Dr Jo Cribb resigns as chief executive of New Zealand’s Ministry for Women

By on 20/06/2016 | Updated on 25/09/2020
Dr Jo Cribb has been chief executive of New Zealand’s Ministry for Women since November 2012

The civil servant in charge of New Zealand’s Ministry for Women is resigning after almost four years in the role, it has been announced today.

Dr Jo Cribb has been chief executive of the department, which advises the government on policies and issues affecting women, since November 2012 after working as deputy children’s commissioner at the Office of the Children’s Commission.  

Prior to this, she led policy and research work at a number of government agencies, including the Ministry of Social Development, the Families Commission, the Department of Internal Affairs and the State Services Commission.

She was awarded a PhD in Public Policy from Victoria University and holds post-graduate qualifications from the University of Canterbury and the University of Cambridge, in the UK.

State services commissioner Iain Rennie, who announced Cribb’s resignation, described her as a “tireless advocate for women”, and a “dedicated professional who has been strongly committed to achieving better outcomes for women in New Zealand.”

Rennie said: “She has led the Ministry for Women for the last four years to influence the policy and approach of government agencies, NGOs, iwi and Pacific organisations, and the business sector to achieve positive outcomes for women.”

He added that Dr Cribb had indicated a desire to move on to work on a number of research, policy and community projects that she is passionate about.

The Ministry for Women – formerly called the Ministry for Women’s Affairs, which was established in 1984, provides policy advice to the government with four priorities: supporting more girls in education and training; utilising women’s skills and growing the economy; encouraging and developing women leaders; and ensuring women and girls are free from violence.

Cribb’s resignation will be effective from 23 September.

A recruitment process to appoint a successor will begin shortly.

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See also:

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About Winnie Agbonlahor

Winnie is news editor of Global Government Forum. She previously reported for Civil Service World - the trade magazine for senior UK government officials. Originally from Germany, Winnie first came to the UK in 2006 to study a BA in Journalism & Russian at the University of Sheffield. She is bilingual in English and German, and, after spending an academic year abroad in Russia and reporting for the Moscow Times, Winnie also speaks Russian fluently.

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