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14 August 2008

Businesswomen's Association President Mrs Basetsana Khumalo
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Ms Elizabeth Thabethe
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nedbank Mr Tom Boardman
Business leaders
Award nominees
Ladies and gentlemen

We are gathered here once more to honour women entrepreneurs and women in the corporate world. These are women who are defying the odds associated with doing business in a male dominated environment. These are women who are taking advantage of the new conditions brought about by the new democratic dispensation. These are women who are making strides without adequate financial and institutional support. These are women who are becoming role models to young women who want to enter the world of business.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to address you on the occasion of the 28th year of the Businesswoman of the Year Awards. Over the years, the Businesswoman of the Year Awards, have established themselves as the premiere event on the South African business calendar. It puts a microscope to the success of government policies on gender equality and women empowerment which we have adopted since 1994. It highlights the strides we have together taken to improve the participation of women in economic activities beyond being workers and consumers. It exposes the limitations of the public and private sectors in ensuring that women do not aim for the sky but for the stars.

In her poem, Ke mosadi wa moAfrika, Alancia Lebogang Mogorosi writes:

Ke mosadi wa moAfrika
Ke ikgantsha ka lethlabula, ke lema magapu
Mmidi le marotse, ke fetlha bodiba

I am an African woman
I am proud of my harvest
I grow water melons, mealies and pumpkins

I agree with Lebogang. South African women are beginning to reap their just rewards. South Africa has made progress in becoming a more gender equitable society. The 2007 Social Watch Gender Equity Index ranked South Africa at number 42 out of 154 countries and second in Africa.

The Women in Corporate and Government Leadership Census released by the Business Women's Association of South Africa showed that women are well-represented in government, holding 54,76% of the leadership positions. That survey showed that the percentage of females in executive management has increased from 14,7% in 2004 to 25,3% in 2008.

Our own statistics indicate that close to 33% of senior management positions in the Gauteng Provincial Government are held by females. A fifth of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) expenditure of the provincial government in the 2007/08 financial year went to woman owned enterprises. We know also that that there are more girls than boys in Gauteng schools now before and that girls do better at maths and science than boys.

These success while championed by government especially President Mbeki, they are also the fruits of the struggle for liberation waged by women before and after the march in 1956 to the Union Buildings. They are fruits of women such as Mme Marina Maponya who braved the hostile business world.

But even as we note these positive developments, we must acknowledge that there are still a number of challenges that stand in the way of achieving gender equality. National figures continue to show that unemployment rates among women are higher than among men, with the highest unemployment rates found among black women. The percentage of women in leadership positions in government and the private sector is still disproportionate to the number of women in the population. The BBBEE expenditure on female enterprise has to be pushed higher than the level it is on at the moment. The African girl child still experiences a number challenges within the education system which prevent her from realising her full potential.

Only then will most women be able to join Lebogang in saying:

Ke mosadi wa moAfrika
Ke ikgantsha ka lethlabula, ke lema magapu
Mmidi le marotse, ke fetlha bodiba

Together we should continue to address the challenges faced by women if we want to achieve our primary objectives of reducing poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. We are at one that a vibrant business sector is vital if we are to achieve sustained economic growth that will enable to meet our objectives.

Agreement on what is to be achieved is, however, one thing. Clarity on the steps needed, is another. More so still, is the implementation of such programmes as are necessary. This is especially so in the changed environment in which we find ourselves, as a nation in general and in particular, as far as business is concerned.

Our economic and trading environment has changed fundamentally. Opportunities on a scale far beyond those, to which we are accustomed, have opened up. We however have to ask the question: are our entrepreneurs especially women taking advantage of these opportunities.

The direction of government's economic policy is clear: it is creating an environment in which businesses, big and small, will prosper, but only if they show bold enterprise and initiative.

The government is committed to remove remaining impediments and provide necessary support to make us globally competitive. The government is attending to skills shortages through investments in skills development and internship. The government has also set clear targets to be met if we are to succeed in empowering women to be successful in their business activities. Now it's time for women to realise that if they want to go that final step, they must help each other.

It seems to me that to achieve our empowerment objectives we require more women to be mentors to young aspiring businesswomen. We require more collaboration than competition between women in leadership positions. We require organisations such as a businesswomen's association to help in dissemination information about available opportunities.

Let me in conclusion raise the following:

While women in business should focus on challenges facing women in the business world, you should also pay attention to other influential areas such as government, the public sector, judiciary and the media.

We need to move beyond relying on progressive men to champion our cause in government to seeking to be leaders in government. An engendered judiciary will be better placed to deal with issues facing women in business and in society. Women in senior position in the public sector are better placed to understand how the law discriminates against women battered by their loved ones or looking for business opportunity. They are less likely to ask for sexual favours in return for tenders and contracts. Women in the media will have a better understanding that there are as many successful women if not more as are men. Failure by certain women is more out of lack of support and not because they are inferior to men.

Congratulations to all nominees and winners of this year's awards. May you continue to excel because as Robert Townsend said: "If you don't do it excellently, don't do it at all. Because if it's not excellent, it won't be profitable or fun and if you're not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?"

So as we go back to face the male dominated business and corporate world, let's take heart from Lebogang's words that:

Ke mosadi wa moAfrika
Ke ikgantsha ka lethlabula, ke lema magapu
Mmidi le marotse, ke fetlha bodiba

Thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
14 August 2008
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gpg.gov.za)