Jesmane Boggenpoel’s book My Blood Unites and Divides was a compelling account of her experiences as a woman of colour breaking barriers at a time when opportunities for people of colour were scarce. Now, she’s helping others learn from those experiences in a new online course, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce, available on Udemy.…
Tracy Sondezi (31) from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal is not one to back down from a challenge. She lives her life to the full and faces obstacles head-on, even when she is scared. Tracy is currently head of treasury, head of the goods not for resale expense control department, and group financial accountant at Boxer Superstores.…
Nadine Hurwitz (33), a cost and project accountant by day and a Ballet Barre instructor after hours, from Johannesburg, did exactly that. She got knocked down, had an idea, and, against many odds, made it happen. Twice. To get back up when the school of hard knocks took you down is never easy and for…
Historically, it has not been easy for women of colour in corporate settings in South Africa. Many have had to work harder and fight for opportunities and social equality. As a proudly South African woman of colour, Sheena Bloem (37), an operations professional at a global asset management firm in Cape Town, wants to honour…
With over 10 years of experience as a financial services professional, including corporate and investment banking, treasury, funding, and liquidity management, CA(SA) Thina Tembani (35), from Johannesburg, is currently the executive assistant to the head of the banking division and CEO designate of Rand Merchant Bank, and to the COO of the banking division. She…
Sherylee Moonsamy (35), CFO at the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), had a very unconventional start to her CA(SA) journey. There were many times she could have given up, but she refused to do so and her dedication has finally paid off and today, she is proudly the CFO at the JDA. When faced with a…
August is women’s month – a time to celebrate fierce and fantastic South African females who rise above and achieve greatness in the face of everything that may count against them. In the powerful words of author Nakeia Homer: ‘Behind every strong woman is a story that gave her no other choice.’ A really strong…
Kovini Moodly (37) multi-hyphenate visionary, chartered accountant, and founder of Boss Babes South Africa grew up in a little suburb south of Durban called Shallcross. Her aim with Boss Babes was breaking barriers and changing narratives around women uplifting each other, as well as recognising and changing stereotypes that women of colour face daily. Peace…
Mark Twain famously said, ‘It’s never wrong to do the right thing.’ Why, then, is it so common for leaders to act unethically? We live in a world where the news of corporate failures arising from unethical leadership is not a surprise, where bribing a traffic official when breaking a ‘minor’ traffic offence is justifiable,…
While South Africa’s current female population stands at 30 515 459 (50,5%),1 women constitute but a fraction of both the formal and informal business sectors. Who is to blame for this and why are women still not representing themselves where decisions are being made? Who is acting on their behalf? ‘We can ask all these…