Photo: From left: Ms Jacqueline Pietersen, Deputy Director: Alumni Affairs, Ms Olebogeng Motse, Journalist and Broadcaster: OFM, Ms Matlhodi Leeuw, Founder and CEO: Tenacious Concepts Labour Agency, Makgotso Kgosana, Alumni Admin and Events Intern: CUT, Prof. Tryna van Niekerk, Professor in Government Management and Ms Rea Modipa, Alumni Affairs Media Intern.

 

On 23 August 2023, the Central University of Technology hosted the Alumni Women in the Workplace to engage on the workplace's challenges and ways to overcome them.

Prof.  Pamela Dube, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, said that women in South Africa today face many challenges, such as inadequate access to education, unemployment opportunities, gender-based violence and workplace discrimination. She noted that CUT management is committed to developing women, has acknowledged the gaps and has taken various steps to develop female leaders for the future. “We have initiated a Next Generation Women in Leadership (nGenWil) programme to promote gender equality and empowerment leadership positions for our women. This program is envisioned to develop and polish our women leaders. We aim to build a pool of high-performing women employees and offer development and support to enable them to gain skills, experience and qualifications needed to compete for leadership roles equally and fairly as they become vacant,” she said.

Prof. Dube encouraged women to share their profiles on CUT's official communication platforms, including website and social media platforms, so that the CUT community can celebrate their wonderful and inspiring achievements.

Photo: From left: Khensane Pholwana, Intern: Student Academic Development and Support, Liteboho Maema, Masters in Entrepreneurial Management, Keketso Molefe, Intern: Student Academic Development and Support, Magauta Ntsoeu, A: Student Academic Coordinator: Development and Support, Refiloe Radebe, Certificate in Applied Management, Nthabiseng Shale, Marketing Assistant; Management Sciences.

 

Prof.  Tryna van Niekerk, Professor in Government Management, spoke about developmental opportunities for women in the workplace.  She said women were not allowed to follow certain careers in the past because they were considered naturally weaker than men and unable to perform work requiring muscular and intellectual development. She further encouraged women to grab the developmental opportunities available to them.

Ms Matlhodi Leeuw, CEO and founder of Tenacious Concepts Labor Agency said that gender is all around us and taught to us from birth. She noted that stereotypes and expectations from media, culture, religion, communities, and peers constantly bombard women.” How you interact and behave with different genders as a child will most likely influence your current perspective of the world. Challenges to achieving gender inclusion include unconscious biases and a lack of representation in leadership roles. Addressing these issues requires a commitment to change and implementing policies that promote gender equality”, she said.

Uploaded: 25 August 2023