A week ago , President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a range of measures to support the recovery of the South African economy and provide relief to the poor and those who were left vulnerable due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the recent unrest.

The International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA) commends and supports the government’s decisive response, emphasizing that this relief comes at a critical time if we are to protect more lives and the future prosperity of millions in this country. Irene Charnley, President of IWFSA characterized the move as critical from a social cohesion perspective across the country, adding that IWFSA would do its part in terms of enlisting its members to throw their support behind planned initiatives, and engaging leaders across all sectors of society to do the same.

Charnley further emphasized that the response and recovery musts be applied with a gender lens, given over 42% of households in South Africa are led by women. “Women’s voices must be equally included in the decision-making spaces and processes where responses are being formed to address this national crisis, and women must be seen as equally leading in the humanitarian response initiatives being driven on the ground in the affected communities,” said Charnley.

“IWFSA applauds the contribution made by the government, and encourage business leaders to now do our part because the effort required to rebuild what has been broken both in terms of trust and devastated infrastructure cannot be the work of the government alone. We, its citizens, leaders and patriots must stand and be part of creating the solutions that result in more sustainability from an economic empowerment perspective and heal the wounds that got us here. We are far better than this, and no child should go hungry or homeless in the wake of this. We are calling on all business leaders to shore up financial and community support. We must do better, and we must do more.”

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FORUM OF SOUTH AFRICA (IWFSA)

The International Women’s Forum (IWF) is a global organization of pre-eminent women of significant and diverse achievement who come together across national and international boundaries to share knowledge and exchange ideas, to learn and inspire each other, and to promote better leadership for a changing world. Through its Leadership Foundation, the IWF helps prepare the next generation of women leaders.

With forums throughout North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, the IWF facilitates networking among women of achievement and promotes opportunities for women in leadership. Founded in 1982 in the United States, the IWF has grown across six continents into 33 nations and 76 affiliated forum locations and currently has a membership of over 7 000 women leaders.

The International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA) was established 19 years ago, and through its membership of 100 members drawn from government, business, the sciences, the arts, and numerous other areas, works diligently to drive societal change and be the catalyst for ethical leadership.

IWFSA members are female leaders at the top of their fields of endeavor, with nationally and internationally identifiable track records. Through the collective network of IWFSA members and the parent organization, we have access to an even broader, diverse, powerful, and highly influential network of high-performing, like-minded and accomplished women.

IWFSA has been outspoken and visible in addressing the prevalence of the rape culture in South Africa through its resources as well as various advocacy initiatives including partnerships with the government, UN Women’s Organisation (UNWO) amongst others.

The IWFSA strategy has Advocacy/Voice as one of its six core strategic priorities. At the center of that pillar is Gender-based Violence (GBV) in society. The Advocacy Committee is chaired by Dr. Namane Magau, who holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard and brings both a passion for women’s development. Her vast experience in designing policy for National Programs like the HR strategy for the RDP and guiding the development of management systems and programs for the science and innovation systems at the CSIR extended her understanding of promoting the performance of organizations through engaging people at all levels and using efficient information management systems. She is an expert researcher on women’s economic empowerment and has been involved in several studies to promote participation of women Owned Enterprises in the economy.