Tag: Equality

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Resia Pretorius, Department Head and Distinguished Research Professor in the Physiological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, at Stellenbosch University. She is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Liverpool. Additionally, she is Managing Director of BioCODE Technologies. Prof. Pretorius highlights the diverse research areas in her department that focus on a variety of illnesses and methodologies to study various conditions and identify solutions for them. Prof. Pretorius’s research centres on blood and blood related diseases, and more recently on clotting pathology in patients with Covid and long-Covid. We discuss the commercialisation of research and innovations at universities, acknowledging access to resources from a variety of institutional disciplines to support development, whether it be legal advice for patents or business skills to operate companies. For example, BioCODE Technologies, a spin of company of the University of Stellenbosch develops point-of-care smart sensing solutions that detect novel circulating inflammatory molecules in the blood. BioCODE also provides a place for students to have their first experience in industry and prepare them for the external job market. Women are making an impact in STEM, notably in physiological sciences. Although they may be equipped with the skills and capabilities they need access to opportunities to realise their full potential. To help women on their career paths Prof. Pretorius advises seeking out a mentor that is in or near your field of interest for support, direction and networking; she also recommends learning how to market yourself and speak the language of your prospective employer; going for interview training to present and sell yourself and create demand for your skills and services with a potential employer. In closing Prof. Pretorius reflects on the value of keeping an open mind, “to join the dots” in new ways and derive new outcomes. She also embodies that sentiment that if you find your passion and make it your vocation you will never “work” a day in your life, because you enjoy what you are doing. Tune in for more…

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March 8, 2023

Prof. Resia Pretorius – Head Physiological Sciences – Stellenbosch University

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Resia Pretorius, Department Head and Distinguished Research Professor in the Physiological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, at S...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to soprano Pretty Yende, who has made her mark in the world of opera, performing in Paris, Berlin, London, Vienna, Milan, New York, Barcelona and many more cities. As a sixteen-year old Pretty was contemplating her future as an accountant, until one evening a  British Airways television advert featuring Delibes’ Flower Duet exposed her to the sound of opera, touching her heart in an extraordinary way. Studying at the South African College of Music she entered and won international competitions and went on to graduate from the Academia Teatro La Scala in Milan. Shortly afterwards she was asked to step in for a colleague and starred in the role of Adèle in Rossini's Le comte Ory at the New York’s Metropolitan Opera.  She walks us through some of the milestones in her career and memorable characters she has played. She shares insights into some of the challenges she has experienced and the grounding that faith, family and friends provide; the #prettyarmy. In closing Pretty reminds us that we are all born unique and each of us have our instruments to share with the world, and echoes Nelson Mandela’s words, “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

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February 22, 2023

South African Operatic Soprano – Pretty Yende

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to soprano Pretty Yende, who has made her mark in the world of opera, performing in Paris, Berlin, London, Vienna, Milan, New York, Barcelona and man...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to neurophysiologist Candice Bottcher from the Entabeni Epilepsy Laboratory at Life Entabeni Hospital in Durban, South Africa. According to the World Health Organisation approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, a disorder that is characterised by abnormal brain activity that may cause seizures or bouts of unusual behaviour. South African statistics are a little higher than the global benchmark, which is partly attributed to higher incidences of head trauma; head injuries from violence and vehicle accidents. Other causes of epilepsy include encephalitis and meningitis, malformation of the brain, strokes, scarring from the removal of tumours, as well as genetic and hereditary epilepsies. Neurophysiologists monitor patients’ brainwaves during rest and periods of seizure and these diagnostics are used to inform patients’ treatment plans. The medical field advances constantly and through continuous education one is able to stay at the cutting edge of your specialisation and help pioneer developments. Ms Bottcher shares a personal experience of gender discrimination in her early years, noting how some people may judge a person based on their own limited stereotypes. She advises people to read the room and if you want to reach someone mirror their language and code of conduct. She reminds people to be resilient and focus on their purpose for long-term success. Tune in for more…

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February 16, 2023

Neurophysiologist Candice Bottcher – Entabeni Epilepsy Laboratory at Life Entabeni Hospital

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to neurophysiologist Candice Bottcher from the Entabeni Epilepsy Laboratory at Life Entabeni Hospital in Durban, South Africa. According to the World...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Mmamosheledi (Mamza) Mothibe, who is Head of the Division of Pharmacology, in the Faculty of Pharmacy, at Rhodes University. We discuss some of her responsibilities in this role, from teaching and developing a curriculum that meets the criteria of the Pharmacy Council to managing the pharmacology division. Prof. Mothibe shares a few of her pharmacology research interests, which includes indigenous knowledge systems - focussing on the pharmacology and toxicology of medicinal plants/herbal medicines particularly African Traditional Medicine. She also discusses her work with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to better regulate commercial products that arise from traditional medicine that are safe and efficacious. Prof. Mothibe is a member of several professional organisations, namely South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP); South African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE); Toxicology Society of South Africa (TOXSA) and South African Society of Clinical Pharmacy (SASOCP). She shares how being part of various professional bodies accelerated her development, exposed her to peers and leaders, and enabled her to be part of steering the future of disciplines. Education has played a prominent role throughout Prof. Mothibe’s career, and she reminds us that life is not a straight line, there will be challenges in our paths as well as opportunities, but if you keep focussing on your dreams the vision will come to fruition. Tune in for more…

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February 8, 2023

Professor Mmamosheledi (Mamza) Mothibe – Head of the Division of Pharmacology, in the Faculty of Pharmacy, at Rhodes University

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Mmamosheledi (Mamza) Mothibe, who is Head of the Division of Pharmacology, in the Faculty of Pharmacy, at Rhodes University. We discuss s...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure and leader of the political party “Good”, Patricia de Lille. Minister de Lille shares some of her mandates to manage, maintain and grow government’s land and property assets, a portfolio valued at approximately R5trillion. During her time as mayor of Cape Town the region experienced severe drought and with a major concern of day zero – where taps would run dry. She shares some of the interventions she applied to identify alternative water sources instead of solely relying on rain water and campaigning for the public to curb their water consumption and take responsibility for the collective community to think about water as a finite resource. Minister de Lille is one of the only women to launch a political party in South Africa. She attributes her longevity and achievements in politics to applying the rule of the game and standing firm on her principles, one of which is fearing no on. Tune in for more…

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January 19, 2023

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure – Patricia de Lille

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure and leader of the political party “Good”, Patricia de Lille. Minister de Lille shares some of ...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, this is our final broadcast of 2022, and we use this show to share some of the lessons learned from female leaders about leadership. Our first guest in this feature is the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, Mutale Nalumango, who is also the Vice President of Zambia’s ruling party, the United Party for National Development.  Vice President Nalumango shares how her life path has been navigated by the drive to fight all forms of injustice, like social inequity, poverty alleviation, access to justice and empowering women to occupy their rightful spaces. She also reaffirms that education is the greatest equalizer and reminds those that think education is too expensive to try the cost of ignorance. There is an underrepresentation of female CEOs on listed companies in South Africa, but the women who hold these posts have a great sense of purpose to show that women CEOs are tremendous assets to any organisation and realise that through mentorship more women will rise to the top of corporate hierarchies. Our next guest is the CEO of the Clicks Group, Bertina Engelbrecht. She sees the role of leaders as removing obstacles that stand in the way of people’s performance, providing the resources for people to do their jobs well and motivating them to derive solutions for themselves. On the topic of education Ms Englebrecht notes that education empowers people and is a way of reaffirming and building confidence; furthermore, when a girl child is educated her life and her family’s changes for the better. Our last guest is the CEO of Anglo American Platinum, Natascha Viljoen, who also sits on the Anglo American Platinum Board and the Group Management Committee of Anglo American PLC.  She reflects on factors that led to her career in mining from getting “the smell of the place” as a child going on site trips with her father, who worked on gold mines and drawing on this energy, to a love of science and math which fuelled her interest in a technical career, specifically in mining. She notes that women introduce different perspectives, which in turn reshapes the workplace, contributes to diversity and innovation. We hope that this selection of leaders inspires you to own your journeys. You have been listening to Womanity Women in Unity, best wishes for the festive season. Be Safe.

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December 28, 2022

2022 Women leaders: Inspiring you to own your journey

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, this is our final broadcast of 2022, and we use this show to share some of the lessons learned from female leaders about leadership. Our first guest in this feature is the Vice Presid...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, for our special compilation of select programs over the last year. We hope to inspire you through the words of three young successful women. Miss South Africa 2022 Ndavi Nokeri who advocates for education equity, she explains the importance of education in her life and lifting communities out of poverty and discusses the goals of her community project Ed-Unite, which campaigns for quality education. Another outstanding talented young woman is Tatjana Schoenmaker, a South African Olympic Athlete, who won the gold medal and set the world record in the 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She also earned a silver medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the Olympic Games. She takes us through her journey to Tokyo during the global Covid 19 pandemic. Mental illness has been in the spotlight for 2022 and our last guest in today’s feature is Dr. Yumna Minty, who is a specialist psychiatrist that focusses on mental health, and lectures in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand. She shares some of her views on mental health and disorders that affect women in particular; offering some practical tips to help women cope.

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December 22, 2022

Reflections from 2022: Building positive mindsets with female achievers

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity for our special compilation of select programs over the last year. We hope to inspire you through the words of three young successful women. Miss South Africa  2022 Ndavi Nokeri  wh...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Shahpar Motakef, who is the Clinical Head of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) unit at Charlotte Maxete Academic Hospital. She lectures at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) department and is an ENT specialist at Fourways Life hospital and is a member of the Rhinoplasty Society. We note that there is still an underrepresentation of female doctors to male doctors, but gender transformation is taking place. For Example Dr Motekef was the first woman to study ENT at Wits and during the early part of her career there were only four female ENTs in South Africa. However, today in her hospital the majority of registrars are women. To get more women into medicine starts early, in high school, encouraging girls to shine, to be ambitious and not supress their passions. Medicine is a hard field and sometimes women are put off from pursuing it because of the misconception that it is impossible to feel they are not able to pursue a challenging career and also have a family. Dr Motekef believes that with planning and discipline both are possible but should be approached through staging and patience. Women can have everything, just not necessarily at the same time. Tune in for more

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December 1, 2022

Dr. Shahpar Motakef – Clinical Head of the ENT unit at Charlotte Maxete Academic Hospital

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Shahpar Motakef, who is the Clinical Head of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) unit at Charlotte Maxete Academic Hospital. She lectures at the Unive...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Yumna Minty, who is a specialist psychiatrist and also lectures in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand. Some of her areas of interest include women’s mental health, mental health in adolescents and young adults, depression and anxiety disorders, and older age mental disorders. She reflects that mental health is not just the absence of illness but should refer to a state of mind and being where people function optimally. She notes that in general women are two to three times more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder when compared to men. Common disorders affecting women include anxiety, stress, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are both inherent and environmental factors the contribute to psychological difficulties and stresses. Environmental variables can be changed and thereby reduce negative impacts on women. For instance, women are more prone to physical abuse, emotional neglect and less emphasis may be placed on a girl’s education than a boy’s development. In modern society women bear dual responsibilities of maintaining their homes and pursuing careers, which increases the potential risk for burnout. Her top three tips for women to help manage their mental health are aiming to lead a healthy lifestyle for body and mind, have healthy relationships and ask for help when needed. Education is an important enabler for women, it gives them the possibility to attain economic freedom and independence to take control over their destiny. In a world that is always changing, our situations change, and new developments arise in our respective fields of interest; if we do not keep up with lifelong learning, we are doing an injustice to ourselves and those we serve through our vocation. Dr Minty, shares a powerful poem reminding women to be their full selves, Dear Woman, written by Michael Reid "“DEAR WOMAN, Sometimes You’ll just be too much woman. Too smart, Too beautiful, Too strong. Too much of something That makes a man feel like less of a man, Which will start making you feel like you have to be less of a woman. The biggest mistake you can make Is removing jewels from your crown To make it easier for a man to carry. When this happens, I need you to understand, You do not need a smaller crown— You need a man with bigger hands.” Tune in for more….

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November 17, 2022

Dr. Yumna Minty – specialist psychiatrist and lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Yumna Minty, who is a specialist psychiatrist and also lectures in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand. Some of...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the CEO of Clicks Group Bertina Engelbrecht. Clicks is a leading health and beauty retailer listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with over 800 stores and more than 600 in-store pharmacies and a loyalty programme exceeding 9.7 million active members. Ms Engelbrecht shares some of her career milestones with local and multinational corporates and her three core building blocks of fairness, equity and justice. We remark on common challenges that women experience in the boardroom and solutions; from showing up as an effective contributor to making your voice heard through quality preparation. She sees the role of leaders as removing obstacles that stand in the way of people’s performance, providing the resources for people to do their jobs well and motivating them to derive solutions for themselves. There is an underrepresentation of female CEOs on listed companies, but the women who hold these posts have a great sense of purpose to show that women CEOs are tremendous assets to any organisation and realise that through mentorship more women will rise to the top of corporate hierarchies. On the topic of education Ms Englebrecht notes that education empowers people and is a way of reaffirming and building confidence; furthermore, when a girl child is educated her life and her family’s changes for the better. #Womeninleadership Tune in for more….

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November 3, 2022

Bertina Engelbrecht – CEO Clicks Group: Women leading from the front

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the CEO of Clicks Group Bertina Engelbrecht. Clicks is a leading health and beauty retailer listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with over 800...

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