Johannesburg - The final workshop of financial services provider Momentum’s #SheOwnsHerSuccess campaign which kicked off earlier this month to mark Women’s Month took place yesterday.
This fourth edition of the annual campaign considered the difficulties women face and provided thoughtful, practical advice and information to ensure women can keep striving for their goals.
This year, Momentum once again provided engaging and practical workshops focused on supporting a woman’s journey to success.
The campaign was launched in 2019 and advocated for women to be unapologetic about their success.
In 2020 it sought to inspire women to break through barriers and take others along with them.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 campaign encouraged women to stay on their journey towards financial success.
This year the workshop had a satisfactory turnout of various women from all walks of life.
Speakers included strategic and leadership consultant Niven Postma, actresses and producers, Tasha Smith and Lupita Nyongo via video link, and radio broadcaster Bongani Bingwa.
The event was hosted by Sherlin Barends with musician and presenter Rorisang Thandekiso as virtual MC who connected with followers online.
The official welcome was presented by the Head of Marketing at Momentum, Charlotte Nsubuga-Mukasa,who said it is important to change the narrative between men and women in South Africa.
"It's no longer an 'us vs them' conversation. We are all in this together. We are all capable of making a contribution in any space we occupy. We are in an age where we're seeing women leading in their spaces. I give myself affirmations every morning and it makes such a difference to my outlook on success and more. This year, we acknowledge that while we live in an unequal society that can limit women, women can still own their success by persisting on their journeys," she said.
Postma gave a presentation on navigating professional relationships in the workplace. Naming the session after her book, If You Don't Do Politics, Politics Will Do You, she said politics will be all around us in every space we occupy. That, it is important to work around them the best way one can.
"Have an ally at work. Know who your allies are at work because when you have allies, they will contribute positively to your career growth," she said.
When asked what men need to do more of in order to lower the scourge of gender-based violence in the country, Bingwa said men need to be more proactive.
“We as men need to do more than respond to injustice.
“We need to be on the lookout for it. We need to have conversations where we are able to say ‘not around me will this happen’.
“Diversity is a numbers game but when you have the word ‘inclusion’, you get to learn more about who is next to you. Inclusion in this country is important,” said Bingwa.
The workshops were a response to research conducted by Momentum to gain a deeper understanding of the barriers women encounter: structural barriers such as the gender pay gap, being under-represented in positions of power, and societal barriers such as battling stereotypes around gender roles are some of the challenges the workshops aimed to address.
The concepts of allyship and collective support to create more enabling environments for women to succeed were also tackled.