Growing female talent is key to transformation
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Despite some of the most progressive laws and policies that advance women’s rights and gender equality, we still experience disproportionate representation and reward of women in business, continued marginalisation from the formal economy, and endemic gender-based violence.
“At Zutari, we recognise that today, more than six decades later, there is still immense room for improvement. Every business in our country needs to play its part to not only fully transform, but to actively seek opportunities to build and support our women employees,” says Dr. Lulu Gwagwa, Chairperson of Zutari, formerly known as Aurecon. “We have a responsibility, now more than ever, to place diversity and inclusion at the core of our business operations.”
Lisa Petersen, Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Partner at Zutari, adds that, as a society, we are too slow in closing the gender gap. “For us at Zutari, the race is on. Although we celebrate our women in August, actively promoting and driving a gender equality agenda is an ongoing focus.
“We realise that it is the deliberate inclusion of a host of different skills, backgrounds and dispositions that make us thrive as a business,” she says. “We always work as a team, as one. We allow space for each other’s differences, while building the trust needed to achieve shared goals.”
Senzekile Mdluli, B-BBEE and CSI Manager at Zutari, adds that addressing the inequalities of the past is another ‘pandemic’ that the country is dealing with. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the South African economy is under severe pressure, which adds complexity to our ability to address this.
“Our biggest challenge lies in becoming a transformed and an empowered industry. This is not achievable overnight. It requires consistent effort, a series of interventions and commitment from the top to fast-track it.”
Senzekile has the following advice for women professionals: “Stop doubting yourself. Broaden your career opportunities and choices by studying further, learning new things and understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Focusing on my strengths has helped me be effective at my work and succeed at whatever I do. Be aware of your shortcomings, but don’t let it prevent you from becoming the best version of yourself.”
Tashna Margo, Technical Director at Zutari, feels transformational leadership and prioritisation of diversity are key business drivers. “Our mentorship programmes for women and structured career growth plans are key to unleashing the full potential of our female professionals.” She also feels strongly that qualified female professionals should be evaluated on merit and performance.
Patricia De Carvalho E Azevedo, Office Manager in Luanda, believes that funding education for women, especially for STEM careers, is critical to ensure better female representation in the engineering industry. Her message to her fellow women professionals is to always favour hard work as a means of being true to oneself. “Create a good balance between your private and professional life.”
Ushantha O’Donnell, PSH Commercial Lead, stresses that ongoing learning is key. “Keep learning. Never stop. Push yourself beyond your own comfort zone and take risks. We have the expertise; we just need to leverage it to upskill the women in our company. Tough times never last; tough people do.”
Ends
Notes to the Editor
To download hi-res images for this release, please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Zutari link to view the company’s press office.
About Zutari
As engineering consultants and trusted advisors, Zutari co-creates an engineered impact that enables environments, communities and economies to thrive. Few others can match our local capacity, long-standing presence and understanding of the challenges required to operate successfully across various regions in Africa.
We have created an impact across Africa for the past 88 years (1932 to 2020) and remain committed to this continent, making us the perfect partner to those less familiar with working in Africa. We are experienced in international projects and our Global Design Centres allow us to bring world-class solutions to our clients.
As a private management-owned company, our commitment is true and we have vested interest in our clients’ success. Our strong relationships allow us to connect the right expertise, processes and resources to match client’s needs and bring stakeholders that have shared interests together.
We blend the old and the new. We have moved beyond traditional engineering and work collaboratively to integrate technical and creative thinking. This process of co-creation allows us to unearth new opportunities with our clients and partners.
Zutari’s broad collective of in-house, industry-recognised engineering consultants and trusted advisors provide seamless and integrated delivery. This unique ability to offer scaled engagement allows Zutari to solve complex challenges more efficiently.
Grounded in digital engineering, we continuously deliver better results.
Zutari Contact
Rashree Maharaj
PR and Media Advisor
Email: Rashree [dot] Maharaj [at] zutari [dot] com
Tel: (012) 427 2000
Media Contact
Renay Tandy
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: (011) 867 7763
Fax: 086 512 3352
Cell: 082 562 5088
Email: renay [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.ngage.co.za
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