WSU BCOM GRADUATE AND LOGISTICS GURU CHALLENGES WOMEN TO “BREAK THE GLASS CEILING” AMIDST MALE-DOMINATED SPACES

Walter Sisulu University Bcom Accounting graduate and keynote speaker at the Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Annual Lecture, Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane, laid down the gauntlet in East London as she challenged women to continue breaking the proverbial glass ceiling in male-dominated sectors.

A pioneer herself in the logistics sector as both a former CEO and current board chairperson of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Siwisa-Damasane described it as "okay" for any woman to be the first to achieve something, but absolutely "criminal" for her to be the only woman in the room with that achievement.

This status quo inspired and propelled the chairperson to confront male dominance in the logistics space, with the express intent of establishing herself as a guru and thus gaining respect in the global logistics space, and secondly, to bring as many women along to actively participate in the space and change the demographics that continue to permeate with such spaces.

"WSU played a pioneering role, after independence in producing many firsts among women in post-apartheid South Africa. I was actually among one of the guinea pigs and became the first woman ever in the world to run a port. I'm also very proud to say the many women I brought on this logistics journey are running good companies across the country today," said Siwisa-Damasane.

The chairperson, addressing the essay competition winners to pass the baton, was frank in alerting these youths of the multitudinous challenges within society that await them.

Offering some sobering realities, Siwisa-Damasane warned the winners as they ready themselves to step into an arena plagued and burdened by crime, joblessness, poverty, and gender-based violence, all of which require innovative solutions.

“As we celebrate your lessons and winning ideas for community building, we have to focus on job creation. The difference between my generation and yours (essay winners) is that when we left school, we had to take over industries, you guys on the other hand, have to build industries,” she said.

Quite notably, Siwisa-Damasane recognised the students’ essay submissions as more than just part of an academic exercise, but actual and tangible intervention plans that lay out solutions needed to overcome the country’s ever-evolving crises.

Preceding the chairperson’s powerful sentiments was a brief contextual historical chronicling by the Anglican Church of South Africa's Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Cecil Makgoba, regarding establishing the development trust, and subsequently, the annual lectures.

"The development trust was established 13 years ago as a result of desperate people always knocking at Bishop's Court, the official residence of the Archbishop, for food, clothing bursaries, etc, and when people would knock, I'd take some bread to the gate to give to them," said Makgoba.

It was as a result of this desperate need by the community that the Archbishop and four of his contemporaries contemplated the establishment of a trust - an action that would eventually come to fruition and see Makgoba's benevolence adopting a more organised and systematic approach.

After careful consideration, the development trust honed in on three key pillars that would shape its work, and these were education, social justice, and food security.

Some of the beneficiaries under the abovementioned education pillar were the essay winners who, after final adjudication, placed and were announced at the annual lecture as follows:

1. Siphokazi Jika with 86% from Komani Campus (Advanced Diploma in HR Management)
2. Philile Maseti with 82% from Mthatha Campus (Unit of Political Studies & International Relations)
3. Bongisisa Zungu with 81% from Ibika Campus (Bachelor in Public Administration)

By Thando Cezula