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The lunch was light, but the message had heft: asking, how we all, women and men, can mentor and develop more women into leadership roles across our economy?
Four of the five winners were present for a panel discussion about their journeys and how they plan to advance the representation of women in business.
Funeka Montjane, chief executive of personal and business banking at Standard Bank; Dr Rolene Wagner, chief executive of Frere Hospital; Mary Raletooane, director at Itekeng Disabled Centre; and Professor Leslie Petrik, a lecturer at the university of the Western Cape; were on the panel with the president of the association, Farzanah Mall.
Montjane told the assembled room of businesspeople (mostly women) that women needed “to do their work yesterday”, and that more conscious action was needed to realise an equitable society.
Bwasa has a number of initiatives that it invests in to advance women in leadership, including the recent introduction of a student chapter at Wits.
The young women leading this programme, Itumeleng Makgato and Boikhutso Mokoto, both final-year BCom students, are passionate about getting more women into rooms where decisions are made, and giving them the skills and confidence to take those decisions.
The event also marked the opening of this year’s awards nominations across categories – corporate, government, social entrepreneurship, science and education – under the theme: Women with No Filter
City Press partners with Bwasa for their annual publication, which celebrates the winners of the Businesswomen of the Year Awards. They take place in September this year. Nominations are now open
