Tag: Education

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Nicola Smit, Dean of the Faculty of Law University of Stellenbosch. We discuss aspects of her vision for the faculty that include spearheading legal education, building capacity and having a deep social impact on communities. We acknowledge the fact that today’s graduates will likely work in new careers that don’t yet exist. Prof. Smit shares one of her approaches to leadership, which she describes as “leadership constellation”. This view posits that a leader can only be first among equals and provides opportunities for his or her people (stars) to develop themselves and lead in their own areas of expertise, ultimately stiving to develop an organisation that mirrors a constellation of stars (people) that shine brightly leading their respective disciplines and helping each other navigate calm as well as tricky waters. She also reflects on the importance of diverse inputs in teams to bring out the best of team members. We remark on the low representation of women in leadership, noting that the glass ceiling might have shifted but it hasn’t disappeared. Efforts need to be undertaken to ensure that where decisions are made there is representation of women. Furthermore, regulatory frameworks should be in place to help share the burden of domestic work that often compromises a woman’s ability to participate fully in the labour force. For example, increasing paternity leave is an intervention that would help distribute parental loads. Prof Smit, closes the conversation with a quote from Maya Angelou, “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”  Tune in for more…

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September 7, 2022

Prof. Nicola Smit – Dean of Law: University of Stellenbosch

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Nicola Smit, the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Stellenbosch. We discuss aspects of her vision for the faculty that inclu...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in law, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Caroline Ncube who heads up the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town. She holds the South African Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development. She serves as a member of the African Policy, Research & Advisory Group on STI, is a member of the Advisory Board of the African Network of International Economic Law (AfIELN) and of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). We discuss how these roles contribute to the discipline of law in both academia and practice; and note some of the accomplishments of women in the field of law. Some of Prof. Ncube’s collaborations with Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt form part of the Open African Innovation Research Partnerships. One of her recent projects addresses patents and access to medicines during the Covid-19 pandemic. We discuss the liberating effects of education on women. Prof. Ncube reflects on the influence of gender in personal and professional life, where the perception of traditional gender roles can inhibit some women from advancing in their careers until their children are less dependent on them. Establishing childcare facilities at institutions, formulating robust support networks and reconsidering gender roles are a few interventions that could help women navigate various stages of their personal and professional lives. In closing Prof. Ncube reminds us that the hopes of the continent are pinned on women and youth; so if you are young and female the moment is yours, the continent is wide open reach out and take it. Tune in for more…

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June 8, 2022

Prof. Caroline Ncube – Head Commercial Law Department – University of Cape Town

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in law, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Caroline Ncube who  heads up the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town. She holds t...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, as part of our commemoration for #AfricaDay, which is celebrated on 25 May, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Heide Hackmann, the Interim Director and Advisor on Transdisciplinarity and Global Knowledge Networks at the Future Africa Institute | University of Pretoria. Prior to this role Dr Hackmann served as CEO of the International Science Council. Future Africa is a research institute and pan-African platform that makes possible fundamentally new approaches to research and innovation that span disciplinary fields and geo-political boundaries to solve continental and global problems by collaborating between stakeholders in science and society. Some of these challenges include climate change, food security, poverty, human rights, gender equality, health and well-being, and biodiversity loss. Diversity and inclusivity are core values of Future Africa which help drive gender equality and equal participation of women across spheres. Dr Hackman shares some insight into her leadership style, which include being inspirational (thinking BIG), being an effective enabler and decision maker, being authentic, connecting to people on a human level, and leading by example. Tune in for more….

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May 25, 2022

Dr. Heide Hackmann Interim Director at the Future Africa Institute

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, as part of our commemoration for #AfricaDay, which is celebrated on 25 May, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Heide Hackmann, the Interim Director and Advisor on Transdisciplina...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Vanessa Steenkamp, the Deputy Dean of Teaching & Learning in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria. As an active member of scientific organizations she holds among other an executive role as President of the South African Association of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, President of the Federation of South African Society of Pathology and Vice-President of the Toxicology Society of South Africa. Her remit at the University of Pretoria encompasses 43 departments within Dentistry, Health Care Sciences, Health Systems and Public Health, and the School of Medicine. She emphasises that teaching and learning is an evolving process and institutions aim to equip students with skill sets to help future proof them for jobs which don’t yet exist; instilling lifelong learning and embracing technology. We discuss a couple of recent initiatives geared towards the well-being of students. Namely a food parcel project, noting that at least 30% of students are food insecure and the other the UP Sight project which addressed students’ vision. We highlight the fact that there are still low levels of women entering STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and remark on interventions to build a pipeline from school to university to the workplace. We also remark on the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles. Prof. Steenkamp encourages more women to embrace opportunities to rise to the top, urging women to stand together, support each other, join industry networks and participate in mentoring initiatives. Prof. Steenkamp shares her formulas for living life to the full, making space for family and a professional career. Tune in for more…

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May 18, 2022

Professor Vanessa Steenkamp – Deputy Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Vanessa Steenkamp, the Deputy Dean of Teaching & Learning in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Uni...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Laetitia Rispel who holds a South African Research Chair, entitled Research on the Health Workforce for Equity and Quality. She is a Professor of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.  She is both a former Head of the Wits School of Public Health (2012-2017), and a former Head of the Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Health (2001-2006). She is also a past president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (2018-2020). Prof Rispel shares some of the challenges and achievements along her journey to improve public health systems and shape health policy in post-apartheid South Africa. For example, being inspired to go to university but lacking the means to do so, yet serendipitously, at a rubbish dump of all places, seeing a pamphlet to study nursing at university – all expenses paid.   Tune in for more…

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May 11, 2022

Professor Laetitia Rispel – Public Health Systems: University of the Witwatersrand, and South African Research Chair for the Health Workforce

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Laetitia Rispel who holds a South African Research Chair, entitled Research on the Health Workforce f...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Prisilla Seipati Makunyane – Head of Ophthalmology at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital. Prof. Makunyane is one of the first black female doctors to qualify as an ophthalmologist in South Africa, she serves as a role model and advocate for her specialisation encouraging more women to follow in her footsteps.  We reflect on the fact that medical training is a lengthy undertaking and the process can compromise women who want to start a family or have young children during this period. To help mitigate some of these issues training time could be extended as well as introducing flexible leave arrangements to help women fulfil their roles in the worlds of family and work.  Medicine is a rewarding and humbling discipline that impacts the well-being of societies. Tune in for more…

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May 4, 2022

Professor Prisilla Seipati Makunyane – Head of Ophthalmology at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Prisilla Seipati Makunyane – Head of Ophthalmology at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academi...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Radmila Razlog who heads up the department of Complementary Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg.  Complementary medicine professions in South Africa consist of a diverse range of disciplines including phytotherapy, homeopathy, and acupuncture and offer a natural approach to health and wellbeing to manage conditions. Dr. Razlog notes there is a higher propensity for women to enter disciplines of complementary health as well as more women tending to seek treatment from allied health practitioners. Tune in for more.

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April 27, 2022

Dr. Radmila Razlog – Head of Complementary Medicine at the University of Johannesburg

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in our series on women in medicine, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Radmila Razlog who heads up the department of Complementary Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at t...

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March 9, 2022

International Women’s Day Gender Equality – Part 2

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, we commemorate International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually on the 8th of March. This year’s theme is Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. ...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Equatorial Guinea’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Librada Ela Asumu. Some of her previous appointments include working at the United Nations, serving in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Women Protection and Ministry of External Affairs and Co-operation. We consider some cultural tensions effecting gender equality despite constitutional legislature in Equatorial Guinea. For example, prevailing perceptions that successful career women neglect their families, that being married is a sign of social acceptance, that women have ceilings imposed on their ambitions. We debunk these myths demonstrating that stereotypical thinking is outmoded and threatens the empowerment of women. Tune in for more…

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February 23, 2022

Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea – Librada Ela Asumu – Empowering Women

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Equatorial Guinea’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Librada Ela Asumu. Some of her previous appointments include working at the United Nat...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Miss SA 2021, Lalela Mswane, who was also crowned second runner up for Miss Universe 2021. We discuss how this empowerment platform has impacted on her life and some of the responsibilities associated with being Miss SA notably serving as a brand ambassador and agent of change not just nationally but globally. Lalela shares her views on role models, leadership, sustainability, climate change, education, empowering young entrepreneurs to create their own economic opportunities in the face of extensive unemployment, and equipping women to become confident competent individuals.Tune in for more…

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February 10, 2022

Miss South Africa 2021: Lalela Mswane an agent of change

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Miss SA 2021, Lalela Mswane, who was also crowned second runner up for Miss Universe 2021. We discuss how this empowerment platform has impacted on...

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