Page 26 - Winning Women 2017

26 BWASA

Bringing women together

THROUGH
THROUGH

THE

AGES
AGES

A perspective on the

Businesswomen’s
Association’s history,
by Truida Prekel
Members of the Executive Women’s Club: Dr Jopie van

he Businesswomen’s Association Rooyen,Truida Prekel and Professor Lily Gerdes
has grown into the largest
Tassociation of business and
professional women in South
Africa – widely recognised for the
role it plays in promoting the role of Organisations that also contributed
women, and a respected voice on
gender issues.
Many women now enjoying the Two other business-related women’s sponsored by Old Mutual.
benefits and fun of membership, organisations that also started in the All women’s organisations, except
probably do not realise how far early 1980s may be of interest to those affiliated with political parties,
women have come in the past four complete the picture. were invited to join – to form a
decades or so. In 1981, I started Womanpower, broad forum working to advance the
At the 2017 annual general meeting with Ronel Erwee (Tuks), Jopie van development and interests of women
of the Cape Town branch, executive Rooyen (HRSC), Lily Gerdes (who and communities.
director Matshepo Msibi mentioned had been the first woman professor With branches in the major cities
that she had been struck by the at Unisa) and Pauline Walters. and annual national conferences, this
mutual supportiveness among We offered mostly free workshops created opportunities to meet a wide
members – that the “queen bee for women in Pretoria, Johannesburg range of women, also some from
syndrome” that people often and Cape Town – at that stage few Lesotho, Namibia and Malawi.
mentioned as being a problem among companies were prepared to invest The Women’s Bureau was closed
businesswomen does not seem to exist in the career development of women. down in the mid-1990s after the
in the association. One of our projects was “Matched founder and energiser Margaret had
It had struck me in the early 1980s Pairs” from 1983 to 1985 – where we emigrated to Australia, in her 80s.
that while “queen bees” seemed to be sought out emerging black business I had the privilege of representing
prevalent in the US, the first and professional women, and the Women’s Bureau when the
Businesswomen of the Year – matched them with white women in Women’s National Coalition was
Val Mickleburgh, Margaret Lessing, the same fields. This broadened to established at the initiative of the
Marina Maponya – and their create rewarding opportunities for ANC Women’s League in 1991.
successors were generous, sharing women to get to know, befriend and I served on the steering committee
women, who set the tone and example support women they might with inspiring women like Frene
for other women to encourage otherwise not have met. Ginwala, Mavivi Manzini and Thoko
newcomers and emerging In 1981 Margaret Lessing Didiza – and we got many other
businesswomen. established the Women’s Bureau of women’s organisations to join the
The Businesswomen’s Association South Africa, which was mainly coalition. – Truida Prekel
grew out of a merger between three
women’s organisations – the Executive
Women’s Club (the largest of the Leadership, as manager of marketing on personal and career development
three), National Association of and public relations, and had started a for women managers.
Women Business Owners – started four-year part-time Master of Business We first offered this workshop in
by Professor Ronel Erwee of Pretoria Leadership course. October 1979, and there was such
University Business School – and I did my dissertation for the degree demand that we had to present the
ProWaldo (an association of black in business leadership on the workshop three times, and often later.
businesswomen and professionals). development of the managerial Margaret Essberger, public relations
In a way it started in 1975, which the potential of South African women. manager of Barclays Bank, was one of
United Nations had declared the One of the outcomes of my research the participants. She had started
International Year of Women. This led was that I developed a module on having informal lunches for
to more awareness on women’s issues women in management as part of our businesswomen and said she would try
and roles worldwide. one-year management development to establish such an organisation.
I worked at Unisa School of Business programme, and a two-day workshop . TO PAGE 27