By Fiona Wakelin
I am writing this as El Niño sets in, for what seems like the beginning of a long, hard, wet winter in Western Cape, South Africa – and the face masks that are present in every pocket of my coats are a reminder of the COVID nightmare which seems like a lifetime ago, but in reality was in full force just last year. The severity of our winter and what happens globally, climate-wise, is impacted by the warming temperatures of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean – currently (pun intended) they are off the charts. Everything is connected.
And whilst the planet experiences extreme weather events such as drought, famine, floods and wildfires brought about by climate change, in South Africa we have our own societal extremity in the brutality and tragedy of gender-based violence and femicide which continues to maim and destroy lives and families. In the first three months of 2023, 10 512 women were raped, 1 485 attempted murders of women were reported, 969 women were killed and over 15 000 women were assaulted* – and we simply don’t know how many remain unreported - hidden in a vault of trauma and despair. In his SONA address this year President Ramaphosa, when referencing the GBVF scourge, confirmed the economic empowerment of women as one of the many avenues required to systemically eradicate this pandemic, which, unlike COVID, continues unabated.
The genesis of the Standard Bank Top Women Leaders publication was to encourage and foreground gender empowerment by celebrating women-led business success, providing inspiration to the many female entrepreneurs out there seeking role models and advice. The 18th edition carries on this important tradition - and packed into these pages you will find a cornucopia of tenacity, resilience, courage, compassion and inspiring stories of how to rise above the noise from women across the board.