The Role of Women in Business
Written by Mr Nhlanhla Nene, Resident Advisor at Thebe Investment Corporation
As we come to the end of Women’s Month, it is incumbent upon us that we reflect on the progress South Africa as a country has made, to realise the ideals of those women who marched to the Union Buildings on the 9th of August 1956: a free, non-racist, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. In all sectors of our society we have seen women rising to take their rightful place. In politics, in business, in church structures, at the work place and in society in general.
One of the notable achievements in women empowerment that captures my imagination is the leadership of women in politics. Our first speaker in the democratic parliament of South Africa was a woman, Dr Frene Ginwala, a woman of real substance indeed and her tenure came with a number of women legislators joining our first democratic legislature, and the executive. A number of women of impeccable stature and integrity ascended to positions of authority as custodians of the hard won democracy, be it in the judiciary or institutions supporting democracy, like the Independent Electoral Commission and the Office of the Public Protector. We have also not shied away from deploying our best in the continent and in international multilateral institution like the AU and the UN.
I have been immensely inspired by women who have taken the lead in the corporate world, who have not relied on quotas to affirm themselves, but have risen to the top by virtue of their capabilities and expertise. I have met women in the mining sector, construction sector, the accounting field and other commercial enterprises that in the past were known to be the reserved purview of men. In mining we have seen the likes of Dr Anna Mokgokong, Daphne Mashile-Nkosi and Bridgette Radebe, to name a few, who are leading with unparalleled distinction. In the accounting field are Sindi Mabaso-Zilwa, Ms Nonkululeko Gobodo and many others, performing better than any man could have. I have only mentioned a few black African women that come to mind, just to demonstrate how women have taken it upon themselves to liberate themselves and, in the process, liberate men from the pervasive stereotypes about the role of women in society.
In pursuit of the ideals of the women of 1956, Thebe Investment Corporation is a shining example of a non-racist and non-sexist organisation that makes transformation an integral part of its development agenda. Strategic positions are occupied by women of undoubted integrity: Financial Director Ms Refiloe Nkadimeng, Company Secretary Ms Andisa Jekwa, Manager in the Chairman’s Office Ms Sikelelwa Ndwayi and Ms Nobuzwe Mbuyisa, Executive: Supply Chain Solutions and Projects. I have great respect for these women in the Thebe family and other women that I have not met personally but have felt their contribution and impact in the organisation.
We can proudly proclaim that the struggles waged by the women in 1956 were not in vain, when we look at the achievements in the past two decades since the advent of our democracy. We owe it to those heroines – Lillian Ngoyi, Charlotte Maxeke, Bertha Gxowa, Sophie Williams-De Bruyn and others – to strive towards the realisation of their dream of an egalitarian society. They put their lives in the line of fire and were prepared to pay the ultimate price for the attainment of this ideal and indeed many of them never lived to see the promised land. We should therefore nurture and defend this democracy with our lives too, to preserve it for the present generation and generations to come.