Fifty-two women filled Syringa Café in Bromhof on August 21 for a Johannesburg South African Council for Business Women meeting that organisers say marked the branch’s biggest turnout yet.

Branch leader Tanya Liebenberg said the monthly sisterhood gathering, held on the third Friday of every month, carried special meaning this time around, with the theme: Ordinary women, extraordinary impact. “Our turnout was amazing. We had 54 registered ladies and I think we had a turnout of 52, which is by far the biggest turnout we’ve had at one of these events. “So, I think we’re really building up momentum and it’s going awesome.”

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Liebenberg said the meetings offer something rare for women running businesses, particularly those working in male-dominated industries. “Being a business owner can be very lonely. If you’re in a male dominant industry, even more so. What I love about this space is we bring and we connect people who wouldn’t necessarily. Their paths wouldn’t really cross, but we’ve created this space where ladies can come, they can just be themselves, they can be vulnerable.”

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She described a space that holds both hardship and celebration in equal measure. “We have days where we are crying because we’ve gone through a sad situation or a lady is sharing a sad story, but we are laughing, we are celebrating. This is just a safe space for ladies to show up their authentic self and just be who they are.”

For Liebenberg, the gathering reflects the many roles women carry outside the boardroom. “As women, we wear so many different hats. Yes, we are business owners, but yes, we are mothers, we are sisters, we are best friends. We wear all those hats. This is a space where women can just show up and they can just be their authentic self. That’s what I absolutely love about the sisterhood.”

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