Resilient economies are built by women who dare to dream

Societal issues confronting women, including strategies for achieving equity and overcoming barriers that hinder their advancement to executive positions, have been and continue to be important topics of discussion. 

Every year in August, we celebrate Women’s Month.  But, I sometimes think we focus too much on the individual achievements of women, as praiseworthy as they may be, instead of what is holding multitudes of other women back from scaling the same heights, and what is everyone’s responsibility. 

As we end celebrating Women’s Month through the theme “Building Resilient Economies for All,” I can relate to this theme. It is one I endorse. Additionally, this year my mantra is “Protect, Defend, Grow.”

Resilience, creativity and determination

As a lifelong serial entrepreneur and as a trained healthcare professional, I have seen firsthand how resilience, creativity, and determination can transform lives, whether through a small business or a community clinic.

I always say that what is the use of a door if you can’t open it? What is the use of a door if you can’t walk through it? 

The theme of Building Resilient Economies for All addresses this. We don’t all have the means to open locked doors; we don’t all have the opportunity to walk through them.

I was born in Soweto and raised in Eswatini. I sold sandwiches and handbags, ‘hustling’ while studying medicine at Medunsa. 

That small venture ultimately gave rise to a clinic, serving multitudes of semi-urban communities that needed a healthcare practitioner.

Later, I delved into corporate South Africa and co-founded Community Investment Holdings, A progressive, black-owned enterprise, with interests spanning across healthcare, logistics, ICT, mining, infrastructure, power and energy.  We have been described as a black industrialist entity; this is a result of our substantive manufacturing interests.

Along the way, I have remained committed to enabling previously disadvantaged South Africans to participate meaningfully in our economy and also creating jobs. I want to open doors for others, and I am not alone in this quest.

Patriachy

As an entrepreneur, I know that the lack of women in senior leadership and management positions can partly be explained by the strain of balancing work and family and patriarchy.

Derived from the Greek word patriarkhēs, patriarchy literally means "the rule of the father" It has for centuries been used to refer to a social system where men control a disproportionately large share of social, economic, political and religious power, and inheritance usually passes down the male line.

However, according to patriarchy, renowned American sociologist Allan Johnson, "Patriarchy does not refer to any man or collection of men, but to a kind of society in which men and women participate.

A society is patriarchal to the degree that it promotes male privilege by being male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centred. It is also organised around an obsession with control and involves, as one of its key aspects, the oppression of women."

Indeed, it is a fact that women have more domestic responsibilities. It is a pity that sometimes many organisations and companies are not flexible enough to accommodate women in top management positions because of these challenges.  There are also industries, such as mining, that restrict women physiologically from progressing, pregnancy being one of the obstacles.

Optimising women's contributions 

Of course, it is a pity that cultural and social norms for women, practices and role responsibilities often inhibit women from acquiring education that will lead to career progress in society. 

It is encouraging that calls for equal opportunity can no longer be ignored by the gender imbalance in society’s organisations. Optimising women's contributions in management and leadership is necessary to increase the overall management and performance of organisations. This can be done by increasing the quality and quantity of women in management and leadership.

Significant change requires a committed leadership focusing on how society and businesses find ways to increase women's capabilities and their desire to contribute to organisational success.

One of the solutions is that the business, government, and university sectors need to provide training and development programmes and policies for women to counter unsuspecting biases.

These sectors need to provide motivation and inspire women to greater levels of effort. We know that when researchers and scholars have found that organisations that offer women opportunities to learn, grow and encourage continued development increase the quality of that organisation's overall productivity. It is good that the growing number of women in managerial careers and the quality at the global level are becoming encouraging.

In South Africa today, female entrepreneurial energy is a beacon of hope. Women represent one of only a handful of economies where women's entrepreneurial activity is on the rise. 

According to Forbes Africa, roughly 11.1 % of working-age women are engaged in entrepreneurial activity, and the National Development Plan anticipates that by 2030, small, medium and micro enterprises will account for 90 % of the 11 million new jobs we hope to generate. 

Education and training

So what can we do to scale higher?  We should invest in training for women to acquire and improve their job-related knowledge and skills.

For example, at the North West University, we are answering the call to open doors and help women walk through them to the path of success. 

Through our Innovate HER 2025 initiative, young women aged 15 to 25 are given tools in digital literacy, entrepreneurial thinking, and mentorship.

Our Enterprise Development Centre supports all budding entrepreneurs on a multitude of programmes. 

At the North-West University, we understand that the road to economic resilience isn’t easy.  Persistent unemployment, inequality, and access barriers are all hampering growth, but I am encouraged by the resilience I see in young women on our campuses and across our country. 

We have resolved that our responsibility as the university is to train and prepare future leaders with credible, impactful knowledge that they will utilise as a tool and an enabler for them to walk through entrepreneurial and management doors.

To all women, I want to say that your ideas matter, your ideas can shape our future. They are not disregarded at all.

Let us commit to supporting one another, bridging gaps, and empowering every South African woman to participate fully in the economy, because resilient economies are built by the resilience and initiative of all who dare to dream and do;  Women are willing and capable, all they need is the key to the door!

Dr Anna Mokgokong is Chairperson of Community Investment Holdings and Chancellor of North West University