Pretoria Portland Cement Company Limited : PPC empowers its women to achieve success
08/17/2012| 11:36am US/Eastern
Recommend:
PPC empowers its women to achieve success
16 Aug 2012
As part of Women's Day celebrations, Pretoria Portland Cement
(PPC) hosted its first annual Women's Forum Conference on
Wednesday, 8 August 2012. Held at the Sandton Sun Hotel, the
conference themed, "First me, then we, then the world",
encouraged PPC women to achieve their ambitions and become
mentors to each other, without competing with their male
counterparts. The event formed part of the cement giant's
Women's Forum, whose objectives include; providing a platform
for women in the workplace to voice issues that directly
affect them, share ideas, inspire and learn. The forum,
supported by the PPC board of directors, sponsored by Paul
Stuiver, PPC CEO, and championed by Tryphosa Ramano, PPC
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), was launched in 2011.
Keynote speakers at the conference were Dr Mamphela Ramphele,
founder of Citizens Movement for Social Change and
Chairperson of the Industrial Development Corporation, Monhla
Hlahla, who emphasised the importance of having the ability
to standout as individuals and women, so we get recognised
deservingly. "Always remember your commitment to your
contract of employment and exceed expectation, consistently,"
Hlahla said.
Dr Ramphele motivated women saying, "It is time that we put
ourselves first, as there can never be a
'we' without a 'me'. We often go on a journey of healing that
allows us to unleash our energy to become transformative
agents for our society." The Citizens Movement for Social
Change is a
multi-approach programme aimed at deepening democracy and
promoting active citizenship as well as addressing the
woundedness of South Africans.
Other speakers included Dr Namane Magau, CEO of B&D
Solutions; Janet Brewis, Director at the National Treasury;
Mama Kenalemang Kgoroyadira, Motsweding FM radio personality;
Dr Renate Volpe, CEO of Dr Renate Volpes and Karen
Fitzsimmons, CEO of Advacos Ltd. Each presenter shared a
wealth of knowledge and expertise in their respective fields
with topics varying from
self-leadership, self-awareness, financial wellness to "The
best me".
Dr Volpe made impactful statements that changed the mindsets
of many women. She said, "The first rule of corporate
politics is to treat people the way they need to be treated.
The business environment can be compared to a rugby match and
women get in expecting to play netball. Women have to go into
the business environment and learn to play the game and
identify opportunities to improve the rules."
The PPC Women's Forum is currently piloted at PPC's head
office in Sandton. The forum aims to represent a change agent
in PPC when it comes to attracting, nurturing and advancing
women's talent to effectively lead PPC, whilst providing
influential leadership towards diversity in the organisation.
It will also be a platform where creativity and innovation is
encouraged.
"We, as women are faced with similar challenges, irrespective
of our race, creed or culture. The aim of
the PPC Women's Forum is to empower women to achieve success
and provide a professional support group for our female
employees. As part of PPC's business strategy, we strongly
encourage and provide influential leadership towards
diversity in the organisation," said Ramano.
The path for female employees at PPC has expanded and over
the last decade, the company has seen a
67% increase in its female staff ratio and a four-fold
increase of women in management roles. To date, PPC employs
more than 400 female employees and aims to achieve a 26%
female demographic by 2016.
"The difference between a good and a great company is its
people, and at PPC, we recognise the importance of attracting
the best in the country to maintain being the leading cement
manufacturer in southern Africa. We believe that by providing
the opportunities, resources and means, we enrich our female
staff and assist them in reaching their full potential,"
concludes Ramano.
distributed by
|
|
Recommend :
