Capital Equipment News September 2021

OPERATOR TRAINING

Shudufadzo Siphugu, finance manager at Nkwe Platinum (left), congratulates one of the women upon completion of the training programme.

employment opportunities, changing the circumstances women find themselves in. One such sector is mining. Mines operate close to towns with the potential to provide opportunities to thousands of women who are otherwise confined to lives of poverty. “Gajadhar says the department is encouraged by the efforts of mining companies like Nkwe Platinum who, in a co-sponsorship with SANY Southern Africa, have identified a gap in women representation as operators of heavy mining equipment. “Programmes like these benefit women such as Agnes Kgoetiane and Janet Mankgela, both from Maandagshoek, near Burgersfort in Limpopo, who have been mine labourers but expressed an interest in operating excavator equipment,” he says. “This programme is welcomed, especially during Women’s Month 2021, as it calls for the economic empowerment of women, one of the apex priorities of government and civil society. Women’s economic justice remains a dream for many women who are marginalised and excluded due to a myriad intersecting inequality vectors resulting in multi- dimensional poverty for many women and girls. Programmes by the private sector to empower women must form part of standard operational plans to increase women participation in the economy. The department encourages the mining sector to showcase similar programmes aimed at empowering women,” concludes Gajadhar. b

Advocate Vuyokazi Nontso, risk compliance manager at Nkwe Platinum (left), with one of the trainees.

this collaborative effort designed to empower women in a male-dominated industry. Shalen Gajadhar, spokesperson for the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, says there is greater need for women to be trained in industries believed to be under the ambit of men only. Sectors such as mining and construction are believed to be spaces reserved for men only, he says, with women resigned to administrative or secretarial duties. “The theme for Women’s Month 2021:

The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Realising Women’s Rights, speaks to the role women can play in society if they are able to enjoy true equality. Women’s economic exclusion remains one of the biggest barriers they face, and economic dependency is a contributing factor to women ‘tolerating’ abuse and mistreatment,” he says. “It is therefore imperative that job opportunities in male-dominated sectors be created to attract, retain, develop and promote women. Opening new sectors to women allows for more

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2021 24