Francesca Holloway

Francesca is a long-standing believer in women’s rights and the importance of women having access to single-sex facilities, as well as the ability to express their views without being censored or cancelled.

Her professional life has included being a primary school teacher, working for the anti-apartheid movement in 1981, and working extensively in the NGO sector as a senior manager with expertise in community health, communications, and advocacy.

She says these positions made her increasingly aware of the issues facing women today, while also requiring her to be careful about expressing her own views—a restriction she says she is now able to move beyond in retirement.

Her volunteer work has been varied, including supporting the development and adoption of the Working Women’s Charter in New Zealand, serving as a board member and President of the Dunedin YWCA, being appointed or elected to several funding bodies, being active in two political parties, representing consumer interests in health, and working on disability issues.

She says that, like many others, she watched the Albert Park events in 2023 unfold with a mixture of rage and horror as women were silenced and threatened. Attending meetings with overseas speakers and presenters led her to join the Women’s Rights Party last year, both to show solidarity with the women and men willing to speak out and to bring her experience of political and social issues to the table.