Professor Edwina Pio

Emeritus Professor Edwina Pio ONZM is an accomplished chair and widely travelled internationally recognised speaker and scholar.

She has extensive, real-world board governance experience with strategic thinking across public, academic, and community sectors.

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About

Invested with the King’s New Zealand Honours in 2023, with an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), (for service to ethnic communities), Te Rangi Hiroa Royal Society medal, and Duke of Edinburgh Fellowship, Fulbright alumna, Emeritus Professor Edwina Pio is New Zealand’s first Professor of Diversity.

She has extensive board governance experience in the public, academic, and community sectors.

I was an elected Councillor and University Director of Diversity at the Auckland University of Technology, where I worked for over two decades. I am an eternal creative, equipped with knowledge and expertise on governance systems and structures, community involvement, consensus decision-making, knowledge of te ao Maori, and a deep awareness of New Zealand’s diverse communities. A woman of peace and prayer, a scholar of colour, and a passionately engaged educator with networks in Oceania, South Asia, Europe, the UK and the USA, I bring grace, gratitude, courage and thoughtfulness to my interactions to a range of stakeholders. I am an Associate Professorial Fellow at Oxford University UK. I have authored/edited more than eight books, 50 journal articles and book chapters on intersectional diversity, ageing, Diasporic ethnic minorities, faith, management and Indigeneity.

I have been published extensively on Indigenous issues, e.g. Oxford Encyclopaedia of Gender and Sexuality in Education. My books include Sari: Indian Women at Work in New Zealand (2008); Longing & Belonging (2010); Work & Worship (2014); Reimagining Faith & Management (2022); Aotearoa and Bharat Māori-Indian (2023); and Religious-Spirituality Diversity in Organisations (2024). At the most recent Government Performance Based Research Funding (PBRF), I was ranked world-class (A). I am a budding campanologist and a lover of art.

I currently chair the Human Participants Ethics Committee at the University of Auckland, the Health & Disability Ethics Committee for the Ministry of Health, and the Local Advisory Committee (Auckland) for Fire & Emergency New Zealand - critical roles that ensure high-level research compliance, safety, and integrity, intersecting across academic disciplines and communities

Professional Expertise

I am available for board governance, strategic advising, crafting policy and speaking engagements.

Through diverse governance and advisory structures, I successfully bridge the gap between high-level policy, ethical research, and nationwide pedagogy. I guide boards through leveraging demographic insights and multi-stakeholder engagement to drive institutional sustainability, stakeholder trust, risk mitigation, and equitable outcomes. I implement robust monitoring and oversight tools to ensure operational spend matches clear strategic outcomes. My board appointments deeply intertwine academic rigor with national ethics and social strategy.

With dignity and respect, I unsettle disciplinary boundaries, to rupture glass, concrete, and bamboo ceilings, providing inspiration, and contributing to the national discourse on social cohesion in a pluri-ethnic, pluri-religious, volatile world. My appointment as Professor Emeritus of Diversity is testament to my distinguished commitment, research, writing and engagement in Aotearoa and internationally.

With my emotional and intellectual skills, and a grateful heart, I serve as a responsible kaitaiaki and ancestor for current and future generations in our woven universe.

  • Speaking Engagements

    In-person and online presentations in a range of areas such as The Leaders Mind, Women in leadership, Change Management, Global Diasporas, Ageing, Religious spiritual diversity, Intersectionality in organisations.

  • Board Governance/Mentoring

    Strategic thinking in a stewardship paradigm. Online and in-person mentoring sessions for dealing with challenging situations. Ghost writing speeches for senior executives

  • Facilitation

    Facilitator par excellence with diplomacy, assertiveness and compassion to engage with diverse audiences and age groups.

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If you're interested in collaboration, please provide your details and I will respond promptly. I look forward to engaging with you!

Publications and Media