Celebrating women’s contributions and successes
TRAILBLAZERS: The event was a great success.
Tuesday, 10 August 2021
The Faculty of Business and Management Sciences kicked off the Women’s month celebrations at CPUT with an exciting webinar under the theme: Choose to Challenge.
The event featured a number of trailblazing women including HERS-SA director Brightness Mangolothi, Attorney Rehana Parker, PhD candidate and founder of cultural education brand KroesRocks, Simone Thomas and Ortem Callaghan, a spoken word artist.
Choose to Challenge was the theme for International Women’s Day 2021 and resonated with the Faculty.
In her opening remarks, Nonkosi Tyolwana, Director of CPUT’s Centre for Diversity, Inclusivity and Social Change, said that while there have been important strides in promoting gender equality and women empowerment, “our work is far from finished”.
“That is why today the faculty is working towards a better day for women and girls. And yet this mission of gender equality and women empowerment needs constant nourishing and multi-stakeholder engagement as well as active support both physically, mentally, morally and materially.”
Mangolothi quoted from the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 which showed that it would take almost a century to attain gender parity.
She said the rise of women was not about the fall of men.
“I want you to apply for those positions, I want you to apply for those awards and I want you to mentor women and that’s how we can actually take up spaces.”
Dr Desiree Scholtz, the Faculty’s Assistant Dean: Teaching & Learning and chair of the planning team for the event, said it was hoped that the take-away from the event would be how different women from different backgrounds have chosen to own their space, to share their stories “about how each of us can make a difference to others’ lives in one way or another”.
Senior lecturer, Mandie Richards said the webinar allowed an opportunity for women to reflect on the progressions as well as the limitations, and to share their experiences and power of influence so as to uplift and inspire women.
“The platform is also a reminder that there is a great deal of work which still has to be done so as to challenge the status quo and social injustices, and that as women we need to continue to pay it forward so that we create a future which is inclusive, thereby creating a positive, more diverse future for current and future generations.”
Written by Ilse Fredericks
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