MechChem Africa August 2017

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Women create a space for themselves in engineering

W ith the high rise in unemploy- ment, South African women are tapping into sectors that were previously categorised as being only for men. Fiona Kgalema and Ella Mambane are two work-driven women who are making a name for themselves in the engineering industry. The South African engineering sector has evolved to become more gender-balanced in thepast tenyears as employment equitymea- sures increasingly ensure equal opportunities formen andwomen. TheEngineeringCouncil of South Africa (ECSA) revealed that 70% of the women who graduate with engineering degrees leave the sector after starting their careers, because they feel isolated in their jobs due to a battle with stigmas in this male- dominated industry. Fiona Kgalema, who works as a receiv- ing inspector for Unidrive Electric Motors, has been with the company for two years. Her day-to-day duties include, amongst many other responsibilities, inspecting and receiving material purchased and ensuring that all received material complies with the company’s specifications. Starting out as an intern at the company, Kgalema is the first staff member to move from the internship programme to a perma- nent position in the company, and since then she has gradually worked her way up to her current position. “Initially I wanted to be a psychologist, but as there is not enough employment for gradu- ates in that sector inour country, I opted to go into theengineering industry, as thatwouldbe easier for me,” she says. Currently busy with her studies in electri- cal engineering, Fiona mentions gender in- equality as being one of the major challenges that she faces daily in such amale-dominated industry. “We grew up in families where culture and respect towards a male is very important, hence it becomes quite difficult to express your opinions and tell a man what to do in this industry,” she says. Despite all these challenges, Kgalema managed to get

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Fiona Kgalema and Ella Mambane.

nominated as ‘Employee of the Month’ for December 2016. Another amazing woman at Unidrive Electric Motors is Ella Mambane, who works as a coil winder. Her journey atUnidrive start- ed27 years ago as the onlywomanworking in the factory. Since then the engineering indus- try has gradually opened its doors to women. She endured the role of being a woman in a field dominated by men, but her persistence and hard work has been well maintained in the industry for over two decades. Both these women foresee a prosperous future for themselves in this industry. “I see myselfprogressingandsharingmyexperience with new generations of women engineers,” says Ella. She also plans on opening a small business in the same industry, fixing small electric motors in her local area. Kgalema comments: “I see myself work- ing for Unidrive as a qualified electric motor technician and workshop supervisor, as well as working on a programme for high school students who wish to pursue careers in engi- neering.” She also wants to be an inspiration to prospective female engineers. Unidrivehas a total of sevenwomenunder its umbrella, three of whomare shareholders and four employees. “Our women sharehold- ersareseasonedandsoontoreachretirement age, so we are deliberately bringing in young women, such as FionaKgalema, who can soon again feature the latest advances and tech- niques in liquid/solid and gas/particle sepa- ration, including dust, gas and air filtration. The conference and exhibition will take place at the KoelnMesse in Cologne, Germany and is organised by Filtech ExhibitionsGermany. Formore information contact Suzanne Abetz by email at info@ filtech.de www.filtech.de

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44 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2017