Inspiration for future leaders
JOBURG - BDO South Africa hosts future leaders as part of the Bring A Girl Child to Work initiative
A total of 50 girls enjoyed exposure to different career opportunities at BDO South Africa on 26 May as part of the annual Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day.
The initiative is aimed at empowering young girls by acquainting them with positive role models and giving them a glance at possible future careers. Girls from Grade 10 to 12 from Temple Valley Secondary School in Verulam, Durban; Realogile Secondary School in Johannesburg; as well as FH Odendaal Secondary School in Pretoria, were some of the pupils hosted by the international audit, tax and advisory firm in all five of their offices nationwide.
“Twenty-five girls were selected by the schools who are a part of BDO’s Adopt-a-School programme and the other 25 girls were nominated by our staff,” said Patricia Stock, audit partner and head of transformation at BDO.
“We asked all of our 800 staff to each put forward one Grade 10 to 12 girl to take part,” said Stock.
Pupils spent time in various departments within the organisation to experience firsthand the inner workings of a professional service firm. Each girl was assigned a professional to shadow and by the end of the day, the girls had gained insight into different divisions, from marketing and finance to audit, tax and risk advisory.
All the girls who participated were required to give feedback on their experience and to share with the rest of the group their knowledge gained.
“It is not enough to just participate, we need to make a difference and we realise that the information and exposure empower the pupils to aspire to be more,” said Stock.
The day ended with a certificate handover ceremony where each girl was recognised for her participation for the day.
Details: www.bdo.co.za
