NZI Rural Women Business Awards 2026 Category Winners Revealed
Rural Women New Zealand has announced the winners of the 2026 NZI Rural Women Business Awards.
Gill Naylor, a South Island farmer, says RWNZ is a ‘vibrant organisation’.
“I am excited to be standing on the shoulders of those that have been empowering rural communities since 1925.”
Naylor says farming and rural New Zealand have always been a big factor in her life. “I grew up on my parents’ sheep and beef farm about 20 minutes north east of Invercargill.”
In the 1980s, she moved to her husband’s Central Otago family farm.
Naylor told Rural News one of the biggest issues the new board will be tackling in the coming months is the use of cheques in the rural sector after several major banks announced they would phase out their use.
“Removing cheques as a form of payment is putting extra stress onto rural communities and we are calling for cheques to continue to be accepted until every rural household and business has consistent, reliable internet access.”
Naylor says that the use of cheques is very high as a payment method in more rural areas, but “the banks and other institutions have seemingly not taken the needs of rural communities into consideration when making these decisions.”
She says RWNZ is currently seeking feedback from its members on the impact of climate change on rural communities.
Naylor is joined by three new board members, Emma Higgins, Malvina Dick, and Claire Williamson.
“The new board is a great mix of experience and knowledge from within RWNZ and skills from outside the organisation which is vital to us being able to continue to strengthen and support rural communities,” says chief executive, Liz Pennington.
