity in a Military Culture of Uniformity.
A conversation between CAPT Ruth Cornelius and Major Kate Hockings-Mackie which discusses a paper presented to Victoria University regarding the challenges of developing diversity within an organisation of uniformity.
Di Shirley & Michelle Tribe: Education Opportunities in the NZDF
Di Shirley and Michelle Tribe give an overview of the education support and opportunities available to all members of the NZDF, with a specific focus on opportunities available for NZ Army personnel.
Closing Address: Major General Boswell (Chief of Army)
Major General Boswell gives the closing address within which he provides a summary of why creating a gender inclusive environment is important to the New Zealand Army.
