Seeing women in leadership was normal for me

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When writing about being a woman in a man's world, where does one even begin? As a young black woman, I could explore the areas of ageism, sexism, and racism, but I believe that starting at the very beginning would be best, as that is what carved my approach to life, to leadership and, most importantly, to be a strong, black woman in a world where I find missiles are constantly being thrown. I was born and raised in the Eastern Cape, a province that is renowned for some of the strongest women on the continent. Seeing women in leadership was a norm for me. Women as heads of homes, CEOs of companies, headmistresses and so much more. I also attended an all-girls' school, from Grade 1 until matric, where we were taught and encouraged to take up leadership positions, to compete against our brother school, be it in sports or the arts or culture, and to always strive to be better than you were the day before.

As I grew up and left home and was exposed to different cultures, I learnt for the first time the concept of being a “strong woman, in a man’s world”. Personally, I don't believe in the idea of a man's world, I believe in what is perceived as a man's world.

When the new administration first entered office, I was given the task of being a political head of the Roads and Transport Department, a department that is mostly made up of men.

A number of people asked me how I would manage which, in itself, was a fair concern. It was fundamentals that I learnt from a young age that have kept me afloat and ensured that the Roads and Transport Department has, in the past year, exceeded the targets we had set.

I believe that the most important thing to do as a woman is to ensure that, before being elected into any post, it is imperative to know oneself, to be centred and have an inherent knowledge of your purpose in this life. That will always serve as a way to keeping yourself centred.

Knowing who I am, and what my purpose is, has ensured that I do not feel defined by the titles that I'm given, the work that I do or even the challenges that I face.

Being centred ensures that each day I strive to be best that I can be - and I can often fall short of that, but each day I stand up and strive to be better than I was the day before, not better than the woman next to me or ahead of me, my competition is with myself.

In all of that, humility is key; my family has always kept me grounded and reminded me that, no matter what I can achieve in this life, I should never lose myself, and never lose a sense of gratitude for the blessings that have come my way.

All this makes it easy to respect and acknowledge those that I work with, be it men or women. I believe that, before we are men or women, we first need to meet other at the most basic level of humanity - respect, love, empathy, and consideration.

These building blocks make it possible to face a world that would appear to be resistant.

I am not trying to be a man in a man's world; I believe that my power lies in the fact that I AM a woman and that there are things that I can do as a woman, that no man ever could.

I embrace my femininity, my sexuality, my strengths and my emotions.

I love that my body may not be as strong as a man's.

I love that I have a woman’s intuition, that guides me in the work that I do daily.

I appreciate that all this enables me to respect my colleagues, their expertise and their knowledge, but still have the courage to take bold and firm decisions when they need to be taken.

Mine is not to outshine any man, or try to prove myself to any man; mine is to achieve excellence and let my excellence speak for itself. I am not a woman in a man's world, I am a woman living in a world full of opportunity and I take the opportunities given to me and ensure that I do not waste them. I simply strive for excellence each day and that is what I am called to do.

Pretoria News

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