printer friendly version

Handbags, lipstick and screwdrivers

“It is fitting that, in Women’s Month, we honour the ladies that fly the Powell Tronics flag with pride and unequivocal flair, while at the same time raising awareness of the advantages and opportunities offered by careers in technology to entice more South African women into the industry,” states John Powell, CEO of Powell Tronics.

According to statistics released by the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa, women make up more than half of South Africa’s entire workforce but only 20% of them are in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in comparison to the 56% representation globally.

Admittedly, the ICT industry in South Africa is changing to appeal to more women, a fact that can be attributed to an increase in the number of female executives taking on more senior positions. And even though the surge of local women-led start-ups and mentoring initiatives aimed at introducing school girls to the exciting world of technology, in turn resulting in approximately 68% of young South African women enrolling in ICT related courses at tertiary institutions, progress is still slow.

Powell Tronics boasts a 40% female representation within the company, from logistics and accounts, admin, sales, technical support to half the senior management team. Although Powell Tronics is a fairly young company by industry standards, recently celebrating its eighth anniversary, most of its staff members have worked in the access and security trade for over a decade, and can attest to the slow but steady increase of women in the field.

A changing market

According to Nicole Langehoven (accounts, Cape Town) and Zulmira Ferraz (national technical manager), there were substantially less women working in the access control field when they first started but this has certainly changed in the last five years. Nhlanhla Kubheka (stores and logistics in Johannesburg), Jenay Sakyi (admin, Cape Town) and Carol Wicks (sales, KwaZulu-Natal) feel that though the industry is no longer entirely male-dominated, women are still to a degree outnumbered by the men.

Fortunately, Ferraz says, a number of global and local initiatives are set to change the dynamics. One such effort is the Cape Town based Code 4 CT (http://code4ct.com/) which amongst other facilities host workshops for schoolgirls in which they are taught the design and development of an application, presentation and marketing skills and are then offered the opportunity to present their product to prospective investors and corporations.

WomeninTechZA (www.womenintech.co.za) and GirlHype ( http://girlhype.co.za), whose slogan is ‘Providing fun, hands-on opportunities for girls and women to get engaged with technology’, are two other South African initiatives actively empowering girls and youth, with the technical competencies and social skills needed to thrive in the ICT sector.

On the global front, international technology firm, Cisco, has over the past five years been actively involved with the annual International Girls in ICT Day. Each year, girls between the ages of 15 and 20 (Grades 9 to 12) are invited to spend the day at various Cisco’s offices. Throughout the day, the girls gain first-hand experience of what life is like in an IT environment, while meeting and talking to some of Cisco’s successful senior female staff members about the challenges and rewards of working in a typically male-dominated industry. More than 80 Cisco offices participated in International Girls in ICT Day this year, impacting more than 3000 girls in 50 countries. (source: http://www.cisco.com/c/en_za/about/press-releases-south-africa/archive-2015/why-tech-needs-female-perspective.html,)

On the ground, social networking events are being regularly held throughout the country, to bring together women already working in the technology field to share their experiences and challenges, and to document and feed these back into the market using Facebook ( (https://www.facebook.com/groups/845235035620680/(Women In Tech CPT))) and other social media outlets, blogs and websites as a platform to publish report backs and findings.

Think on your heels

Ferraz, who has worked in the access control industry for over 10 years, with the last seven at Powell Tronics, believes that women in technology now garner more respect than in previous years, but adds that in order to succeed in the field there are certain character traits candidates should possess. “Being able to ‘think on your heels’ and being equipped for any job is the difference between spending an hour on site or burning the midnight oil.”

Ferraz says during her support technician years, she was one of the few women in her social circle with screwdrivers and side cutters in her handbag. These days, her role as technical manager encompasses two separate but complementary elements – technical support and leading the software system development team. In the first instance, she is responsible for acting as the authoritative figure with whom the support team and clients liaise.

As the head of the development team she manages the team’s projects, and liaises with clients and the Powell Tronics sales team as well as the development team in order to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page. While multitasking, a trait that women are known to be adept at, is often challenging, it is also advantageous in a role that demands the ability to manage various elements.

Because the world of technology in security is ever-changing Carol Wicks and Melissa Jacobs (international sales), both feel that product knowledge is key to being successful in the security industry. Therefore, there is the motivation to keep up to date with current product trends and a willingness to continuously learn and apply this information is critical. Forming and maintaining relationships with clients and suppliers is also important for those pursuing a sales career in the technology sector.

Leonie Mangold (sales, Johannesburg), says that self-respect is her main motivator, but being confident, assertive and enthusiastic should come naturally to any woman wanting to work in the industry. Nonhlanhla Khuzwayo (admin, KwaZulu-Natal), Jacobs and Ferraz agree with her. “Be a lady, but not a pushover.”

Mentoring the next generation

Sakyi and Langehoven believe that women tend to be calmer and more nurturing, a fact that endears them more to clients, making communication easier. They add that patience, resilience and being a team player are further personality qualities that will increase success. Complementary to this is a willingness to adopt leadership and team building concepts in order to become more multi-faceted. “Security technology is a fascinating field and extremely satisfying as a career path as long as you are prepared to work hard and be adaptable,” says Ferraz.

All the P-Tron ladies agreed that, while they have personally always been respected by their peers and clients alike, attitudes towards women in the ICT sector and available job opportunities have changed for the better. “It is due in great part to our ladies’ positive outlook and the contagious need to give back and grow the communities that have supported us, that has resulted in Powell Tronics joining the mentor movement in the next few months,” says Ferraz.

Langehoven says “I would totally volunteer to be a mentor. I think it’s a great team initiative. I’m excited by the challenge and for what I will learn in the process.”

“My mentors have always been fellow colleagues. My most influential mentor has undoubtedly been John Powell, CEO at Powell Tronics, who introduced me to the wonderful world of access control sales more than 10 years ago. I will gladly volunteer to be a mentor to any woman who has a penchant for this industry. It is a great sector to be involved in as it is ever changing. It gets your blood pumping and is incredibly rewarding to know that you are respected and sought after,” Jacobs concludes.

Share this article:

Further reading: