Emily Aung

Kia ora, I’m Emily. I’m a trans woman living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland — a writer, a builder, and a stubborn optimist about the world we can make together. This is my corner of the internet, where I think out loud about human rights, trans liberation, and the everyday work of care that holds a community together.

My story

I was born and raised in Myanmar and came to Aotearoa at seventeen to study. What followed — a near-fatal accident, years spent hiding, and the cold Christchurch evening I first stepped into the world as myself — took a decade and cost more than fits on this page.

I’ve written the whole journey in Becoming Emily — the most personal thing I’ve shared.

The day job

By day I work in technology. I’m the co-founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer of Node (formerly VendorSage), and before that I spent years as a software engineer after studying at the University of Otago. I’ve been building software — and teams — for a long time.

I lead openly as a trans woman, and I don’t take that for granted. Plenty of people are told, in a hundred small ways, that someone like them doesn’t belong in the room. Being visible in mine is part of how I answer that.

Why I write

Advocacy found me the way it finds a lot of us — through survival first, and then through the realisation that survival should never have been the bar. Everyone deserves more than to simply get by. I want a world where trans people don’t just endure: we thrive, we build, and we lead.

Trans people are not a debate. We are your neighbours, your colleagues, your friends, your whānau. I write to push back on the idea that our rights are negotiable, and to celebrate the joy and resilience of rainbow communities here in Aotearoa and around the world.

Let’s connect

If you’re trans or questioning and you found your way here — welcome, you belong. If you’re an ally wanting to do better, thank you for showing up. Either way, I’m glad you’re here.