| | From Rio to UNESCO: Journey of Global Impact and Local Leadership |
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| | π Kia ora <<First Name>> π
The past few months have been a vibrant journey across borders and ideas β from assessing transformative digital innovations in Rio de Janeiro with the World Summit Awards, to beginning a new chapter as Communication and Information Commissioner for the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO.
These experiences highlight a shared mission across Aotearoa and the world: using technology and education to drive social good, protect human rights, and foster inclusive growth. From advancing ethical AI and digital literacy to empowering underrepresented voices, the momentum continues to grow.
To continue this kaupapa, I warmly invite you to join us for a special International Womenβs Day event on 6 March 2026, where She Sharp and our partners will bring together diverse voices across technology, education, and community to celebrate, connect, and spark meaningful action for gender equity.
As 2026 unfolds, Iβm excited to keep building bridges between global collaboration and local action β ensuring that innovation, equity, and opportunity remain at the heart of our collective progress. |
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| NgΔ mihi nui
Mahsa McCauley
Founder and Chair
She Sharp Charitable Trust |
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| Next Event
She Sharp & academyEX: International Women's Day 2026
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Celebrate International Womenβs Day with She Sharp & academyEX: International Women's Day 2026 β Give To Gain: A Community Celebration for IWD 2026, a warm, community-focused evening of honest kΕrero, shared experiences, and connection centred on advancing gender equality in tech and beyond. This yearβs theme, Give To Gain, is a powerful reminder that progress grows through community; when we give our time, support, knowledge, and encouragement, we help open doors for women and girls in STEM and create a future where everyone benefits.
Join us on Friday 6 March 2026, 5:00pmβ7:30pm NZDT, at academyEX, 99 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland 1023, for a welcoming, inclusive event designed for anyone identifying as a woman who wants to connect with others in tech, be inspired by real stories, and take practical steps towards change. You can expect honest conversations, shared experiences, and networking in a supportive environment where you can show up as you areβwhether you are just starting your career, pivoting into tech, or already working in the industryβwhile being part of a vibrant She Sharp community dedicated to bridging the gender gap in STEM. |
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| Last Event Update
AI Empowerment: Shaping an Inclusive Digital Future |
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On 21 November 2025, SheSharp and HCLTech hosted an inspiring evening exploring how AI can be a powerful catalyst for more inclusive innovation, careers, and workplaces. Attendees heard how AI is already helping people unlock new levels of creativity, productivity, and problem-solving, while also confronting the responsibility to design fair, ethical, and human-centred systems.
The night featured a keynote from Rasha Y. AbuβSafieh, Head of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at UO, who shared insights on digital strategy, partnerships, and the role of diverse voices in shaping responsible AI. A panel of industry leaders β Graeme Riley (CIO, Dunedin City Council), Deb Sutton (Labour Market Advisor, MSD), Sophie Wiltshier (Callaghan Innovation), and Kerry Ryan (Principal Advisor for Secondary Transitions) β dived into how AI is changing the future of work and the skills and mindsets needed to adapt and thrive.
Guided by facilitator Steve Gadsby (Public Sector Lead APME, Consulting), the discussion highlighted why diversity in STEM is critical to building inclusive AI solutions that work for everyone. The event was proudly sponsored by HCLTech, and a visual βtasteβ of the evening β including photos and moments from the conversations β is now available via the online gallery and She Sharpβs Instagram for those who want to revisit the energy in the room. |
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Mentorship Programme Update β¨ |
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| Immediate InvitationThe first cycle of the 2026 Mentorship Programme is well underway and enthusiasm is running particularly high. At present, there is a pressing need for additional mentors. If you have ever considered sharing your experience, now is the time to make a most immediate and lasting difference for women in tech. Express interest here: Mentor Sign Up Prospective mentees are, as always, warmly encouraged to register for future intakes. Mentee Sign Up |
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The rise of Moltbook
A new security risk is emerging from βprompt wormsβ β selfβreplicating AI instructions that can spread across interconnected agents and services.
OpenClaw, a vibeβcoded personal AI assistant that connects to WhatsApp, Slack and its own social network Moltbook, exemplifies this risk by linking many semiβautonomous agents to private data and tools.β
Researchers have already uncovered hidden promptβinjection posts, popular malicious βskillsβ, and a misconfigured database exposing API keys, emails and full write access to Moltbook posts.
Such weaknesses mean a single compromise could silently seed malicious prompts into feeds consumed by hundreds of thousands of agents, turning them into unwitting amplifiers.
As more powerful local models reduce reliance on centralised API βkill switchesβ, viral prompts β not sentient AI β may drive the next major, internetβscale security incident.
Read more:
ArsTechnica Article
AI and Talent in 2030: Four Futures for Work
This white paper outlines four plausible scenarios for how AI and talent trends could reshape jobs and the global economy by 2030, highlighting both systemic risks and new opportunities. It synthesises insights from chief strategy officers and experts to identify key uncertainties and βnoβregretβ strategies that leaders can act on today. The report is designed to help organisations stressβtest their assumptions, build better foresight, and make more resilient strategic and investment decisions in an AIβdriven new economy. It forms part of the World Economic Forumβs Scenarios for the Global Economy Dialogue Series, which uses scenario analysis and crossβindustry dialogue to support decisionβmakers navigating economic transformation. WEF Article
The Great Land Grab: Billionaires Versus Communities
Five cutting-edge AI research concepts have been shortlisted to establish New Zealandβs first national AI research platform, backed by up to $70 million over seven years from the Institute for Advanced Technology. The selected proposals span bioeconomy-focused AI (BioAI), edge autonomy and autonomous systems (Aotearoa Institute for Autonomous Intelligence), large-scale agentic AI for productivity (Aotearoa Agentic AI Platform), creative and physical AI led by WΔtΔ FX, and a joint Physical AI / New Zealand AI Platform for real-world systems. Each concept receives $250,000 in seed funding to develop detailed proposals, with a final platform decision expected in the first half of 2026 and full funding from July 2026. Collectively, they aim to accelerate commercialisation, grow high-tech jobs, strengthen industryβresearch partnerships, and embed MΔori co-governance and data sovereignty. The initiative is positioned as a step-change in New Zealandβs AI capability and economic resilience, with government emphasising AI as a catalyst for sustainable growth and global competitiveness. AI Forum Article
Management as AI superpower
This article by Ethan Mollick argues that in an era of powerful βagenticβ AI, the key human advantage is not technical prompting but management skills: knowing what you want, delegating clearly, and judging quality. Ethan Mollick shows how executive MBA students used AI tools to build surprisingly advanced startup prototypes in just four days, largely because they could scope problems, define deliverables, and evaluate results effectively. He introduces a simple equation for deciding when to delegate to AI, balancing human baseline time, AI process time, and probability of success, and shows that with modern models this often saves substantial hours on complex tasks. The piece reframes prompts as βdelegation documentsβ β akin to product requirements or project briefs β and suggests that traditional management capabilities (goal-setting, feedback, and review) are becoming an AI βsuperpowerβ. Ultimately, Mollick predicts that as everyone gains access to many cheap AI βagentsβ, those who thrive will be people who know what good looks like and can communicate it clearly enough that even an AI can deliver it. OneUsefulThing Article
Let us move forward together, guided by purpose, unity, and the unwavering spirit of our remarkable community.
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