According to 2016 report from the UN Development Programme, the average annual loss in Sub-Saharan Africa is $95bn since 2010 due to pervasive gender inequality in the continent’s economic activities. Deputy Chair of the board of directors for the South African Women in ICT Forum, Sonwabise Sebata reiterated this staggering statistic at this year’s AfricaCom event during her keynote address on investing in women and noted that one of the key sectors perpetuating this inequality is the tech industry.
AfricaCom is the biggest and most influential tech and telecoms event on the continent, and the only place to meet innovators driving Africa’s digital transformation. Sebata notes that “while the opportunity in Africa’s tech space is ample, to grow and enable the continent’s digital economy requires extensive collaboration and greater efforts in closing the gender representation and pay gap, she said. Definitive data shows that companies that are gender diverse actually outperform more homogeneous companies that don’t invest in women. It is a fact that companies that create enabling environments actually outperform their counterparts and their shares do better than companies” said Sebata.
Sebata outlined three ways to stop conversations and gatherings around gender diversity being just talks, rather producing tangible results. She says, firstly, there needs to be a mind-shift toward greater collaboration and realising that if you’re going at it alone, you’re not going far, she said. She adds that agreeing to move as one will promote the development of an enabling environment.
Secondly, she says there needs to be a greater focus on skills and workforce development in order to grow the pool of successful African female professionals who will employ the philosophy of “lift as you rise” in advocating for greater equality. Lastly, Sebata emphasised that cultural thinking should be embraced and employed to inform empirical thinking in enabling transformation.
Carol Bouwer, founder and CEO of Carol Bouwer Productions also joined the conversation stating that no country can obtain full equality and that investment in women still needs to be on the agenda.”I say to people all the time that I feel like, as a producer of programmes that are about affirming women, I feel that I have failed,” she said, referring to her efforts through Motswako. Motswako is a TV series which was aired on SABC 2. The episodes provided a platform for women to engage with each other with the aim of empowering, inspiring, and sharing in each other’s experiences.
“When I started, the idea was that we’re going to be on air for about five years, make a difference and ensure there’s equality – I was dreaming because the conversation hasn’t changed. Women are still susceptible to the “motherhood penalty”, perpetuating the stereotype that women are and need to be more involved in the home environment than men, said Bouwer, noting that, “Societal norms continue to trump legislature created to address the very stereotypes that we say we’re not happy with.”
Gender parity can also aid in achieving gender equality but is not the only solution. Koo Govender, CEO for Dentsu Aegis Network SA said “We plan to close the gender parity gap through the launch of our Female Foundry programme, which aims to empower female entrepreneurs with access to tools, training, connections and resources to build successful tech-enabled businesses. We still have a responsibility to our community to take an active stand in bridging the gap in gender parity” Bouwer encouraged women to start looking beyond the doors that remain shut and to start working as a collective in building their own enterprises. She suggests that women should raise their hands when opportunities are presented, and to support each other as the traditional “boy’s club” has done over the years, building a sense of unity”
