Women are emerging as an important part of the solution to South Africa’s water skills challenge, with growing participation creating an opportunity to strengthen the country’s future technical workforce.
Women currently account for 35% of active members of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), while 27% of its female members are classified as young professionals.
Their representation is even stronger among registered Professional Process Controllers, where women account for 43% of the total.
For a country facing ageing water infrastructure, strained municipal capacity and increasingly complex water-management challenges, developing this growing pool of technical talent could play an important role in strengthening the sector.
According to Dr Lester Goldman, CEO of WISA, many women are entering the profession with strong academic qualifications, but greater access to practical experience and mentorship is needed to help them translate those qualifications into professional competence.
“The real gap is between theory and practice, being trusted with responsibility, being included in projects, and having someone to guide you through those first steps,” Goldman said.
Creating stronger pathways between education and the workplace could therefore help South Africa develop more of the skilled professionals required to operate, maintain and improve its water systems.
At WISA’s 2026 Biennial Conference, held under the theme “Rethink Amanzi – Securing Our Future”, capacity building, professionalisation, collaboration and innovation were highlighted as important components of building a resilient water sector.
The focus recognises that investment in water infrastructure needs to be accompanied by investment in the people responsible for managing it.
Mentorship can form an important part of that development.
Experienced professionals can help younger colleagues gain practical knowledge, participate in projects, build professional networks and take on increasing levels of responsibility as their careers develop.
For women entering a traditionally male-dominated profession, structured support can also help create greater access to operational experience and career-development opportunities.
Goldman said women can encounter challenges including being overlooked for hands-on operational work, exclusion from informal professional networks and balancing demanding technical careers with family responsibilities.
Increasing women’s participation at technical level also creates an opportunity to build a stronger pipeline of future leaders.
Women currently remain underrepresented in senior water-sector positions. Figures cited from the World Bank’s Equal Aqua HR survey indicate that women account for approximately 20% to 25% of management roles in water institutions and around 15% of CEOs and managing directors.
The existing participation of women at professional and technical levels provides a foundation from which that leadership pipeline can be expanded.
“If women are not supported and retained, the sector risks losing fresh perspectives that drive innovation, weakening its pipeline of leaders and losing skilled professionals who could have anchored institutions for decades,” Goldman said.
Structured mentorship programmes are one mechanism for strengthening that pathway.
Evidence from IMESA’s mentorship programme and WISA’s continuous professional development initiatives points to improved confidence and clearer professional pathways for participants.
“It’s about being allies in practice, not just in principle,” Goldman said.
Employers can further support development through graduate programmes, workplace rotations, transparent promotion processes and leadership-development pathways that give young professionals opportunities to build experience throughout their careers.
Professionalisation and continuous professional development can provide another route for advancement by giving professionals recognised credentials, ongoing learning opportunities and access to professional networks.
Women already account for 43% of registered Professional Process Controllers, while 23% of WISA’s female members hold the designation.
Building on that participation could help create clearer progression from academic qualification to practical competence, advanced technical positions and ultimately leadership.
For Goldman, Women’s Month provides an opportunity to move the conversation beyond celebrating women who have already succeeded towards expanding opportunities for the next generation.
“If South Africa wants more women leaders in water, support and opportunity must be built into the system. Clearer career routes from qualification to leadership are essential, alongside workplace cultures that value diverse leadership and real measures to track progress.”
“The women leading within WISA are living proof of what is possible,” Goldman added. “The challenge now is to multiply that success across the sector.”
With qualified women already establishing a significant presence within parts of the profession, stronger mentorship, professional development and career pathways could help South Africa turn that talent into the technical skills and leadership capacity required to secure its future water needs.
