Electricity + Control December 2018

SANEDI achieves second clean audit

achieving this triumph. We would also like to thank the Board, under the leadership of Nkululeko Buthelezi, which has enabled us to deliver on so many of our objectives.” “The success of SANEDI is not only predicated on the avail- ability of human and financial resources but also on its effective policies and procedures, systems and relationships, which enable it to adhere to its governance requirements. The Board is proud of SANEDI’s achievements in securing an- other clean audit,” adds Nkululeko Buthelezi, interim chairperson of the SANEDI Board. “SANEDI’s activities contribute to all of society, across the en- tire energy landscape, through cleaner fossil fuels, Smart Grids, cleaner mobility, data and knowledge management and key pro- jects in renewable energy and energy efficiency programmes and Working for Energy job creation programmes,” continues Mali. Enquiries: www.sanedi.org.za

For the second year in succession, the South African National En- ergy Development Institute (SANEDI) received a clean audit. SANEDI, an agency of the Department of Energy (DoE), is mandated to direct, monitor and conduct energy research and development, promote applied energy research and technology innovation, as well as undertake measures to promote the uptake of green energy and energy efficiency throughout the economy. Its mission is to use applied and energy research and resource efficiency to develop innovative, integrated solutions that will cat- alyse growth and prosperity to meet its vision of sustainable living for growth and prosperity in Africa. “As an organisation, we are delighted that our sound govern- ance and financial protocols have again led us to a clean audit,” says Dr Thembakazi Mali, interim CEO at SANEDI. “We thank Lethabo Manamela, our CFO, and Tuleka Mpotulo, our Corporate Planner, and their teams for all their hard work in

Supporting diversity and gender equality in the workplace

the gender pay gap and the creation of a diversity and inclusion board. We have also achieved our objective to have at least 40% new female recruits,” “We support HeForShe because we believe that both men and women are critical to achieve gender equality and promote women’s empowerment. By em- powering women, we bring good to our companies, economies and the harmony of our societies,” she says. Of these programmes is Women in Leadership, aimed at women to support them in developing their professional pro- jects while providing them with the space and opportunity to confront their vision of women in leadership. Women in Leader- ship was globally launched at Schneider Electric in 2012. Since then, over 400 of our women leaders from all entities have taken part in it. “We also haveWomen Networks across the globe. These local women networks have grown from three active networks in 2011 to 13 Schneider Electric women networks in 2015 in India, Singapore, Chi- na, Turkey, Spain, France, UK, US, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Andean Zone and South Africa. A social network, Women at Sch- neider Electric Community, has also been created, offering women and men the op- portunity to engage in conversation related to diversity topics,” explains Dalglish. Enquiries: Zanelle Dalglish. Tel. +27 (0) 11 254 6400 or email zanelle.dalglish@se.com

2012 were awarded to women. Europe is not far behind and now emerging econo- mies are seeing exponential growth in the numbers of women participating in the work force. “Schneider Electric has supported and implemented policies that advance and empower women in the workplace as we strive for diversity and inclusion across all levels of our organisation. As part of our transformational journey, we have put gen- der equality at the top of our agenda, and we make diversity one of our key business and people strategy components. We be- lieve that our drive for diversity and inclu- sion will enable improved performance and we form part of the United Nations Wom- an, #HeForShe” solidarity movement.to promote equality for women globally. The company first started its own internal #He- ForShe mobilisation in 2015. As of mid-Sep- tember that same year, over 10,000 of their male employees signed the #HeForShe on- line petition, joining the one billion strong #HeForShe movement.” On joining the movement, Jean Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric CEO, commit- ted to increasing Schneider Electric’s rep- resentation of women across the pipeline to 40% at entry, and 30% in leadership positions. The company was also selected by United Nations Women as one of the Impact 10x10x10 Corporate Champions. ”Celebrating the fourth anniversary of #HeForShe this year, Schneider Electric has achieved two of our goals – to close

When it comes to gender equality in South Africa, progress ― albeit slow ― is indeed be- ing made. Both Namibia and South Africa score in the Top 20 in the WEF global re- port on gender equality, after closing 78% to 76% of their gender gaps respectively, while sub-Saharan Africa still displays a wider range of gender gap outcomes than practically any other region. Many global corporations are scrambling to adjust to new trends affecting their business, but research has demonstrated that a lack of new ideas and a resistance to alternative approaches is the leading cause of stagna- tion in today’s business environment. Additionally, significant gender imbal- ance at the top and middle management tiers of global organisations has led to a lack of creativity in solving business problems. “One way for us to address this dilem- ma is to diversify our talent pool within the company. Changing the profile of incoming candidates supplements the skills of the existing workforce and it also promotes innovation by introducing fresh perspectives to the mix. When it comes to diversity, ensuring we achieve gender balance is an ongoing focus for Schneider Electric globally, as well as in South Afri- ca,” says Zanelle Dalglish, Schneider Elec- tric’s Head of Sustainable Development for Anglophone Africa. On a global scale, gender has already started to change the marketplace demo- graphic dynamic. In the US, for example, 58% of undergraduate degrees issued in

30 Electricity + Control

DECEMBER 2018