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International Women’s Day - 8 March 2021 #Choosetochallenge #IWD2021

International Women’s Day - 8 March 2021 #Choosetochallenge #IWD2021

Anusha Ramraj

In South Africa, the Federation of South African Women led by iconic women such as Lillian Ngoyi, Amina Cachalia and Helen Josephs was launched in 1954. The objective of the Federation was to unite all South African Women and to fight for equality irrespective of race, colour or creed, to protect women and children and to remove all socio-economic hurdles. The First National Women’s Day was celebrated in South Africa on the 9 August 1995 in memory of 20,000 women who marched to the Union buildings in Pretoria rallying against some of the bylaws of apartheid and was supported by all women alike - mothers, sisters, daughters, workers and friends. 
 
Many countries worldwide celebrate women and their achievements not only within their nation but globally. International Women’s Day was honoured for the first time in 1911 by Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland and to date, celebrates and salutes all women who have fought and continue to fight for gender parity and socio economic, cultural and political rights. 
 
Throughout the history of mankind, we have seen some fiercely strong, intelligent and inspirational women - to name but a few: 
  • Helen Suzman - An anti-apartheid, human rights activist and politician who pursued racial and gender equality.
  • Dr Pregaluxmi (Pregs) Govender - Dr Pregaluxmi (Pregs) Govender is a feminist human rights activist who was the second South African Human Rights Commissioner. As a Member of Parliament and Chair of Parliament’s Women’s Committee, she was particularly instrumental in advancing South African women’s rights and initiated the Women’s Budget which has had an impact on budgets globally.
  • Professor Thulisile (Thuli) Madonsela - Professor Thulisile (Thuli) Madonsela, was the Public Protector (2009 – 2016) who is currently the Law Trust Chair, Social Justice Research at Stellenbosch University. As a lifelong activist, she has championed social justice, rule of law and good governance.
  • Nicky Newton-King - The first woman to have run Africa’s biggest stock exchange, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), in its 125-year history. She has been instrumental in writing regulatory legislation, like the Insider Trading Act.
  • The iconic Miriam Makeba, known as “Mama Africa” named for her activism plight through her music;
  • Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister of Pakistan.
 
Also well-known are Devi Sankaree Govender, Malala Yousafzai, Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Anne Frank... even the more contemporary women wanting to make a difference - Ushant Lalla aspiring to make a difference by serving on the World Food Programme that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020...the list is endless!
 
Yet, despite the many struggles and achievements of women over the years, the question still arises... are we as women where we need to be? Have we achieved our goals and will we see full gender parity in our lifetime? The answer is NO! We as women still have a long way to go! Women in leadership sadly still lag behind men. Whilst women have been achieving a certain level of gender parity with men in management roles and the general workforce at large, women still need to advance to roles at the very top. Fortune 500 reported on 41 female CEOs in November 2020 with only a handful being women of colour. 
 
In Africa, a similar trend exists - even though there has been an increase in the number of female leaders in top management, progress is still very slow. Research has found that women tend to score higher than men in most leadership skills and aspire to top management roles even more than men. However, despite their ambition to achieve and be at the top, women are just not reaching there quickly enough!
 
There are a number of reasons which could attribute to this - our own individual mindset that holds us back such as lack of confidence when we reach top level management roles, our desire to avoid politics in the office or even valuing the work- life balance. The majority of women have very different choices in terms of their needs. Many women are care-givers, breadwinners and have families and their lifestyle demands (exacerbated by cultural demands) are therefore very different to those of men. Institutional and structural barriers also exist that stereotype men for certain types of roles and networking opportunities better than women - through no fault of men - it’s just the way it’s been for decades but the tide needs to turn quickly! Men and women need to work together to minimise barriers such as these in the workplace.
 
 As women, we must remain persistent in achieving our goals and must be willing to take risks. We need to be resilient in the face of adversity and be willing to invest in our professional development. More importantly, we as women need to find our voices!
 
The campaign theme for IWD 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021. Women need to constantly challenge the status quo! There is no room for complacency if we are going to break through the glass ceiling and pave the way for positive and innovate change. Women and men alike, governments and institutions should all work together to address some of the disparities that exist and support gender parity and an inclusive approach. Joan Baez once said “Action is the antidote to despair”.
 
Together, we can all make a difference- #ItsWithinOurGift
 
Written exclusively for Moore South Africa by Anusha Ramraj from CCI South Africa.