Develop, unite and empower women in engineering, infrastructure and innovation

South African, women-owned conference and training company, Pinpoint Stewards have made it their goal to profile the success made by women in STEM careers. Backed by their partners African Mining, Engineering News and WiMSA in a combined effort, the aim is to drive change in advancing visibility of women contributing to these sectors. On 28 and 29 February 2024, Pinpoint Stewards will host the 3rd annual Women and Leadership conference for women in Engineering, Infrastructure and Innovation, under the “It’s ‘DUE’ – Develop, Unite, Empower” to be held at the Hilton Hotel, Sandton, Johannesburg. The programme features an array of prominent women from the public and private sector who have made their mark in their respective disciplines. Sudhira Sewsunker co-owner, Pinpoint Stewards says, “It was recently announced that there has been a 35% growth in women engineers registering with ECSA. While this is encouraging with a clear move towards bridging the gender gap, more must be done, and we have taken it upon ourselves to promote visibility of our home-grown leaders and draw attention to a career in STEM for young leaders of today.” Showing her support for the initiative is Deputy Minister for the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Bernice Swarts who will deliver the opening address on day one of the conference. Representing the South African National Space Agency will be Gladys Magagula and Sindisiwe Sono. Magagula is an accomplished woman and the first black female mission control specialist – her address will be tailored to the role of project management in delivering infrastructure projects. Sono’s presentation will look at why women are given tasks or projects that require enhanced softer skills, those that offer technical challenges. The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) will be represented by Nthwana Ngoma, ICT Services and operation lead and Gugulethu Ndlovu, project manager. Ngoma is the first woman to join the ICT team at SANRAL and will address how organisations can change company culture and pave the way to introduce more women into ICT careers. Ndlovu has a Master’s degree in civil engineering and will share 5 tips leaders should apply in managing teams. Alisha Raghoonanan, project manager, Enel Green Power will be looking at the synergy between renewable energy and green engineering with a special focus on infrastructure projects. Among Raghoonanan’s list of achievements, is that she is the first Indian (non-white SA citizen) female to work as a site manager in the South African Renewable industry. A panel moderated by chairperson from WiMSA, Raksha Naidoo and panellist Thabile Nkomo, MD, Tshepa Basadi will tackle the subject of “using charters, policies and frameworks to support equal opportunities for women”, which will be a central point of the conference encouraging discussions and collaboration amongst attendees, with a view to proposing possible solutions to challenges. Representatives of Eskom, Sasol, SANRAL, Enel Green Power, NRF-SAASTA, the National Department of Science and Innovation RSA and SANSA will also speak to elements of the overriding theme of the day, “It’s ‘DUE’ – Develop, Unite, Empower.” Organisations are invited to partner, exhibit and/or host a table and join in on the discussions of the day – to not only invest in women empowerment, but to further support and encourage women to choose a career in STEM. Pinpoint Stewards have 20 years of experience in research, management and arranging onsite conferences and – more recently – online training platforms relating mostly to legislative updates and critical issues affecting South African organisations. They are a 100% women-owned, Level 2 B-BBEE company. For more information and the full conference brochure and activities planned, contact [email protected] Register before 15 December 2023 to be eligible for the EARLY BIRD conference fee for a full two-day agenda. Source: Supplied by Pinpoint Stewards, edited by Sharyn Macnamara