Women in Stainless Steel

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world” - Hillary Clinton

The world is entering a new era of female empowerment. Where women are at the helm; they are the ‘captains of industry’, the moguls, industrialists  and tycoons. In line with this, government has plans to roll out a National Strategic Plan, consisting of six pillars of which one, aims to  ensure women’s economic and financial inclusion as part of a broader localisation drive. This will fuel a critically needed agenda that paves the way towards gender equality, poverty eradication, sustainability and inclusive economic growth.

President Ramaphosa has said “We are going to drive women’s economic inclusion through public procurement. We have set the target of ensuring that 40% of goods and services procured by public entities are procured from women-owned business”. A Women’s Economic Assembly (WECONA) has therefore been created with the focus on finding “supply chain opportunities for women-owned businesses in key industries such as steel,  automotive and energy sectors”, stated President Ramaphosa.

COLLABORATING FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

As a result, Sassda has been working with government to find opportunities for female-led companies within their membership and contribute to  creating equality for women in all spheres of their industry and broader economy. Sassda has approximately 25 female entrepreneurial members and their main role will be “support and input on the steel sector” for the National Strategic Plan.

Sassda Market Intelligence Specialist Lesley Squires who was invited to speak at the WECONA launch, says the initiative was formed as part of the localisation effort amongst government organisations and the assembly will facilitate this. “It’s vital to have initiatives like the WECONA to dispel the misconceptions about manufacturing and steel industries being only for men. By forging positive visibility of women in industries where they form  the minority, it will inspire and motivate young women to do anything they set their minds to do. “Women must be educated about the many  opportunities and types of jobs in the manufacturing and stainless steel industry. Sassda will be assisting them in getting the right qualifications necessary to fill these positions,” she explains.

FEMALE-LED MEMBERS ARE SHAPING THE INDUSTRY

Sassda member Albis Flanges is a family-owned business run by founder Oswald Haas’s daughters Monika Lupini and Sonja Walls since 2017. For more than 25 years, Monika worked in the construction industry with her husband and Sonja worked in the exhibition industry, which is dominated  by women leaders, thereby instilling an attitude that leadership is not based on gender.

Sonja states; “Previously, male dominated industries are in a state of transformation and re-imagining which is exciting and it is critical to educate and empower women for the future of these industries”.  She believes it is vital to have women leaders in the steel industry, “Traditionally, the  manufacturing and steel industry has been dominated by men. From an early age, boys were encouraged into these industries, by society, culture, parents and the educational system. It is a classic case of gender stereotyping, that women were not suited or have the aptitude for these industries.

“This is not true, and it is important that through transformation, to instil a sense of confidence in women, that no industry is off limits. We need to create an environment that is diverse and inclusive, not based on gender, but based on capabilities, skills and potential, value systems and having the right attitude and work ethics. By having more female leaders, it will encourage young women to enter into the industry”.

A MORE STRATEGIC ROLE TO PLAY

BBD Steel Supplies is spearheaded by partners Monika Pretorius and Gwendolyn Mahuma both of whom have a passion to empower other women  and we find it very gratifying to see other women succeed in business. Gwendolyn comments that it is important for strategic female involvement in most sectors including the stainless steel industry. “Currently, there are not enough women players in the industry and the scenario must be changed. Women are an available and abundant resource that could be a pool of talent to be utilised. “Women will bring diversity and a new way of  thinking to any male dominated industry. Women also tend to be more empathetic to issues related to the environment, social and health and, going forward for any organisation to be sustainable, these cannot be ignored”.

Gwendolyn maintains that in the stainless steel industry, women are mostly found in traditional roles such as administration, accounting etc. It is rare to find women in the manufacturing, distribution of stainless steel and other steel-related products. Lately, women are starting to play  leadership or strategic roles in this industry but the numbers remain low”. She adds that “stainless steel is a volume business and without the right
support it will be difficult to succeed. Steel is also a technical environment. Women should be encouraged at the tertiary level to study  engineering related studies to build industry knowledge and to enable them to compete. Companies should also be inspired to offer artisan opportunities that also include women to build real skills amongst the women, giving them the ability to get access to technical jobs as well as entrepreneurial  advantages in the sector”.

“There are many opportunities in the downstream industries. Women can get involved in the manufacturing of stainless steel products, women can become wholesalers and distributors of stainless steel. However, to succeed they will need financial as well as nonfinancial assistance (such as access to market) to become meaningful players”, concludes Gwendolyn.

WOMEN FOR WOMEN

Executive director at Tocoblox Development Consultancy and key WECONA stakeholder Phelisa Nkomo wants to activate public and private sector  supply value chains that are gender responsive, diverse, capable and sustainable, enabling businesswomen to identify entry points and opportunities for viable economic engagement. She hopes to bring together all necessary stakeholders to “contribute to a movement of economic emancipation for  all women of South Africa and build a long term framework where economic opportunities for women nationally are leveraged, well understood and articulated in line with the supply chain ecosystems within various sectors”.

According to Phelisa, we must “create an effective platform for social dialogue and commitment making, development of action plans, and social contracting about a gender responsive economy in South Africa; thus forging a partnership between government, women in business and business organisations”.

All the more reason for this long overdue and much needed initiative to take off.

Click here to watch Sassda Market Intelligence Specialist Lesley Squires’ speech at the launch of the Women’s Economic Assembly.

Click here to read the full speech