We Remember Past President Faye Gardiner

Faye Gardiner - RGON, BA, Diploma of Management (NZIM), Certificate in Company. Direction (IoDNZ), Registered Lead Auditor (Health) RABQSA.

Faye was a registered nurse and health services consultant with more than 30 years

We remember Past President Faye Gardiner

governance, operational and strategic management experience in both hospital and community health care agencies.

She was New Zealand born and bred and was educated at Northcote College, Auckland School of Nursing and Auckland University. She enjoyed classical music, ballet and opera, gardening, and travelling in association with BPW international events.

From 1994 she had her own consultancy business – “Quality Solutions” – providing advice and systems auditing relating to quality & risk management in health services in both New Zealand and Australia.

Faye joined BPW Tamaki in Auckland in 1996, has held club offices including president, and attended every Federation conference since then. She served at BPW NZ Federation level for nine years as Federation Vice President (2003 – 2006), President (2006 – 2009) and Immediate Past President (2009-2011).  She was passionately committed to ensuring that women have every opportunity to develop their potential and during her terms in office she instigated the BPW NZ Keys to Achievement programme, the annual Club Presidents Leadership Forum, the Governance Network and the Margery Toulson scholarship.

Faye has attended Asia Pacific Regional Meetings and BPW Australia national conferences on behalf of BPW NZ and has also served as chairperson of the International Health Standing Committee (2005 – 2011). In 2005 she presented three resolutions relating to women’s health to the International Congress in Lucerne, all of which became international policy. In 2006 she was able to take the HIV Aids issue further when she spoke on behalf of BPW International at a meeting of the World Health Organization Pacific Region about the negative impact of gender discrimination on the effectiveness of WHO HIV Aids programmes.

Faye continued to support BPW and was a member and President of BPW Tamaki in Auckland.

Faye Gardiner – Her story from BPW NZ Inspirational Women 

“I have worked in some capacity all my life, with a short gap whilst the girls were small. During that time I taught piano and also iced wedding and birthday cakes, to bring in that extra money that is always needed with small children.  I spent 19 years as a nurse and then as a service manager in health services.  During that time I studied part time and in 1993 obtained my BA in management and psychology at Auckland University, experiencing at first hand the demands and stresses of balancing work, study and family life.  In 1994 I left corporate health and moved into independent consultancy work.  Since then I have provided quality and risk management advice, systems development and auditing services to a range of health organisations.

I joined BPW Tamaki  in 1998 from seeing an advertisement in the local paper when I was looking to join a community group that was not health related. At my first meeting there were 7 members and as the speaker did not arrive, I found myself talking about my work and career in health services !  The rest, as they say, is history.  It was a very lucky day for me when I saw that advert, as I have gained so much more from BPW than I can ever hope to put back in.  I have made some wonderful friends  and had opportunities that would never have been open to me otherwise.

I never dreamed that I would one day represent New Zealand at an international congress of business and professional women, nor that I would stand in front of a World Health Organisation meeting and talk about the impact of gender discrimination or the effectiveness of programmes to combat AIDS.  Being able to meet MPs and government Ministers, discuss issues that impact on women and know that we do influence change, still blows me away.

I think my story is a fairly standard one for a woman in New Zealand in my time.  I well remember the limitations on women’s choices and independence of my mother’s day and welcomed the changes that occurred in the 60’s and 70’s.

I recall having to get Des’ signature on the hire purchase agreement when I bought a fridge despite being a working woman with pay slips to prove it!  I remember a friend who left an alcoholic violent husband, having to rely on the generosity of her family to help support her four small children in the days before the domestic purposes benefit was available. My commitment to women’s equality and empowering women to achieve their potential probably started then and is stronger than ever today.

I am proud to be associated with BPW. May it continue to empower women for many years to come.”