Tag: Women in leadership

his week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Elmi Muller, who is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University (FMHS). She is a global authority on kidney and liver transplantation and trailblazer in the field of organ transplantation in HIV-positive patients. During her tenure as head of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Division of General Surgery, she initiated a Donation after Cardiac Death programme and a transplant programme for HIV-positive patients utilising HIV-positive donors at Groote Schuur Hospital. She is a past president of the South African Transplantation Society and currently president of the International Transplantation Society (TTS). Our conversation touches on leadership under challenging conditions, where people operate in resource constrained environments and uncertain circumstances. Under these situations it can be daunting to expend energy on innovation and bigger picture thinking about the future without being swamped by day-to-day pressures. To succeed leaders need to be enabled, supported and recognised for their efforts. We acknowledge that leadership looks different for different people and individuals lead in their own way. Being open to diversity creates a more nuanced environment that considers alterative perspectives. We comment on informal and formal channels to encourage leadership, such as social engagements and mentorship programs. Building a successful career does not mean sacrificing your personal life. Prof  Muller shares her strategy for compartmentalizing different facets of her life, which helps her to separate her work and home life to be present in the space that demands her attention. In closing, Prof Muller inspires us to celebrate ourselves, and rather than trying to change who we are to fit in, we should work with our environments to bring out our strengths. Tune in for  more…

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May 24, 2024

Professor Elmi Muller – Dean of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University – Leading Your Way

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Elmi Muller, who is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University (FMHS). She is a global authority o...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Australia Tegan Brink, she is accredited to seven countries in Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and eSwatini. Prior to this appointment she was posted in New York as Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Permanent Mission to the UN, and Chef de Cabinet to the President of the UN General Assembly. She also served in the Australian Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law in Geneva. Her interest in cultural diversity and a desire to have a positive impact on the world began in childhood. She further credits her education with studies in Australia, America, the Netherlands, and China as steppingstones that successively created opportunities that progressively built upon each other.  She believes that through hard work and working methodically towards your goals, you can attain them. Personal goals are important. We discuss how by using creative resource management she was able to excel in her roles and not forfeit opportunities. We discuss some of the multilateral objectives of the Australian High Commission, touching on trade, mining, scientific collaborations (like the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope project), sports diplomacy and soft power. Additionally, Australia is committed to gender equality and women’s rights. Its development programs are mandated to include an 80% performance target that effectively addresses gender equality. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consciously works to encourage women to take up leadership positions. Some of the High Commissioner’s leadership tools include being prepared, cultivating networks and adopting inclusive leadership that empowers people to lead at all levels. Tune in for more.

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January 25, 2024

High Commissioner of Australia – Tegan Brink – discussing international relations, gender equality development and more

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Australia Tegan Brink, she is accredited to seven countries in Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, N...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of the European Union Sandra Kramer, the Ambassador of Denmark Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone and the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania Rasa Jankauskaite. This conversation takes a multi-dimensional view of women pursuing their careers and being leaders. Some of the internal factors that play a role for the individual include earning technical qualifications, being mentored, receiving support from peers, applying for promotions and believing in one’s capabilities. Externally, visible women in prominent positions have a role-modelling effect that may inspire other women to emulate their achievements “If you can see it, you can be it”. We talk about trail blazers like Ursula von der Leyen the President of European Commission, Mette Frederiksen the Prime Minister of Denmark and Dalia Grybauskaitė the former President of Lithuania. These are examples of powerful women that influence societies. However, according to the World Economic Forum the world is at least 169 years away from closing the economic participation gender gap and requires 162 years to close the Political Empowerment gender gap. Some of the interventions to reduce these gaps at a country level include agreement to follow particular directives, or more formally establishing legislation and action plans. For example the Netherlands’ zipper system sets proportional representation of men and women in its electoral systems, and the European Union recently adopted a regulation that non-executive boards of companies must have at least 40% women serve on their board. As individuals and communities through behavioural change and the adoption of gender positive legislation at national and international levels we can address gender inequality. Tune in for more.

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January 18, 2024

Ambassadors of European Union, Lithuania and Denmark inspiring women to lean in and lead themselves

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of the European Union Sandra Kramer, the Ambassador of Denmark Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone and the Ambassador of the Republic of Lith...

Welcome to Womanity-Women in Unity, join us for our new year broadcast with a compilation of voice from female leaders in politics, business and academia. We hear from Patricia de Lille, the current Minister of Tourism, former Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, who is also the leader of the political party “Good”;  Lillian Barnard the President of Microsoft Africa, talking about opportunities and entry points for women in ICT; and Prof Michèle Ramsay who holds the SARCHI Chair for genomics and Bioinformatics of African Populations at the University of the Witwatersrand and is a director of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, she emphasizes the power of leadership with access to resources and the agency to drive change. We hope their motivational words encourage you to face your fears, find your tribe, don’t let anything stand in your way. Stay safe and happy new year, wishing you all a peace and prosperity in 2024.

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January 5, 2024

New Year. New Opportunities. Be Courageous.

Welcome to Womanity-Women in Unity, join us for our new year broadcast with a compilation of voice from female leaders in politics, business and academia. We hear from Patricia de Lille, the current Minister of Tourism,...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity for our final broadcast of 2023. We hope that this mix inspires you to consider possibilities, find passion and purpose. Today’s guests are role models who prove there is no space that women cannot be. Namibia’s Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab demonstrates some of the factors that strengthen gender parity in Namibia. Professor Liezl van Dyk, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at North West University, encourages women to seek career opportunities in engineering. Judge Soma Naidoo, who is a Permanent Judge of the Free State High Court talks about some of the obstacles she overcame and building a pipeline of female judges. We close today’s show with world acclaimed soprano Pretty Yende who reminds us to follow our dreams. Warm wishes for the festive season from Womanity

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December 29, 2023

Women Belong Everywhere: Sharing Wisdoms from Female Role Models

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity for our final broadcast of 2023. We hope that this mix inspires you to consider possibilities, find passion and purpose. Today’s guests are role models who prove there is no space th...

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 remarkable women that have succeeded in their respective fields. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the Director-General of the World Trade Organization shares landmarks in her career and opening spaces for women. The High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards encourages people to live their authentic selves and to recognise that various seasons of life will demand a different focus. Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Leona Theron discusses gender transformation in the judiciary and gives some insight into her life as someone who has risen beyond the circumstances that she was born into. We hope that this compilation encourages you to pursue your best.  Warm wishes for the festive season from Womanity

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December 21, 2023

Reflections From 2023: Women leading for Women and changing society

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 remarkable women that have succeeded in their respective fields. D...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Advocate Thando Gumede, a Commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), which is one of six Chapter 9 institutions tasked with guarding South Africa's Democracy. We discuss the role of the CGE, which is mandated to promote, respect, protect, develop and attain gender equality, as well as making recommendations affecting the status of women. Several international instruments promote and uphold the rights of women, which have been ratified in South Africa. These include, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Sustainable Development Goals (notably Goal 5), and SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. These regional and global frameworks address diverse forms of gender discrimination #16DaysOfActivism. However, policy without implementation is meaningless. Citizens need to be aware of their rights, take ownership of them and act when infractions occur. People should also exercise their power on political leadership and hold them accountable to deliver what they commit to.  Advocate Gumede notes a positive trend where women are reshaping their ideals in society and recognising their value as individuals; they are not defining their identities in relation to someone else i.e. a girlfriend, fiancé, wife. Advocate Gumede reflects on her journey as a gender activist, where unfortunate circumstances in life redirected her passion for engineering and innovation to study law with an entrepreneurship mind set. She received an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation scholarship to finance her studies. After ten years in the making, she was appointed to be a Commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality.  She reminds us to find our courage, that life is a constant journey, and to be receptive to inputs that shape us into becoming the humans we were destined to be. Tune in for more…

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December 15, 2023

Commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality – Advocate Thando Gumede

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Advocate Thando Gumede, a Commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), which is one of six Chapter 9 institutions tasked with guardin...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards, who is concurrently accredited to 18 other countries from Southern and East Africa. The High Commissioner established Jamaica’s first High Commission in South Africa in 2006 and today serves as its leader. Jamaica has established several memorandums of understanding with South Africa, in sports, tourism, arts and culture and trade. The High Commissioner aims to build and activate these areas. High Commissioner Thomas Edwards reflects on some of the milestones in her career and lifelong learning, which helps to successively build a basket of skills. For example, in multilateral diplomacy you work with institutions like the United Nations and Commonwealth and figure out how to negotiate your position, as a small country, with these large organisations. The High Commissioner shares the following words of advice. Know yourself, don’t be defined by other people. Know your tribe, make sure you surround yourself with the right people. Make sure you know what season of life you are in and make the right choices. Be yourself at all times The empowerment of women is a focal point for Jamaica. It has a gender policy and aims to achieve gender equality. Whilst women have made progress, we cannot forget that women experience discrimination and one in four are victims of gender based violence. This is a statistic we should aim to put an end to and consider what actions we can all take to stop GBV, particularly during the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Tune in for more…

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December 7, 2023

High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards, who is concurrently accredited to 18 other countries from Southern and East A...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of Netherlands to South Africa, Joanne Doornewaard. Prior to this role, she served as Ambassador to South Korea and before that as Ambassador to Sri Lanka. She had an atypical entry into foreign affairs, having previously worked as a landscape architect, and at the onset of her diplomatic career considered representing the Netherlands abroad was a way to combine her interests in travel, culture and people. Ambassador Doornewaard shares some of the landmarks in her career, such as promoting car free Sunday in Colombo (Sri Lanka) with the city’s mayor, dealing with the aftermath of the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, and finding a sense of community with other diplomats in South Korea during the Covid-19 years. The Netherlands has several initiatives in South Africa that are aimed at establishing co-operation between the two countries to co-create solutions #cocreate. For example, co-create MyCity develops joint solutions for urban challenges, such as coping with water resilience. Co-create Identity seeks to open meaningful dialogue around questions of identity transformation. The Netherlands actively promotes women’s rights. In South Africa their focus is on equal rights for women and LGBTI communities; eliminating violence against women and girls, promoting the protection of women human rights defenders, promoting economic empowerment of women, increasing women in leadership, strengthening the role of women in conflict and peace-building. If women work together as part of the solution, then that solution is far more sustainable. Ambassador Doornewaard remarks on the importance of economic independence and freedom of choice, which starts with women acquiring their education and deciding on their career path. Tune in for more… #16DaysofActivism #WomenEmpowerment #Diplomacy #EqualityInAction

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November 30, 2023

Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to South Africa, Joanne Doornewaard

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of Netherlands to South Africa, Joanne Doornewaard. Prior to this role, she served as Ambassador to South Korea and before that as A...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Amanda Dempsey who leads the School of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg, prior to this role she served as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences at the University of Johannesburg. She is a Chartered Accountant registered with SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants), holds a BCom and MCom in accounting. This year she received the SAICA Chairman’s Difference Makers Award for Academia. She reflects on pivotal moments and values that have shaped her as a person and contributed to her career path. For example, establishing a strong network of female friends that have been cheerleaders for each other and encouraged professional growth. Prof. Dempsey highlights how women’s rights in the workforce have transformed since the 1980s, for example, she couldn’t join the institution’s pension fund, she was not entitled to a medical aid allowance and did not receive a housing subsidy. Today she chairs the University of Johannesburg’s pension fund which manages approximately R4bn. Prof. Dempsey is conscious about nation building and developing people’s potential. One of the pioneering programmes she was involved with is the Thuthuka programme, which aims to produce black chartered accountants that contributes to the economic and social upliftment of themselves and South Africa. This professional qualification enables women to choose jobs that fit their lifestyles and ambitions, whether it’s a career in corporate or being self-employed. Part of Prof. Dempsey’s success has been viewing challenges as opportunities and embracing every opportunity that comes her way. They open more doors. One of her mottos in life is “Just Do It”. Tune in for more…

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November 23, 2023

Professor Amanda Dempsey: Head of the School of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Amanda Dempsey who leads the School of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg, prior to this role she served as Executive Dean of the F...

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