Sonia Hua is the Director of the Mentoring Programme of Women in Health Network (Otago Branch).
A supportive sisterhood of tauira is putting in the mahi to help future health professionals navigate the unique issues facing them.
Women in Health Network (WiHN) is a non-profit, student-led organisation which began in 2017 in Tāmaki Makaurau. It extended its reach to wāhine at Otago in 2022.
Alongside professional development events and opportunities to socialise, WiHN is working to support female future health professionals with its mentoring programme.
Mentors who are in at least the second year of a professional programme, a BSc or Health Science degree are assigned a first year in a similar programme with whom they can share guidance and advice.
The Otago branch director of the mentoring programme, fourth year Dental student Sonia Hua, says it’s like a big sister-little sister relationship.
“There are a lot of health inequalities for women, and we know that increasing representation in the medical profession will lessen the inherent disadvantages women face when going to see a practitioner.
“To do this we have to support women going into this fast-paced and intense workforce, and one key way to do this is whakawhanaungatanga or relationship building.”
Mentors can provide first year students with help navigating academic or pastoral struggles and also provide a friendly familiar face.
Sonia says another crucial element of the programme is providing visual representation of a woman succeeding in one of these degrees.
“As women, people often tell us we can’t do things. It's helpful to see someone just like you achieving the thing you want - it shows you that you CAN do it.”
Mentor Salma Abdalla is in the final year of her Pharmacy degree, she was on the executive committee of WiHN last year but really craved the personal one-to-one relationships she had experienced in her time as an RA.
“My mentee is really special, and I find our relationship so rewarding. I see her as my little sister, and I cherish my role helping her to navigate what can be a tricky first year.”
Salma says she loves the community of women in WiHN, especially highlighting the significance of women helping to raise up other women.
“Support and sisterhood, that’s what WiHN gives you.”
After a year in the executive committee, Salma Abdalla decided she wanted a more 'hands on' experience.
Mentor Julia Tan is a second-year Dental student who found a huge amount of solace in a similar programme at her college during her Biomedical Science degree.
Once she felt more established at Otago she wanted to return the favour.
“The transition from high school to university is so hard, and having a role model can be really helpful.”
After having a mentor in her first year, Julia Tan wanted to give back to the women in science community who had supported her.
Today, in 2023, the health sector in New Zealand is a woman-dominated field. Despite this women still face significant gender disparities throughout their careers.
The Women in Health Network website says the issues facing women health professionals today include pay gaps, uneven opportunities for advancement and unbalanced representation in leadership and decision making.
“When gender intersects with other social categorisations, such as socioeconomic status, overlapping systems of disadvantage can work against women in achieving their personal and professional aspirations.”
WiHN provides community and support to women entering these professions, which Salma says helps them to have someone to lean on, to be part of something bigger and to believe that anything is possible.
Sonia says that the group is open to anyone who identifies as a woman and/or relates to the title.
"We are working to encourage more people to be a part of our mentoring programme and wider community for the future!"
Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Alice Billington