#PressForProgress this International Women’s Day

Globally, gender issues have come to the fore in the past year as movements like #MeToo have been dominating headlines and taking over social media. The prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace highlighted by these movements is just one instance of the injustice women face in this environment.

Stats SA reported a gender pay gap of 23 per cent in 2015, meaning that women generally earn 23 per cent less than men in South Africa. These figures show that gender equality in terms of pay, promotion and opportunity is brutally lacking.

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A 2017 study by Bain & Company reveals that only 28 per cent of women are in senior leadership roles – even though they make up 51 per cent of the South African population and 53 per cent of tertiary educated South Africans. This percentage plummets further to a shocking 3 per cent when it comes to the number of female CEOs at JSE-listed companies.

“In the face of these obstacles, I think it’s important, then, that we mark this International Women’s Day by starting to accelerate change in South Africa – in our communities, in the workplace, and in our broader society,” said Khulu Mabaso, director for corporate communications at Procter & Gamble.

As a part of International Women’s Day, Mabaso shared her insights about ways South African women can #PressForProgress in the workplace.

Start with you

Success won’t be within your grasp unless you actively pursue it. Much of the focus on this year’s theme for International Women’s Day (#PressForProgress) will undoubtedly be on external factors prohibiting women’s advancement.

“Although these are vital, change won’t happen unless we also push ourselves. There are numerous barriers to success for women in the workplace, which is why it is so important to develop a strong work ethic and consistently cultivate self-belief,” said Mabaso.

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Mabaso said the lack of confidence is an unfortunate trait that has been observed more in girls than boys from a young age and is evident in the results of the many studies that the Always Keeping Girls in School Programme has conducted into girls’ confidence over the past two or three decades.

“Therefore, a strong emphasis of P&G’s Always Keeping Girls in School Programme, which has so far reached 60 000 girls in SA, is on instilling confidence. In addition to providing girls with sanitary towels so they don’t miss school, we also focus on empowering them through knowledge. Also, our Always #LikeAGirl campaigns promote improving confidence in girls by ensuring that doing something ‘like a girl’ means doing something well, and not inferior to boys,” Mabaso said.

Include the men

To achieve real societal change, Mabaso advised that men need to be made aware of and understand the whole notion of privilege and bias, as some men are oblivious to the extent of the discrimination women can face.

“For example, in the Bain & Company study on gender disparity, 58 per cent of men – against 38 per cent of women – believe that gender equity is a visible priority at work. Also, remember that it is these men who are raising our next generation. Their beliefs and perceptions will be passed on to their children and it’s vital that both young boys and girls learn about the importance of equality so that they can practice it and advocate it when they are older. It’s only in this way that we can build a gender-inclusive society,” Mabaso said.

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Support other women

Mabaso said women are regarded as competition or seen as threats but are actually all fighting the same battle. She advised women to focus more on building an army to be reckoned with, rather than devoting time to small skirmishes.

For Mabaso, supporting other women starts with small actions – even simply refraining from negative comments on social media or gossip in the office – and can extend to actions that leave a lasting impression, like mentoring.

“I am lucky enough to be a mentor for WEConnect International – a non-profit organisation that focuses on developing women-owned businesses – through its partnership with P&G.

“Last year, for example, I was part of a P&G leadership team that trained 20 female entrepreneurs in key business skills, such as aligning strategy and execution and understanding and reaching customers. The eventual aim is for these women-owned businesses to become part of P&G’s supply chain.”