“It’s in your hands now” was a term used by the late President Nelson Mandela in 2007 when he was encouraging the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the battle against HIV and AIDS. Most recently, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa concluded his speech in response to the fight against COVID-19 with the same words: “It’s in your hands now.”
I’ve been reflecting on this term and how it presents itself still true 13 years after it was first uttered by uTata Madiba. If anything, this pandemic has given Africa an opportunity to do just that.
The informal economy makes up an estimated 34% of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) according to the IMF. In South Africa and Mauritius it contributes a staggering 25% – 65% of GDP every year. Of this, 89% is women-owned businesses. We will never achieve gender parity if we only address the integration of women in the formal economy only.
Imagine if we empowered these women-owned businesses in the informal economy to digitize – street vendors, petty goods and services traders, subsistence farmers, and industrial services amongst others.
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Author: Sonwabise Mzinyathi
SAWIICT – Promoting the integration and participation of women within the ICT industry to produce entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators.
#ICTForum #womeninempowerment
Education is no longer one-size-fits-all. The future of personalized learning is an exciting and rapidly evolving field, with new technologies and approaches constantly emerging. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, Web3, and data analytics are making it possible for educators to accurately assess and understand the needs and abilities of individuals. This approach to learning has the potential to change the way we think about and deliver education and can have profound implications for learning and development and the education system as a whole. Data is becoming a force driving the present and shaping the future. Last week at the HR Summit, I highlighted companies that I have recently engaged with AI solutions for projects across Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa that have had a profound effect in the way Redefine Human Capital facilitates training and coaching for Entrepreneurs and Corporate Clients. Big Shout out to Vanessa Perumal, Co-founder of ECafrica, which is pioneering movement using digital as a transforming disruption to profile business stories and connect networks to new markets and Deshun Deysel, CEO and Founder of GoPeak International- for developing a digital platform to optimise business performance in a gamified way. As we journey deeper into the digital age, data has become the cornerstone of progress, propelling us into a future that’s smarter, more efficient, and more interconnected than ever before. Contact us at https://sawiict.co.za to learn more about South African Woman in ICT Talent Hub and Entrepreneurial Corner co-create targeted and effective learning experiences in your organisation that could lead to more personalized and efficient instruction.
Article by Irisha Luhanga
By Sonwabise Mzinyathi, Acting Chair: SA Women in ICT Forum
The under representation of women, youth and more especially people with disabilities in the ICT sector cannot be underestimated. We have to be deliberate and intentional about the targeted approach we are taking to ensure the active participation of this group in the digital economy.
Statistics that come from various transformation reports including the B-BBEE ICT Sector Council’s Annual Monitoring Report are underwhelming to say the least. As a sector, we struggle to meet even the bare minimum, it can’t be that as a country with the history that we have, we are still talking about inequality as opposed to acting towards systematic solutions to diversity, equity and inclusion in order to deliver technology innovations that will ultimately form the basis of the Capable4IR Army levels that we seek attain.
Over and over again, you hear from companies how they struggle to find SMMEs to join their supply chain, struggle to find women for technical roles, the youth is always being developed – never ready – and as result, we get further and further away from achieving our transformation targets.
The Leaky Pipeline Report by Syson Kunda from the Ping Academy in partnership with the Black IT Forum, SA Women in ICT Forum and Precisional Growth reflects that there are more men compared to women reported in technical roles in the IT workforce and that generally, roles such as computer systems designers, analysts and computer programmers in the IT workforce in South Africa are reserved for men; with only an estimated 23.93% of women employed as computer programmers.
The report also shows that there are more men in leadership positions in the ICT sector in South Africa. Only 26.92% women were in leadership roles in ICT in 2020. What’s more, is that even junior roles are mostly occupied by men. Only 18% of women are doing AI research in South Africa, 24% are in Cybersecurity, and only 19% are in managerial roles. What is even more disheartening is the fact that only 17% of ICT students are female.
A report by Siemens revealed that the adoption of digitalisation in industrial sectors, ranging from transport to manufacturing, could potentially add R4 trillion to the African economy by 2026 – all of which are industries that will be fully enabled by ICT. The report highlights that South Africa, because of its bulging youth population, has the highest potential to drive this innovation. Many of our youth; however, are feeling despondent and discouraged by the seemingly lack of opportunities, support such as sponsored enterprises and even when they do innovate, their innovations fall into the ether.
ICTs are tools through which young people can substantially contribute to, participate in and leverage their social and economic development. Connected to each other like never before because of technology, young people want to contribute to their communities, propose innovative solutions and drive social progress and change. As early adopters of ICTs, young people are uniquely placed to harness the power of digital technologies in new and imaginative ways. However, youth participation in the ICT value chain remains low. In 2019, 58% of our youth were unemployed. In Diepsloot alone, sits a staggering 52% youth unemployment rate.
The potential for ICTs to support youth development and to drive inclusive participation by women and people with disabilities is significant but for many across our country, it remains a theory; mainly because of five main reasons:
First, Connectivity. A first access barrier for using ICTs is connectivity or the lack thereof. In many rural areas, the basic infrastructure for ICT access is not yet present.
Second, Awareness. Even if there is basic access and connectivity, not everyone understands what a mobile phone or the internet can do for them, how to use a mobile phone for something other than a phone call and a text, the kinds of information and services that can be accessed or delivered through a mobile phone or over the internet, or how this information can be used to improve lives and livelihoods. Many people in our country, especially those living in rural areas may not have ever heard of some of the mobile applications people living in the cities use on a daily basis. The unfortunate trust is that many people in our country know of the internet but have never used it.
Third, Affordability. The combined cost of a handset, airtime, mobile data services, charging and electricity is infamously high in South Africa, especially for those living under $2 a day.
Fourth, Relevance. Information and content that we make available is not always consumable either in language or user-experience, wording being masculine, and people with disabilities are often not catered for. This is why it is important to have diverse teams.
And lastly Attainability. Even if the other barriers to access have been resolved, socio-economic and cultural issues such as gender discrimination or negative attitudes about women, youth, and people with disabilities impact on the effective use of ICTs.
These barriers mean that many youth, people with disabilities and women are not able to make full use of the potential of ICTs for their own development and when we do drive efforts towards changing this narrative, we continue to be presented with solutions such as low-level technical roles, non-strategic support and not to mention the perpetual training.
This has to change.
In their speeches during the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies’ Budget Vote Addresses, we heard from both the Minister and Deputy Minister interventions that are currently being implemented to fast track the inclusive growth of the sector and more specifically policy directives that will propel the participation of women, youth and people with disabilities.
Further, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies posits that together with its agencies, various opportunities for women, youth and people with disabilities are in fact being prioritised. For example, the Department’s ICT SMME Development Strategy aims to facilitate effective entry and participation of youth, women and people with disabilities into the mainstream ICT sector and as digital entrepreneurs. Further, the Department has committed to ensure that 40% of procurement spend is allocated to SMMEs. In addition, through various interventions, the B-BBEE ICT Sector Council will soon publish the Amended ICT Sector Code which will provide for 50% target procurement from majority Black owned suppliers, an increase from 40%.
It is now up to us as industry, to ensure that we too are playing our part to implement tangible deliverables to ensure that women, youth and people with disabilities are afforded, not just participation in the ICT Value Chain, but equitable economic participation.
About the author
Sonwabise Mzinyathi is the Chair of the SA Women in ICT Forum and Deputy Chair of the B-BBEE ICT Sector Council. She started her career in diplomacy and was posted as a Diplomat representing South Africa in New Delhi, India. She left diplomacy to join corporate and has worked for PR agencies, tech and FinTech companies including TBWA’s Magna Carta, Cisco, and Refinitiv – a London Stock Exchange Business. Currently, she is a market lead for global policy and government affairs at Global Citizen. She is a Trustee on the Cisco Charitable Foundation Trust and the Policy Co-Chair of the SA Coalition for Menstrual Health Management. She is a founder and co-owner of several companies all geared towards using technology to address social ills. Sonwabise is also a 2021 Young African Leader Initiative (YALI) Fellow.
By Sonwabise Mzinyathi, Acting Chair: SA Women in ICT Forum
“Diversity is inviting someone to a party. Inclusion is asking them for a dance. Equality is coming up with the dance together.” Author Unknown
In an interview recently I was asked what the top four things I’d advise to women who are entering the workplace. My advice was as follows:
● You are never alone, there’s always a woman who is experiencing or has experienced what you are going through. Speak up.
● If someone is not in your arena doing the hard work with you, you have no business listening to their opinion.
● Lift other women as you rise.
● Don’t stop learning and unlearning.
In particular, however, I’d like to focus on the need for getting a mentor and a sponsor in your corner as you grow in your career. Mentoring provides the key to the strategic and intentional acquisition and retention of women and is a crucial part of leading diversity and inclusion. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career if it wasn’t for the men and women who mentored me, who were my sounding boards and sponsored me. You see, when I began my career, I learnt very early from my mentors that being a woman in the workplace requires you to act with intention and purpose, to always be extra prepared and to back your opinion with data.
Being a woman in business, entrepreneurship or professionally is not an easy task. It comes with so many hurdles that sometimes you feel alone but that is never the case. According to the Pew research Centre, women make up 40% of the workforce in more than 80 countries globally. Most surprising is that the top five countries with the highest female representation in the workforce are all in Sub-Saharan Africa. Zimbabwe and Malawi lead the diversity board with more than 50%, Gambia sits at 50.8%, Liberia at 50.6% and Tanzania comes in at 50.5%.
Women are becoming prime candidates for filling the leadership pipeline and C-suite benches that will soon be left lighter by a departing generation of workers, namely the baby boomers that will be retiring in the next few years. And yet, women get less access to the people, input, and opportunities that accelerate careers. As a result, the higher you look in the corporate ladder, the fewer women you see. This representation can discourage women from seeking advancement and cause them to become complacent with their current position, or push them out of an organization or even an industry altogether. Likewise, a lack of gender diversity can negatively impact organizations, hindering their talent recruitment, diminishing their leadership pipeline and even impacting their profit margins.
A study by Carnegie Mellon University found that the most successful teams were ones with more women on them. The University reiterates that when women make up more than 50% of a team, the team’s collective intelligence rises above average. This is partly because gender diverse groups provide varied points of view that make for better decision making proving these teams to be smarter, more innovative problem solvers, and more impactful teams.
Organisations that do not engage in the recruitment of women leaders end up losing their middle management talent because these women do not see themselves climbing the corporate ladder in a company or an industry where they are not represented and therefore they go elsewhere to seek employment where their ambitions can be fulfilled. The middle management stage of women’s careers is pivotal as this is when women make the decision on whether they will continue to push for their aspirations or will tap out. Providing opportunities for enablement; namely: internal stakeholder networking, mentorship and sponsorship during this time helps women better navigate their next career move and helps organisations in turn to retain their female staff.
Mentoring enables skills development, increased employee engagement and retention, the freedom for employees to drive their own development while creating highly scalable models and innovations for their organisations. Mentorship formats include mentoring circles, flash mentoring, high potential mentoring, and modern mentoring imparting inclusivity for women to feel more connected and engaged in their place of employment.
In addition, mentorship programmes cultivate habits that build a woman’s belief in her capabilities and therefore lead her to perform better and enable her sponsor to have reasons that support her rising success in the company through salary increases and promotions etc. In addition, women who have experienced mentoring at a young age tend to show willingness to mentor others as their careers evolve. In fact it is said that 67% women find mentoring to be a crucial part of their career progression. In my personal capacity, I mentor ten young male and female aspiring leaders at a time because I recognise the impact that mentorship has had in my career.
When an organisation adds mentoring of women as part of their strategy for human capital development, it increases their female employee engagement, belief in their intellect and ability to collaborate, increasing innovation, growing company profits and revenue. The female staff also start to push their boundaries of contribution to the company’s growth. Organisations can unlock the talent pipeline with the right strategic mentoring programmes that support women in building the skills and knowledge needed to elevate to the next level, and initiating a network of resources available to provide guidance, sponsorship and career growth.
About the author
Sonwabise Mzinyathi is an advocate for the use of technology to bridge the inequality gap, specifically for the most vulnerable in the community – women and children. She is the Acting Chair of the South African Women in ICT Forum, a counsellor on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment ICT Sector Council and she owns an impact investment company, Source Creations.
By Sonwabise Mzinyathi, Acting Chair: SA Women in ICT Forum
“Will those who write the algorithms ever realize their negativity bias?” – Elon Musk, July 2020
Identifying criminal behaviour, treating cancer, preparing for natural disaster, tailored education, marketing – these are but a few ways in which Artificial Intelligence is used to advance society. It is a technology that simulates human intelligence but how do we ensure that in the process, it doesn’t simulate human prejudices and isms. Who’s agenda and gender does it seek to simulate.
Element.ai sampled researchers from three AI conferences in machine learning and machine vision in 2017 and found that across 23 countries, 88% of the researchers were male. This is hardly surprising considering that the computer science and overall tech space is dominated by males across Africa and globally. This is not assisted by the fact that studies have shown that men are promoted for their potential, while women are promoted for their achievements in the sector. In the long run, this only means that the gap will be a perpetual challenge for the industry, impacting design of technology and the gender stereotypes it will continue to promote. You see, behind all algorithms and software development are humans, if stats show that these humans are mostly male, then we face potential bias even in the very technology whose intention it is to eliminate biases.
For example, 74% of AI movie characters are male. While female avatars are most commonly used to play virtual assistants and champions, perpetuating the perspective that helping roles are best left to women. Compare AI gender stereotypes in science fiction – male androids being designed to be heroes and popular villains such as The Terminator, Nero while as females androids are either sexualised or overly submissive such as the female androids in Ex-Machina and Metropolis to name a few.
Datasets from which predictive models are developed, the software and the hardware, design and testing in the industry is mostly done by men naturally operating from their own experiences. Both men and women, people of diverse backgrounds need to be the developers of innovations from design, systems, datasets and evaluations – the entire value chain. The principle of using technology to bridge the inequality gap, seeks to eliminate discrimination, minimise data biases and promote shared benefits and being inclusive and bringing diverse people, including women and people living with disabilities, into the AI value chain is part of it.
The World Economic Forum lists the importance of conscientious work within the AI research community in order to recruit and promote more female talent. I agree. There also definitely lies a need to find technical solutions for fair and accountable AI. In addition, investors need to support more female founders. We also need to create more images of AI and robots free of gender stereotypes in the media, entertainment and creative sectors.
About the author
Sonwabise Mzinyathi is an advocate for the use of technology to bridge the inequality gap, specifically for the most vulnerable in the community – women and children. She is the Acting Chair of the South African Women in ICT Forum, a counsellor on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment ICT Sector Council and she owns an impact investment company, Source Creations.
By Sonwabise Sebata
Now in its 14th year, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report states that only 21.4% of women sit on Boards in South Africa, and more specifically only 20% of women directors serve on Boards of JSE-listed companies in 2020. In addition, The Jack Hammer Executive Report Volume III shows that women occupy only 17% of top-executive levels across all sectors in South Africa. But what about the ICT sector specifically? Women occupy a mere 23% of the total job roles in South Africa’s ICT sector.
The figures are no better globally. Women currently hold only 19% of tech-related jobs at the top 10 global tech companies. Meaning the rest, a total of 81%, is occupied by men. In addition, men occupy 72% of leadership roles in the same top 10 global tech companies while women only occupy 28% of the leadership roles in those companies. It doesn’t come as a surprise however, a study by World Wide Web Founder Arthur Goldstuck, reveals that men are assumed to be the better leaders and this assumption is mostly made by other men.
So where to from here for women in ICT in South Africa?
It starts with our foundation, the education system. A PWC report shows that the proportion of females to males who graduate with STEM-related degrees is at an imbalance in South Africa but this is also a global gender problem. World Economic Forum statistics show that in maths and statistics studies there are only 4.5% female students. In engineering, manufacturing and construction there are only 3.10% female students, which in turn shrinks the number of women in STEM, posing further restrictions to our growth as women in the sector.
The answer however is more complex than just our education system. Behavioural design, counter-stereotyping societal norms, upskilling and reskilling, role modelling, de-biasing societal structures, and changing the narrative and images associated with toys to sports to design models to classrooms should all play a role. Even more so because closing the gender gap by just 10% in South Africa would have extremely positive spin-offs for our economy. Economists at PWC estimate that this would give the country a 3.2% GDP growth and a 6.5% reduction in unemployed job seekers, as well as contribute to poverty alleviation in the country.
It is encouraging to see more ICT companies with women leaders in South Africa; namely, Microsoft, Software AG, SAP, Naspers, Project Isizwe, and Siemens in addition to women founders of successful local ICT businesses and NGOs such as Soma-Solutions, Uhuru Spaces, Lindamahle, Imbokodo ICT Consulting, FemTech, Kids in ICT and Girl Code to name a few; but the call to action is far broader than that.
The South African Women in ICT Forum was launched in 2014 as a platform for advocating for the increase of women in South Africa’s ICT sector through policy frameworks, programmes that contribute to career acceleration, training and capacity building. Since then, when the current Board took over in May 2019, the Forum’s mandate increased to include not only women but also youth and people living with disabilities and not only the ICT sector exclusively but also ICT-enabled sectors. This has enabled the Forum to reach a much wider portion of marginalized communities whose voices and needs were not represented in the sector. What has also been a turning point for the Forum, is working with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies as well as Industry bodies such as the Black IT Forum, ITA, US Chamber of Commerce, 30% Club amongst others but also business. We have been encouraged by companies such as Microsoft, Gijima, Cisco, Altron, Clearline Protection Systems, RaizCorp, MindShare, Broadband Infraco, Standard Bank, and Accenture to name a few, who have reached out to work with us on this front.
The World Economic Forum believes that it will take 100 years, 99.5 years to be exact, to bridge the gender gap. We shouldn’t expect drastic change in the sector in 2020, but on the bright side our collective efforts will be the force that creates real impact.
About the author:
Sonwabise Sebata is the (Acting) Chair for the Board of the South African Women in ICT Forum.
By Sonwabise Mzinyathi
August is Women’s Month in South Africa. The country celebrates August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Presidential Headquarters of South Africa, the Union Buildings, on the 9th of August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Pass Laws was a system designed by the apartherid government to curtail the movement of black South Africans. The significance of this march has been the pillar of women’s empowerment in South Africa.
But when it comes to women’s empowerment, in the ICT Sector specifically, do we have reason to celebrate?
In this week’s article, I will be unpacking Syson Kunda’s Leaky Pipeline report. The report expands on the low retention rate of women in the IT industry in South Africa. For those of you who think in numbers, in the 1980s there were more than 40% women professionals in ICT and currently, varying studies show that by 2018 there were only 21% and currently just under 23%. This despite women being the highest users of technology globally.
Women are still the minority in fields like engineering, energy, transportation and information technology (IT) which are vital sectors to enable transformation for sustainable development. The report shows that both women entrepreneurs and professionals in the IT Industry face various challenges that lead to the leaky pipeline mid-way in their careers. The author of the report interviewed professionals and entrepreneurs in the IT industry in South Africa to find out just what challenges women face.
The report first unpacks challenges for women related to work-life balance due to family responsibilities versus work pressure. COVID19 has however shown us that it is not about a work-life balance but rather an integration of your life because a work-life balance assumes the absence of conflict between the two and that there must be a trade off. A more realistic approach would be to incorporate your work with the rest of your life.
The second challenge the report unpacks is a lack of representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Frontier Education attributes this to three school subjects that are significantly represented as masculine in the manner they are taught at school; namely; maths, chemistry and physics. This, in turn, influences young women’s and men’s aspirations to enroll in a STEM major at university by showing that a less pronounced masculine image of science has the potential to increase the likelihood of STEM career aspirations; if the woman is even in a position to go to university.
Toxic company culture is another reason why women do not stay in the ICT Industry. The report concluded that women in ICT feel undermined in the workplace to the extent that the men in the sector repeatedly assumed they were there to serve and not to make meaningful contributions. Some indicated that their proposals and suggestions are not implemented or followed through until a man backs them up. This is something that has been raised repeatedly by the McKinsey Women Matters report. In addition, only 33% of Forbes Women felt that their employer was making an effort to improve workplace conditions for women.
Other findings from the report that drive leakage of the female pipeline in the industry are the gender pay gap was still an issue women grapple with, regardless of how much more work they put in. They found that the saying still remains true that men are promoted on potential, while women are promoted on their achievements. A lack of exposure at an early age, a lack of recognition and a lack of female role models and mentors at senior level were also reasons women leave the ICT sector.
According to the report, 33.33% of the women interviewed considered leaving the IT industry between 30 and 39 years. 24.24% of the women interviewed considered leaving the IT industry between 22 and 29 years of age.
Charmaine Houvet Chair of the South African Communications Forum quotes The Harvard Business Review in terms of the reason why this is problematic. According to Charmaine, gender parity is a business challenge for more than 75% of corporate CEOs, globally who place it in their top 10 agenda issues. In addition, Charmaine is of the view that gender balance happens in companies only if it is personally and forcefully led by the CEO. There must be visible commitment from the top to full spectrum diversity and pay parity with sustained action throughout the organisation. A fact based transformation strategy is required with strong CEO, EXCO and Board support that steers clear of emotive and anecdotal reasoning.
According to Charmaine, “we spend a significant amount of time, effort and costs to attract talent to the workplace but once there, we do little..sometimes nothing at all to motivate, grow, nurture or retain this talent. Bold collaborative efforts will reduce the shocking timeline predicted by the ITU to achieve gender parity to ensure that girls and women are not left behind at a time where ICT is forecast to re-imagine the future.”
For Marilyn Radebe, Vice President of the Black IT Forum of South Africa, xx
About the author
Sonwabise Mzinyathi is an advocate for the use of technology to bridge the inequality gap, specifically for the most vulnerable in the community – women and children. She is the Acting Chair of the South African Women in ICT Forum, a Councillor on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment ICT Sector Council and she owns an impact investment company, Source Creations.
The South African Women in ICT Forum, cordially invites you to attend the inaugural “Lift As We Rise” series launch event where the Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, patron of the South African Women in ICT Forum, Ms Pinky Kekana will be delivering the keynote address. The South African Women in ICT Forum strives to be pioneers and thought leaders influencing and promoting the advancement, development, integration and active participation of women within the ICT Industry in order to produce entrepreneurs, leaders, professionals, innovators and the universal application of ICT to achieve a knowledge economy. “Lift As We Rise” is a series of many initiatives we will be implementing as a Forum as we drive the gender and youth agenda in South Africa’s ICT and ICT enabled sectors. This Women’s Month, Code.org will be teaching 60 young girls how to code through the Microsoft DigiGirlz initiative and we plan on expanding this initiative in the coming months.
The South African Women in ICT Forum is partnering with the Thato Molamu Foundation | Gateway Media ZA | Media Connection For the #GirlWithoutIdentity #SheIsProud initiative in order to build the confidence of the girl child to be able to see herself entering sectors traditionally known to be male dominated such as #ICT The girl child has to know that she can be whatever she wants to be.