Past Events 03

End of year function

27 November 2003
The Silvertree Restaurant, Kirsetenbosh Gardens

Review by Alex Burger

The BWA End of Year lunch was extremely well attended. For those of you who haven't already had the pleasure, the Silver Tree Restaurant is a particularly attractive and modern venue set in beautiful surroundings.

The speeches were inspirational and, unlike many end of year functions, short and to the point. We were addressed by Dr Suzanne Vosloo (heart surgeon), who won the Businesswoman of the Year Award in the professional category, and Jackie Leone of Leo Foods who won in the entrepreneurial section. Jackie reminded us of the importance of acknowledging and providing support for women venturing into their own businesses. Gwen Baumgart updated us on her MBA course and the personal growth experienced as a result of her studies. Gwen reminded us of the importance to reach out and assist other women. Cheryl Steyn had to resort to a number of antics to focus our attention away from the food and wine and handled the jokes about her being a Sergeant Major with grace.

Members were asked to bring along a Christmas gift for a disadvantaged child. Over 300 gifts lit the room! Cathleen Broderick of Grandmothers Against Poverty and Aids, represented the children. GAPA is a non-profit organisation, operating in Khayelitsha. They have a leadership programme to assist grandmothers to care of children from disadvantaged circumstances; they provide workshops for elderly people to assist them in lessening the stigma of AIDS in the community and conduct skills development programmes.

A special thank you to all those who organised the event and for the delicious girl pampering stuff and serious literature.

Lunch at Van Riebeck Hotel

Gordons Bay

Review by Lindie van Zyl

Die nuwe Van Riebeeck Hotel wat die perfekte lokaal vir die Helderberg se Besigheids Vroue Assosiasie se netwek funksie in November.

Met aankoms by die funksie kon dames begin ontspan met "The Wine Market" se heerlike verskeidenheid wyne wat te proe was, 'n nuwe konsep van wyn verkope en proe? wat aan ons bekend gemaak is. Ek weet nie of dit net hierdie tyd van die jaar is nie maar dit was 'n oorverdowende gesels van besigheids vroue, en 'n paar mans, oor verlede, huidige en toekomstige planne vir hulle maatskappye. Die watertand middagete was voortreflik en het verseker dat 'n paar dames met lang gemoedere terug kantoor toe moes gaan na 'n plesierige gekuier met nuwe en bekende gesigte in die besigheids w?reld.

Aan almal wat die dag by gewoon het, baie dankie vir jul bydrae om die Helderberg Funksies so suksesvol te maak, ons groei van krag tot krag en sien uit na nog vele network funksies in 2004.

USA meet BWA

Review by Janine Nel

Back row: Jane Raphaley, Margarett McFarlane; Laurie Mc Donald-Jonsson; Katarina Bonde; Shauna Mueller; Gertrude Fester; Jo Shutten; Ferose Oaten; Janine Nel

On Thursday evening, November 20, several BWA members met the USA trade delegation, from the Center for Women & Democracy of the University of Washington; for more information, please visit their website on http://depts.washington.edu/cwd/ 

The Center for Women & Democracy aims to promote women's participation in leadership, both on a national and international level. Their delegates are currently visiting women's associations all over the world in an effort to raise the profile of the Center as well as encourage debate amongst businesswomen.?

The three delegates, Katarina Bonde, Shauna Woods Mueller and Laurie Slater, will accompany a larger delegation when they visit South Africa in May 2004. The aim, to foster and cement business relationships. We have much to learn form one other and I hope that our members will take up the opportunity next year to meet the wonderful women!

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Review: Carrie-Ann Diniz

'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' (the topic of Joanna Houdon?s talk), is especially relevant to women, as we have a unique way of communicating. With this in mind, Joanna explained how to successfully, apply our communication skills in the business environment.

Inter-personal and face to face communication has almost been ?replaced? by electronic communication (email). Joanna explained how this can alienate colleagues and even friends.

Avoiding a confrontational situation by e-mailing someone, (instead of speaking with them), is a sure way to alienate them. Talking in circles and never getting to the point, is another way of ?losing your audience? and alienating people around you. Communication should be assertive and not aggressive. Tone of voice and body language ?says? a lot more than your words. "Learning to deal with conflict well, is a skill, and it gives you a competitive advantage as conflicts are something most people avoid."
Another communication ?skill? to avoid: hesitant speech, whining, or using softeners - "I could be wrong but". Being apologetic in our body language and constantly repeating ourselves just in case they did not get it the first time.

So what communication skills do women have that work well?

We woman are great listeners. Joanna pointed out that women tend to over-analyse a situation, but, this could be a good thing! It means that we ?read between the lines.? Also, women do not let their egos get in the way and apologise easy when we are wrong.

Steven Covey remarked: "It is very limiting to insist that one?s own way is the only way to interpret facts. When two people have different paradigms they can observe the same set of facts, reach very different conclusions, and still be right." What does this mean to us? We need to assess each situation separately, determine whether the issue or the relationship is more important than ?winning? an argument and then choose how to react. Compromising is not a bad thing if it means we maintain a relationship. This however does not mean compromising one?s principles.

BWA Networking Lunch

4 September 2003

Kleine Zalza Wine Estate

Review: Jeanette Bosman

A sunny day in Cape Town, saw me bowling over dirt roads and construction sites in Stellenbosch, to find the entrance into Kleine Zalza?s Wine Estate for an all-important opportunity to meet other women in business AND enjoy a delicious lunch at the same time! I walked in apprehensively, but was greeted warmly by 30 smiling women seated around a table laden with delicious-looking food and wine. Every attendee had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and our business or company. We were able to hand out brochures, business cards and flyers. We discussed business ideas, golf and the economy (the usual things women talk about!) whilst enjoying a sumptuous meal of seafood, salads and desserts.

I left having made many new contacts and friends, all of whom I look forward to meeting or working with in the future. Being able to share ideas and support one another makes the networking lunch a success! Oh, and we got gifts!

Looking forward to the next lunch...

WHISKY TASTING EVENING

26 August 2003

Kirstenbosch Restaurant

Review: Lynda Cowan

In the 12th century, monks named the distilled barley they produced, 'aqua vitae', (water of life)! Johnnie Walker set up shop in Scotland in 1820, started producing the now world famous whiskey and ninety years later in 1910 the 'striding man' (Keep on Walking) logo was introduced. These are just a few facts we learned at the Whisky tasting evening held at Kirstenbosch, on a very cold and wet August night. 

Don Paul ensured a truly enlightening evening whilst guiding us through the history of whisky, how it is produced and how to distinguish the various blends and brands. It appeared that although some attendees had never had 'a drop of the hard stuff' before, however, after the second round, they too became whisky connoisseurs. Then there were those who had reached the point where everything was just 'very good, very nice or excellent.' A third group, couldn?t never quite remember what was what, but never the less had that warm inner and outer glow.

The proof however is in the pudding, and in evidence of quality of whisky tasted, a few attendees could be seen leaving the building with the same 'striding walk' as on Mr Walkers? logo. And that was the point of the evening, broaden one?s horizon, enjoy a 'wee dram' with friends and become a little more acquainted with 'aqua vitae' - water of life.

Ringing the changes for women

Newsline

20 August 2003

What do women in business want and what do they have to offer? Theresa Smith, staff reporter at the Cape Argus, found out at the 4th Women in Business Conference, held at the GSB last week.

http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za 

It is an imperative and not a moral obligation that businesses be gender diverse as it leads to diversity in strategy.

"But we will only have true equality when mediocre women are promoted to senior positions," said Kate McCallum, managing director of Oxford University Press in southern Africa.

She was speaking at the Women in Business conference organised by the UCT Graduate School of Business. Along with several other successful businesswomen she was invited to address delegates on topics ranging from Lessons from the Stiletto Ceiling to What Makes for World-class Entrepreneurship? and Are Women their own Worst Enemies? 

Another speaker, Joy Khaole, marketing executive for Old Mutual Employee Benefits, proudly showed off the Graduate School of Business tie she received 15 years ago when she graduated with an MBA from the School, still pristinely preserved in its plastic wrapping.

"It goes to show that I didn't need to act like a man to get where I am," said Khaole. "It boils down to your strategy and knowing what you want to achieve. You need to know the environment you are working in," she said.

Khaole drew on the book Finding your own North Star by sociologist and author Dr Martha Beek to show how business skills trends have shifted over the past 20 years.

In the 1980s consistency, routine, enormous size of staffing, hierarchically controlled information, reliance on tried and trusted methods, and cultural conformity were the order of the day.

In the 2000s flexibility, innovation, lean structure, open communication, tolerance for incongruity, and cultural diversity are the trademarks. "These cultural changes have been wrought by globalisation," said Khaole.

She believes that women are better able to deal with the changes in environment because they are able to come up with their own solutions and add value to their businesses by being creative.

McCallum pointed out that women are in the position to see business from different angles. "Your difference as a woman is your strategic resource. You will see the business through the eyes of a male because that is the world you are moving in, but at the same time you see the business through your own eyes," she said.

All the speakers were in agreement that, though it makes sense on paper for more women to be included at senior executive level in the business world, the reality is that many women still find it very difficult to access the top positions.

Louisa Mogudi, national project coordinator of Women in Africa, asked why there were so few women at senior levels of South African banks and financial institutions.

Not only is that a lack of representativity in a country where 52,2% of the population is female, but it also leads to the women experiencing difficulties accessing finance from institutions that do not understand or their circumstances.

She answered herself when she spoke about the dearth of women who graduate from tertiary institutions with the necessary qualifications to step into management positions in the business world.

Together with Anne Pratt, managing director of recruitment firm Anne Pratt and Associates, Mogudi is currently researching the statistics around how many women sit on executive boards in South African companies.

So far they have established that 67% of the human resources directors in South African companies that have a turnover of more than R5 billion are white males.

"The hypothesis is that women on boards enhance the strategic effectiveness of the company, but the combination of environment and supply is keeping them out," said Mogudi.

McCallum pointed out that a high proportion of female entrepreneurs said they had started their businesses at home. This was because it gave them greater flexibility to handle their various responsibilities.

This showed that a flexible environment which was sensitive to the responsibilities of women would be conducive to encouraging more women to take up senior positions.

All the speakers spoke about wide-ranging research that has been done on the liberation of women - culturally, socially and economically - and queried why it has been mostly relegated to gender studies instead of being used to change the business world.

The 4th UCT Graduate School of Business Women in Business Conference took place on August 8. This article by Theresa Smith appeared in the Cape Argus on Thursday, August 14.

Thank you letter to Cheryl Steyn, from Jaana Ball

Subject: Women in Business Conference - Thank you

Hi Cheryl

A very big thank you for your part in making this year's Women in Business Conference a huge success. See end of document below for article that appeared in the newspaper and one of the speeches. We are trying to get all of these from the speakers and will forward them to you for posting on your website.

For me, the best compliment received regarding the conference was from a delegate who emailed and said it was the best R120 she had ever spent! The team also made a long-term contribution to women in business through the initiation of the bursary fund - into which we will be placing approximately R12 000.

Your enthusiasm, ability to hound potential sponsors and to distribute invitations to the Businesswomen's Association was much appreciated. We made a great team and that is why the event was so successful. Thank you again.

The conference's association with the Businesswomen's Association also added to its credibility within the business community and the GSB hopes that this is just the start of a long-term relationship.

It was a privilege and great pleasure to work with you.

Kind regards

Jaana Ball

Graduate School of Business

GSB Women?s Day Conference

9 August 2003

Hosted by UCT Graduate School of Business and BWA

Review: Janine Nel

The theme of 2003 was Celebrating Women in Business. The aim was to highlight the existence of successful women in business, and by doing so, to encourage more women to join this exiting world.

"When you strike a woman, you strike a rock." The slogan of the 1956 march still echo?s in 2003. Women have never had more power or opportunities in South Africa than today. The economy relies on our contribution. We are obligated to enrich this country, our fellow South Africans and ourselves.

There is no glass or stiletto ceiling that stops us, unless we create it. Joy Khaole highlighted her survival tactics, borrowed from the book 'The Strategy of the Dolphins.' Her advice: know what you want, when to take over, when to break through, when to give in, to trade off or get out. Kate McCallum drew attention to women?s strategic advantage in business - being a woman.

Thank you to all the speakers, Zenariah Barends, Joy Khaole, Kate McCallum, Nicky Newton-King, Ann Pratt and Louisa Mogudi. You have inspired all of us and have made us proud to be part of an elitist group in SA: women.

MS Mind Group Sets Off

24 July 2003

Review: Liezel Morkel

On Thursday evening, 15 women got together at the Old Mutual Business School to form the first BWA Ms Mind group. The Ms Mind idea was initiated by Tina Thiart, inspired by the book, 'The Power of Focus', with a view to get women talking, challenging and mentoring one another. 'The Power of Focus', was written by the authors of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul.'

Mpho Mashengete, organized the great venue as well as the wonderful gift packs, from Old Mutual Employee Benefits. Mpho started the session by explaining the concept of mentoring. The group was then divided into two smaller groups, and everyone had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their business. The women shared their greatest successes and current challenges, professionally or personally. Where possible, other group members offered suggestions on how to face the challenges, thereby bringing different perspectives to resolving them.

The session ended with ?homework? being allocated as well as the responsibility to report back on August 21st. The next meeting will take place on 25 September at 5.30pm at the Old Mutual Business School in Pinelands.

Networking Lunch

10 July 2003

Spier

Review: Shaheema Chilwan

The lunch was great! Attendees were given the opportunity to introduce themselves and the businesses they represent. This was a brilliant way of getting to know everyone. New friends were made and new business relationships formed. Thank you once again for a wonderful day and the special effort in arranging the special meals. The food was excellent.

Lord Charles Networking Lunch

28 May 2003

Lord Charles Hotel, Sommerset West

Review: Lindie Van Zyl (Member)

The response to our Networking Lunch at The Lord Charles was overwhelmingly positive and what better place to have such a full venue than in The La Vigna Restaurant at The Lord Charles! A mouthwatering lunch was served and BWA members and their guests found it difficult to get back to their daily responsibilities after such a great chatterbox lunch.

We thank all members for appreciating our networking concept of moving tables throughout the lunch; we sincerely believe that this is far more beneficial to you all.

PowerPoint Course

14, 21 & 28 May 2003

Northlink Colledge, Tygerberg Campus

Review: Rene Bonzet (Member)

Northlink College, formerly known as Tygerberg College, in collaboration with BWA, presented a PowerPoint learning programme during May, at a very reduced cost of R200 to members and R250 to guests. Both courses were fully booked. The evaluation questionnaires completed by the delegates showed an overwhelmingly positive response in all facets.

Comments included, "Most enjoyable - presenter excellent!"

"It was truly amazing! Would love to learn more!"

"My rekenaar geletterdheid is waarskynlik nie genoeg. Party van die tips was vinnig en vreemde konsepte. Ek het egter baie geleer. Baie dankie!"

Coffee & Croissants

15 May 2003

The Cape Town Hotel School

Review: Julia Seal Swanepoel (Member)

Networking at Sunrise

Dawn over Table Bay is enough to inspire even the most sleepy-heads into sharing our business passions with a captive audience. We met each other rather sleepily but were plied with coffee and croissants by the willing students of the Cape Town Hotel School and soon we were off - racing through our 2 minutes with Cheryl close behind us with her spoon-and-glass-bell!

We had time in between these short speeches to meet those around us and there was a wide range of members to choose from: from a travel management centre and trademark lawyer to the Khanya Education Project and a brief chat from founder-member Elzbieta Rosenworth.

Networking is a powerful marketing tool - it's about building and maintaining relationships with people who know about you and about your product or service. The challenge for all of us now is to make sure we didn't end our morning networking by walking out the door loaded with brochures and business cards. The challenge is to keep up the contacts we made and by helping our new friends build their businesses.

Thanks to Cheryl and Jenna for this well-organised way of networking - it's highly effective and we are looking forward to the next one.

Kleine Zalza Networking Lunch

16 April 2003

Kleine Zalza Wine Farm, Stellenbosch

Set in the most magnificent surroundings, Kleine Zalza Wine Farm provided a tranquil and breathtaking afternoon for the BWA networking lunch, attended by 26 ladies, most of whom where new faces to the BWA and all eager to become members. The food was delicious and the wine, of the best in South Africa.

The ladies chose to swap seats and change tables between each course, allowing everyone, by the end of the afternoon, to leave with a handful of business cards, the opportunity to grow their business circle and having met interesting and vivacious new friends.

Gold of Africa Pongolion Night Tour

10 April 2003

Gold of Africa Museum

Review: Ailsa Stewart Smith (Member)

On an appropriately golden, late summer's evening, expectant BWA members went on a museum tour with a difference at the Gold of Africa Exhibition. In keeping with the golden theme of the evening, our anticipation was given an early boost with the glasses of golden tequila awaiting us before we went up to an Aladdin's cave of gold art. The rickety steps and low doors didn't hold any heeled viewer back as we all craned our necks to get a better view of the displays and listen to our soft spoken West African guide.

Case after case revealed gold work of extraordinary beauty, made with skills that date back centuries. I particularly liked the texts that explained what each article symbolised and was used for, and the continuous film that showed us the people who made and wore these adornments. Unlike impersonal displays, this exhibition gave me a strong sense of the history of the people who used the jewellery, the weapons and the intricately tooled sandals. Proud kings had to have their gold-encrusted arms supported, young maidens elegantly bore ear-bending earrings and women of all ages were gloriously festooned with all the gold they owned.

I learnt a great deal about the traditions of people living in West Africa and was struck by the respect that the exhibition instilled. When we left the growling golden lion in his gold leaf papered (yes really!) den, we continued the uplifted mood in the courtyard with wine and other women, though no song! But perhaps I left too soon, although I did meet new people and renewed contacts with others. Thank you BWA organisers for a memorable evening that combined learning about other cultures with the pleasures of some of our own.