President’s comment

Working together to shape a

BETTER WORLD

August is Women’s Month in South Africa and provides an opportunity to celebrate our role as vital change-makers in society.

This year’s South African theme was ‘Women’s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women’s Improved Resilience’. Simply put, it is about breaking down barriers, and freeing women from discrimination and gender-based threats – themes that were also reflected in various International Women’s Day (IWD) initiatives for 2022.

The UN’s 2022 IWD theme was ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’. Another theme run by a private sector funded IWD programme was #BreakTheBias. Both themes sum up the objectives for global transformation as a year-round movement in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality.

The reality is that girls and women in South Africa – and globally – still face various degrees of bias influenced by factors such as cultures and customs, access to education, financial circumstances, mentorship, and government policy. Bridging the gaps needs ongoing awareness and collaboration, plus equal opportunities for girls to benefit from STEM programmes starting at primary level.

IMESA’s standpoint

Within IMESA, we are committed to inclusivity and the empowerment of women, with a renewed drive on creating that crucial mindset shift. Our contributions include education and training, as well as bursaries for qualifying students.

As the first woman president of IMESA, since its founding in 1961, I’m especially honoured to have been able to help move the agenda forward, along with my counterparts within the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) – of which IMESA is a member. It’s also significant to note that IFME recently elected their first woman president, Sanne Hieltjes, who is based in The Netherlands. I’m pleased to confirm that Sanne will be a keynote speaker at our upcoming IMESA 85th Annual Conference in November 2022, where she’ll share some of her thoughts and experiences within the municipal engineering arena.

The ultimate multitaskers

Like many women in my field, I am a wife, mother, engineer and manager. And as any woman knows, raising a family and building a career is never easy. The fact that I’ve been able to do both is due to a combination of factors, which started during my formative years in India. Encouraged by my parents, I decided to enroll for a BSc in Civil Engineering at South Gujarat University.

Although it wasn’t common for women to study engineering, the door was still open to anyone with interest and aptitude. As a first-year student, I started out with a class of around 500, of which only 12 were women. Most, if not all, went on to pursue successful careers.

In my case, and after several years working in the Indian construction sector, my path led me to South Africa where I joined eThekwini Municipality in 1997 as a structural engineer. My manager at the time identified my passion for water and sanitation infrastructure and encouraged me to specialise in these disciplines. The rest is history. Along the way, I’ve been blessed by a son and daughter, both of whom are now qualified medical doctors.

Hard Hats and Stilettos

The point to emphasise is that women have as many skills and abilities to contribute to all work environments and should not be subjected to stereotypes in terms of which vocations are most suitable based on gender. Those were among the topics presented during our IMESA Women’s Day Breakfast in Durban.

Themed ‘Hard Hats and Stilettos – Getting the Job Done’, it was a wonderful opportunity for women to share what it takes to succeed in a technical field. The keynote speaker was Mabuyi Mhlanga from Sanral, who presented an inspiring talk on the planned upgrades and innovative engineering required for the EB Cloete Interchange N2 North and N3 West in eThekwini.

The fact that more woman engineers are now leading in senior roles is encouraging, both from an equity perspective, as well as in developing frameworks where woman team members can contribute to achieving the critical solutions needed to make a real difference in this fastchanging world.

Women are now major influencers in helping to shape our built environment. We just need to accelerate the process so that men and women – together – can excel and in turn empower their children and communities.

Bhavna Soni, president, IMESA