Hi, I'm Maree, I'm a sister, mother, grandmother and wife and...a very committed social justice campaigner, which is why I ended up in the community sector.

After starting my working life as a legal stenographer in Auckland, New Zealand I migrated across the Tasman in 1969 busying myself with being a 'good' wife and mothering my 4 children.

In about 1980 I started to realise that women were actually more than wives and mothers - we were people in our own right.   I set out on the journey of discovering who I really was and who I could become.   The Ms. Feminist me gained tertiary qualifications in community management, family health, counselling and small group work. I started working in the community sector in roles aligned to my qualifications and the social justice advocate was born.

Community development has been my strength and my passion and I take this approach to life in general - all of us live in a society which sets up structures which can either include or exclude us.

Gender has been used as powerful tool for excluding over half the population. Women have often been denied full participation in economic and civil life. Our sector is overwhelmingly made up of women. The wages are undervalued because of the gender of the workforce.

I'm very proud of the difference my being a member of this sector has made to working towards social equality. I have been privileged to meet many wonderful people who have influenced my life in particular community members with whom I have worked and the professional workers of the sector.

As I approach the final years of my community sector work, it is timely that this equal pay campaign will be successful and the sisters and daughters who will come after me will be recognised for the skill, knowledge and experience that they bring.