13 Nov 2017

De Beers Group of Companies has committed three million US Dollars (P31.6 million) ) towards empowering women in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada.

Speaking at the second De Beers Women Summit held at the National Museum on Thursday, De Beers executive vice president of corporate affairs, Mr David Prager said De Beers was committed to achieving gender parity in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mr Prager disclosed that De Beers had partnered with the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign in September in order  to provide a platform where men and boys as well as women and girls were engaged to find solutions to accelerate achieving gender parity of 50/50 in the world.

He said De Beers was focused on empowering women in countries within which it operated such as Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. 

He added that the company was also committed to breaking the glass ceiling when it came to issues of gender mainstreaming. 

“We will achieve gender parity in our appointment rate of women and men into senior leadership positions by 2020,” he said.

He told women entrepreneurs that there was need for both men and women to work together to achieve a more equal and inclusive society. 

He added that the perception that De Beers and the mining industry was male dominated must be discarded to give both genders equal opportunities.

“We want to move it to become a place that all best talent want to work and feel welcome at work regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or anything else,” he said.

He said emerging business challenges required a new understanding, new approaches and new ideas, adding that the company had adopted a new strategy in dealing with gender disparities in the workplace.

He noted that De Beers would spend US $140 million dollars on marketing to eliminate gender stereotypes this year, adding that on top of the amount, a budget of US $3 million has been provided to empower women in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa and Canada.

 He said they would focus on empowering women micro entrepreneurs and training those who came from less privileged backgrounds.

UN Women Botswana country manager, Ms Magdeline Madibela said De Beers and the UN had partnered to empower women economically and to build their entrepreneurship skills. 

She said the partnership targeted women in remote areas who were hardest hit by poverty. She said research showed that women in rural areas did 80 per cent of the work but that they benefited less. 

She said the UN in partnership with De Beers would ensure that women were given the necessary economic assistance.

For her part, the CEO of Desmond Tutu Tutudesk Campaign Centre, Ms Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe said there was need to empower rural communities with education. 

She said there was need for young people to get the knowledge and the necessary exposure to enable them to think of transforming the globe. 

“You cannot make a difference when you don’t know what it is that needs to be changed,” she said.

She noted that most of the time women in remote areas were unaware of what was happening around them, and that they did not have the power to make a difference.

An entrepreneur in the diamond industry, Ms Orefitlhetse Masire said there was need for women in leadership positions to advocate for other women to go up the corporate ladder. 

She divulged that she managed to thrive and transcend gender stereotypes in a male dominated industry by ensuring that she networked with everybody irrespective of gender. 

She said it was critical for women to understand what they could offer rather than shrink in the background.

The CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ms Parminder Vir said there was need for women to network and see themselves as equal to their male counterparts.

“Women should take the risks that men are taking. They should be part of the network,” she stated. BOPA