Dialect using "woman" instead of "women"?

Question

If you watch this VICE episode, the presenter sounds like a native speaker, but uses "woman" instead of "women" every time (probably over a dozen times in the 10 minute video).

Specifically, the presenter is either pronouncing the word "women" in an unusual way (so: is this some kind of dialect or regional variation?) or he's using the singular "woman" when the plural "women" would be expected (in which case: is there a reason for such usage? Or, if we can't fathom the reporter's reasons, is there precedent for this?).

Examples:

@1:27:

You might have expected the police at these marches to protect the woman

@2:08:

for defending civilization, from woman he branded "barbarians"

@7:13:

as well as the increased restrictions on woman's rights

Answer 1

TL;DR: this might be a New Zealand pronunciation.

The presenter, Tim Hume, certainly has an intriguing mix of accents. His bio doesn't say where he grew up, but I'm guessing he might have spent some childhood years in Australia, as there's a hint of an Australian accent. The bio also says he studied and worked in New Zealand 1998-2011 and has spent the last decade in Hong Kong and London. So, there are multiple possibilities for particular regional variations or dialects, either in pronunciation or usage.

One comment on the question says "That's just how Australians say 'women'." I'm an Aussie and I can say categorically that this is NOT how Australians say 'women'.

However, it IS possible that the video clip reflects a broad New Zealand pronunciation of this word, in which the vowel sound in the first syllable of women changes from /ɪ/ to /ə/. Wikipedia gives the following relevant description:

Non-rhotic New Zealand English is most similar to Australian English in pronunciation, with some key differences. A prominent difference is the realisation of /ɪ/ (the KIT vowel): in New Zealand English this is pronounced as a schwa.

A broad New Zealand accent would therefore make the plural women sound very similar (to an outsider) to the singular woman, and it's likely that the presenter has acquired and retained this element of the New Zealand accent, even if it's otherwise mostly lost or hard to pick.