The Monthly Newsletter  |
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A note from our founderKia ora, September gave us two very different rooms. On the 3rd we were at Les Mills Auckland City for No Pain, All Gain: Getting Fit for AI, our panel on diversity and AI for impact. There was something fitting about talking honestly about AI in a gym, a place built on the idea that progress takes effort, support and showing up. The table discussions afterwards were the part I loved most, people swapping what they are actually building and what they are still figuring out. Then to Wellington for the Aotearoa AI Summit on the 8th and 9th, where our national hackathon finalists took the stage to pitch. I could not be prouder to share that team Kai Line took home the technical prize at national judging. I also had the privilege of moderating a panel on earning trust in AI, which sits close to the heart of what we are all trying to build. Our next event is on 8 October: Beyond the Code, on women leading the future of cybersecurity and AI, at Xero in Auckland. Whether you are just starting out or well into your career, there is a place for you in the room. None of this happens without you. Every person who shows up, mentors, asks a question or brings a friend is part of why She Sharp keeps growing. Thank you for being part of it.  | Dr. Mahsa McCauley, Founder & Chair, She Sharp |
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Next up · 8 October Beyond the Code: Women Leading the Future of Cybersecurity and AIThursday, October 8 · 5:00pm – 8:00pm NZDT · Xero Office (Level 2), Auckland |
An evening at Xero in Parnell with Secure Code Warrior: a live secure-coding tournament with prizes, a keynote from Secure Code Warrior co-founder Fatemah Beydoun, and a panel of women leaders on the critical role of cybersecurity in AI. Bring a laptop and a charger. |
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Last month Looking backNo Pain, All Gain – Getting Fit for AI: Event Recap |
On 3 September, She Sharp and Les Mills International brought together four Les Mills leaders: Keryn McKenzie (Data & AI), Carolina Lobos (Head of Finance – LM Media & Automation Lead), Ben Sullivan (Legal), and Gemma Lynskey (Comms & Org Development), for an honest look at how AI is playing out across a real business, not just the tech team. The stories were refreshingly candid: a class-timetabling AI project that broke over the holidays for no clear reason, an internal agent that helps staff write their annual goals, and a $180 coding experiment that dropped to $8 once the prompts got sharper. The finance team's audit of 46 "AI use cases" found a third were really just report fixes, a good reminder that AI's biggest value is often just forcing you to name the problem clearly. Asked what skills matter most going forward, the panel kept landing on the same answers: curiosity, critical thinking, communication, and resilience. Afterwards, tables broke into discussions on Data & AI, Commercial, Legal & Privacy, and People & Change, then reported back on what they agreed on, what they couldn't settle, and one thing to try on Monday. Thanks to Les Mills for hosting and to everyone who pulled up a chair and got stuck into the discussion. |
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NZ Tech Pulse 17.6% of ICT job ads now mention AI skills AI skills are mentioned in 17.6% of Information & Communication Technology job ads, more than in any other field. Source What we're reading The gap between men's and women's median pay barely moved Stats NZ put the gender pay gap at 5.3% for the June 2026 quarter, up 0.1 percentage points on the year before. If you have a pay review coming, that is where the conversation starts. 25 Aug → |
Ahead of the vote, parties split on how to handle AI and jobs 58.5% of employers told BusinessNZ that AI and robotics will significantly change their workforce in the next five to 10 years. The parties' answers range from a Citizen's Income to a moratorium on AI data centres. 17 Sept → |
Girls from 90+ schools got a taste of working in tech More than 1,500 girls in Years 9–11 took part in ShadowTech26, with their schools paired with 65 host workplaces. It runs every year, so if your workplace was not one of the 65, ask about the next round. 14 Sept → |
Did you know? Women hold around 29% of professional IT roles in New Zealand — She Sharp exists to change that. (Source) |
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3500+ Members | 50+ Sponsors | 97+ Events since 2014 |
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Get involved Opportunities this monthVolunteer with us Someone set out the food, someone ran the microphone, someone counted people in at the door. None of it takes a tech background, and all of it is why the evening worked. Learn more → |
Support She Sharp We are a registered charity and our events are free to attend. Donations are what keeps them that way. Learn more → |
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With thanks Thank you to Les Mills for hosting us in their own building on Victoria Street West — the room, the food, and four of their people on the panel. |
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