OpenText, one of the biggest names in the world when it comes to information management solutions, has wrapped up its OpenText Summit Africa 2023. While Business 2030 was the theme of the event, and there was a heavy focus on AI and sustainability, women in tech formed another key part of the proceedings.
So much so that this very topic was the first panel discussion of the day, and the first speaking event directly following the opening keynote. Susan Page, Sales Director at OpenText Africa, acted as the moderator for this discussion entitled ‘From Disruption to Leadership: How Women are shaping the Tech Industry in Africa’.
Joining Page as industry veterans not only from OpenText, but also a large swathe of companies stretching across Africa and beyond.
The panel members were:
- Nirvani Dhevcharran, CTO, Platforms and Operations at The Foschini Group,
- Stephanie Du Toit, Head of Technology & Information at Remgro Management Solutions,
- Kholiwe Makhohliso, Managing Director at SAP Southern Africa,
- Portia Simelane, Head – IT Governance, Risk & Compliance at Old Mutual Insure,
- Tala Gxoyiya, General Manager – Project Delivery Office at MTN.
One key aspect of the panel that came into discussion was how do individuals and companies create a system for more women to work in the generally male-dominated space of technology? Several panellists mentioned both mentorships and sponsorships as the way forward not just in practice, but from personal experience.
These two ideas have had varying definitions over the years but a mentorship usually takes the form of a sole mentor guiding their mentee through the difficulties of a profession. Sponsorship, on the other hand, takes the form of a promoter or advocate for the growth of an employee.
Dhevcharran provides a succinct distinction between them with the former being more internal, and the latter more external.
“Mentorships and sponsorships are both equally important. Mentorship is more about you internally, while sponsorship are how people around you will promote and champion you. It is important to have both mentors and sponsors and I was lucky enough to have both in my life,” says the CTO.
“I started off in IT programming data controllers and programmable logic controllers, which is very different to where we are now with AI! I was always in a very male-dominated world but, even now in my current role, I am surrounded by predominantly males. I am really trying to get females onboard into the team and when I have them I really hold onto them and try to do both a mentorship and a sponsorship.”
Echoing this sentiment is Simelane who still sees the small number of women in tech despite the focus on mentorship and sponsorship. The IT Head sees a shared focus on progression and the embrace of diversity as the way forward. The mix of talents, interests and styles is what makes any team great and the fostering of fledgling voices in any company allows these unique traits to blossom.
“It’s like pieces of a puzzle. How do we all work together to get the job done? I rely on my team for their unique skills, so it’s about extending the mentorship / sponsorship into the team. When you see someone who is a shining star you need to give them the opportunity to develop. Even small acts matter. Don’t be afraid to compliment on good work to build confidence and give people the proper credit,” Simelane said.
