National Women’s Day today commemorates the 1956 protest by 20 000 women against apartheid pass laws. Women in South African society today face different challenges and here two influential Grahamstown citizens talk to Lauren Davidson about their experiences as successful women – in the workplace, and in society.
National Women’s Day today commemorates the 1956 protest by 20 000 women against apartheid pass laws. Women in South African society today face different challenges and here two influential Grahamstown citizens talk to Lauren Davidson about their experiences as successful women – in the workplace, and in society.
The Director of the Centre for Social Development, Vera Adams, says women need to create a space for themselves in their professional and social environments. Adams started her career in the largely male-dominated science industry. She worked at the Medical Research Council as a senior scientist, before moving to Grahamstown to become the Director of Scifest Africa.
She believes that, in order to gain recognition in the work place, women should display confidence about their ideas and their beliefs.
Adams observes that gender segregation is still very prominent and that it is somewhat overlooked. She says she is often frustrated in social settings in Grahamstown, where the women sit on one side of the room and the men on the other. She says in such situations, she deliberately mingles with both men and women.
“I am not bound by [those conventions]," she says. "I tend to break that mould.”
Ntombi Baart, Makana's Municipal Manager's first job was as a domestic worker. She then worked her way up through various administrative positions at the Department of Agriculture and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
“I felt that I was there as a token, rather than to contribute ideas,” says Baart, explaining how she sometimes felt among her male colleagues.
Baart believes that there is no place for discrimination against women today and that women can use their feminine attributes to uplift and liberate themselves in society.
“As women, we should not try and emulate men. We must just be ourselves and embrace womanhood,” she says.
Adams and Baart both believe that women should create networks through which to share their experiences. They say that while there are systems and structures in place for women to advance in South African society, women need to be aware of their basic rights.
