Betty Ofe-Grant

 

 

I’ve been interested in minority issues for a long time.  My husband is Tongan, so Pacific issues are especially close to my heart.  Which is why I was excited to meet PHD student Betty Ofe-Grant last year. I looked forward to sitting down with her again and hearing about her journey to where she is today, and how it’s played a large part in her PHD topic.

 

Betty’s parents came to New Zealand from Sāmoa in the first wave of immigrants to New Zealand in the 50’s and 60’s. Her father originated from Guangzhou China and Fagaloa Upolu Sāmoa, and mother from Saponaua Falealili, Sāmoa.  They originally settled in Grey Lynn and moved to Otara in South Auckland.

 

Home for Betty is South Auckland, Otara. She went to Mayfield Primary, Bairds Intermediate and then on to Sir Edmund Hillary College.  A good work ethic has always featured through Betty’s school years.

 

“My older siblings and I held part-time jobs during our High School years.  Although it was not common to work while at school back then, it was also not uncommon to hear of students working during school.  I had two part-time jobs at fast-food outlets where I worked three nights during the week after school and then the weekends.” 

 

Having that work mindset, living in south Auckland and seeing her parents work hard as immigrants has really shaped the choices that she made, her decisions, and her PHD.

 

“I saw how hard my parents worked. Dad worked at a printing firm and part-time as a car mechanic, and Mum was a wards maid for a hospital.  They just got on and did what they had to do to survive and support us.”  

 

“Looking back now the impact of working during my High School years resulted in me being tired all the time and just managing to scrape through the exams.  I was too tired to hang out with my friends – I couldn’t anyway because I had to work.  Sometimes I wished that I had gone to university straight from school but I had to work and help support the family.” 

 

With 6 siblings and other families coming to live with them, they were often living in overcrowded conditions.  “No one talked about ‘overcrowding’ back then or even mentioned it at school.  It was just the way it was for me and a few other students.  My teachers and friends would never have known I was working two jobs while at school and living in a crowded home without a space to study for exams.” 

 

“The irony is that my first full-time job was working for Housing Corporation in Manukau City, in the Mortgage-Loans arrears department, and then Otara in the Rentals sections for low incomes and emergency statuses that included providing housing for families living in overcrowded homes.  I enjoyed working there and stayed with them for a few years.  I also worked for a time at the Department of Social Welfare (now WINZ) and then at the ASB Bank.”

 

It was not until she went temping that she discovered her love of human resources from being introduced to so many different industries and working environments.

 

It was in this time of her life that she observed so many differences between companies, and how they operated, and the differences for Pacific people.  

 

She still remembers vividly when she was temping in human resources and going to a team meeting where the whole company was invited.  There was a clear division between the Manufacturing (mostly Maori and Pacific) and Management (European/Pakeha) staff, based on where they sat in the room: on either side of each other.    

 

“I walked into the meeting room, saw the division between staff, and didn’t know where I should be sitting.  I felt really uncomfortable, so I took my chair and dragged it into the middle of the room. Which side of the room should I be sitting with?  That image of segregation has always haunted me.  Nowadays, most organizations have an awareness of diversity and inclusivity, so working conditions may have improved since then.”

 

Although she is quietly spoken and reserved in person Betty loved the energy that came with temping.  You can tell she’s a thinker.  She was interested in the dynamics of how organisations worked and she liked the fast moving pace and excitement of going to a new job.  She became very good at picking up new skills and adapting to new environments.

 

It was not until 2009 when she went fulltime into her studies with her bachelor then master degrees, and now a PHD.  She wishes she had done it earlier, but in hindsight if she didn’t have that work experience, real life experience and passion she may have taken a different path. 

 

“My thesis is based on what I term as a ‘real people’ topic.  Sāmoans and Tagata Pasifika may be experiencing a ‘brown glass ceiling’, and so I am giving them a vehicle of ‘voice’ to bring these issues to the surface.  There isn’t a lot of information in the academy about this phenomenon and so I feel the need to provide a cultural space for them.”

 

From her experience Pacific people may be reluctant to talk about their career successes, or with self-promotion at work.  

 

Are businesses missing out on great people because of this difference in communication?  

 

It’s a good question and one that Betty is going to explore and write about. “Pasifika people are talented, qualified and intelligent, but sometimes let themselves down in working environments due to cultural institutions, tradition and protocol that may be misrepresented at work, and it is something that really needs to be explored.”

 

Betty’s other passion is being an artist and sculptor.  She used to exhibit her art and tutor art workshops, but while she is studying she prefers to keep it at bay to focus on her PHD.  One of her paintings sold for several thousand dollars with 100% of the proceeds donated to Kidscan. That money went towards purchasing raincoats for low decile schools in South Auckland, including her former school, Mayfield Primary. 

 

 

“That was a buzz and a real highlight in my art career to give back to my community.” 

 

What a lucky community!