PERSPECTIVES
Future voices of society
T
hese are some of my key takeaways from my career in media.
CONFIDENCE COMES FROM WITHIN Be confident in your own abilities. Women have many strengths, one being intuition, which guides and strengthens our decisionmaking ability.
MENTORSHIP MATTERS
Media24 CEO Ishmet Davidson has supported and guided my career path, and reminds me that to succeed I need to let go of certain
two crucially important commercial teams: Ads24 and The Space Station.
LESSONS FROM MY CHILDHOOD
Tasmia Ismail
responsibilities when my role in the business has grown and changed. Rika Swart, general manager of contract logistics at Media24, has encouraged me to be fearless. These have occurred during times of change. Encouraging Die Burger readers to access the publication electronically, driving excellent commercial results (after a heartbreaking restructure process), introducing integrated multi-platform media solutions to customers, and currently I am leading a pivotal change in Media24 by aligning
Don’t be afraid of taking chances, as with willpower and a desire to learn they will carry you a long way. I was never fortunate enough to follow through with a tertiary education after school and started working straight after matric. Now I am completing an MBA at the age of 46. Patience is a virtue! Media remains one of the most challenging and exciting industries. It has a crucial role to play in our democracy. Young women are best positioned to be the future voices of society. Tasmia Ismail is general manager of news advertising sales at Media24.
Being female is powerful
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I
pondered the advice I could give to young women entering the workplace and those feeling the corporate frustration of stagnation in a patriarchal society. Looking back on my own journey, I’ve unpacked the key moments that cemented my path to where I am today. I matriculated with ambitions of being a graduate, but not a cent to my name. A few years later I was an LLB graduate working as an article clerk with the title of PA. Throughout this 10-year period, through a tonne of naysayers and those who said I would amount to nothing or that I was insane to be making
tea after spending years of sacrifice to become a lawyer, I learned some lessons. • Define what success means to you. • Understand that where you are right now is exactly where you are meant to be. • There is knowledge in doing whatever you’re doing right now. Do it with passion and zest. You are learning skills every day without realising it. • Life is meant to be enjoyed, so find the silver linings around the darkest of clouds. Laugh, dance and enjoy the beauty around you. themediaonline.co.za
• Trust your gut instinct. • Nothing comes without effort. • We are all equals; titles and status do not define your worth. Your character and ability to rise define your worth. • Consider all opportunities and take the ones that feel right. • Aspire to be fearless. • Being female is powerful. Rise, young queens.
Haseena Cassim
Haseena Cassim is managing director at YFM.
W O M E N I N T H E M E D I A I 15
