Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women is committed to achieving our vision that Aotearoa New Zealand is a great place for wāhine women and kōtiro girls.
The leadership team at Manatū Wāhine have in-depth private and public sector experience, specialist knowledge, and strong links with a wide range of external stakeholders. This allows us to develop and deliver the best policy advice, tools, and system leadership to drive improvements for women and girls and support them to succeed.
Paula Tesoriero
Te Tumu Whakarae mō te Wahine
Secretary for Women and Chief Executive
Paula Tesoriero MNZM PLY is Acting Chief Executive and Secretary for Women at Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women, and Secretary for Disabled People, Chief Executive of Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People.
Paula provides strategic leadership across both organisations and government to drive real and meaningful change for women and girls, disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau.
Paula was previously the Disability Rights Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, a position she held since 2017. She also acted in the role of Chief Human Rights Commissioner from May 2018 to January 2019.
Paula is an experienced Public Service leader, holding senior roles at the Ministry of Justice and Statistics New Zealand. Paula has served in various governance roles, including as Deputy Chair of Peke Waihanga – Artificial Limb Service and Deputy Chair of Nuku Ora (previously Sport Wellington) and served on the Board of Paralympics NZ. She is a life trustee of the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation and is an honorary advisor to the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Paula is a Paralympian, winning a gold medal and two bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing.
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Anna Chalmers
Deputy Secretary - Engagement, Policy and Delivery
Anna leads the Ministry’s engagement and policy team, along with the nominations service.
Anna’s role is responsible for end-to-end planning across policy, data and insights, and the Ministry’s engagement and services functions to support better outcomes for women and girls.
Anna has worked in operational and strategic leadership roles at the Ministry of Health, district health boards, Plunket, and Experience Wellington, where she built strong cohesive teams who engage and work closely with stakeholders and communities.
Prior to working in the public sector, Anna was a journalist for over ten years covering social issues.
Nadine Millin
Chief People Officer
Acting Deputy Secretary - Organisational Performance and Services
Nadine leads the design and delivery of the Ministry’s people strategy and management, including employee relations, talent management and people capability, and the corporate services functions, including Finance and Ministerial Services.
Nadine has more than 15 years’ human resources experience in both the UK and New Zealand.
Prior to joining the Ministry in 2020, Nadine held human resources contracts within the public sector, as well as senior human resources leadership roles in the private sector in both NZ and the UK, including at Air New Zealand and Cognition Education Consulting.
Nadine holds a Master of Philosophy (Hons) in Management Studies & Employment Relations and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland.