All aboard to empower women

Employment news

All aboard to empower women

SAnews.gov.za

The private sector should help to advance gender equality and empower women by partnering with government, said Director of Gender and Women Empowerment at the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), Ntombi Shangase.

Speaking at the launch of the Women on Board Programme, Shangase said a register of trained women would be compiled, where companies and other government departments can recruit women for directorships.

The Women on Board Programme was recently launched in Johannesburg by the dti, together with the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Deloitte and Touche, and the United Nations. The programme is designed to discover, train and deploy female management talent by strengthening the participation of women in boards.

“For the dti, empowering women to participate fully in the country’s economy across all the sectors is essential in order to build a stronger economy, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities,” Shangase said.

Deloitte and Touche Director Anthea Scholtz said the training would be conducted on various aspects of leadership, including governance, ethics, risk management, internal audit, sustainability and integrated reporting.

“We are taking a holistic development of existing and aspiring female directors in that all the trainees will have an unlimited year- long access to the e-learning that Deloitte and Touche provides to their senior management,” Scholtz said.