As part of a series of lectures, seminars and discussions on key issues hosted by the university, the Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) hosted a conversation with women in leadership, sharing their insights on the theme: Be Bold for Change: Step it up for gender equality. The conversation, led by women from diverse sectors, sought to define and challenge the perceptions of the role and value of women in society.
The lack of women in corporate leadership positions in South Africa continues to be both a political and economic issue. The Businesswoman’s Association of South Africa (BWASA) 2017 census revealed that only 22% of board directors and 7% of executive directors are women.
Cristal Peterson, Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications at Unisa SBL, says these events are opportunities to drive change through sharing knowledge and providing a platform for interaction, networking and action. “It is up to all of us to ensure that the rights of women inform our everyday lives in our families, communities and places of work. Unisa SBL’s ongoing collaboration with stakeholders in the public, private and non-profit sectors ensures that we do not merely pay lip service to gender transformation.”
Contributing to the conversation were Josephilda Nhlapo-Hlope, DDG for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the DMPE; Sihle Bolani, Workplace Transformation Specialist; Sebenzile Matsebula, Executive Director for Motswako Office Solutions, Mpho Mtsi, Founding CEO of BaNgoba and Associate at Temela Holding; Tantaswa Fubu, Barloworld Limited Group Executive for Human Capital, Internal Audit & Facilities; and SBL alumnus, Cicelia Van Rooi, Managing Director for Dow Southern Africa. The session was facilitated by Professor Stella Vettori from Unisa SBL.
The executives agreed that the empowerment of women is a shared responsibility and priority. “Gender equality transcends many fields of life. We need to make sure that we take responsibility and create space for meaningful gender equality,” says Matsebula. Fubu says that as a country we need to be creative in our efforts to address issues affecting women. “We have to go beyond marches and adopt more sustainable and impactful actions in our everyday areas of influence.”
Mtsi focused on seizing opportunities. “As women, we need to step up and wake up to opportunities around us. The Fourth Industrial Revolution presents many opportunities for women to compete at an equal level.” Nhlapo-Hlope proposed that all of us must be bold, beginning at home by fostering in our boy children a culture of caring and changing traditional gender roles from a young age.
The successful event affirmed that the issues raised during Women’s Month should not only receive focus in August, but that the spotlight must remain on gender transformation at all levels of business throughout the year.
(ENDS)