The ALOW Empowerment & Knowledge Sharing Discussion on the 12th of May 2010

The ALOW Empowerment & Knowledge Sharing Discussion on the 12th of May 2010 was well attended and signaled the start of great opportunities to come for ALOW Members. The ladies had an opportunity to mingle with each other whilst enjoying some exotic looking confectionary delights. This set the scene for a powerful talk by Alex Mathole who took us along on her corporate journey as a South African Woman. Alex Mathole drove home the point that there are only 24 hours in a day and that is something that will not change. As women pursue careers, one's personal lives will not just fall into place, sacrifices are required and by being more deliberate about career and family trade-offs we will be taking a step closer towards peace of mind and contentment with where we are. She also emphasized that women need to take responsibility for their own development and advancement and "be willing to put our shoulder behind the wheel".

Elaine Barr spoke on the Mentoring portfolio which is aimed at identifying and growing female talent through formalized mentorships. The Mentorship programme will be aligned with the HR mentorship programme. Through the Mentorship Programme, 10 female mentors (JG 3 – 6) and 20 female mentee's (JG 6 – 8) will be identified. Mentors and mentees will be matched by Human Resources. The kick off will occur at the same time as the HR mentoring Programme Kick off.

Shaleenah Marie from the ALOW social Club emphasized the reasons for a Social Club portfolio which included: empowering, developing and connecting female leaders and providing a platform for ALOW members to network. The ALOW Business Book clubs aim is to bring together a diverse group of women to engage in powerful conversations and exchange ideas with each other whilst investing in their own professional development. The ALOW social club first event will be a "High Tea" which many of the ladies expressed great interest in.

An interesting panel discussion on Women in Business from a South African perspective was discussed by Alex Mathole, Nicolette Barnard, and Elaine Barr. The audience interacted with this group and asked many relevant questions pertaining to Women in business.

Helen Brown, the Country General Manager of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics involved all the ladies in an exercise which involved putting together 4 triangles with all sides being equal. This exercise demonstrated that women must stop thinking one dimensionally. The audience was taken through her idea's of what an individual should do to empower oneself for success and the demonstrable behaviours for success.

“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads” Erica Jong, author – This quote was used by Alex Mathole in her presentation and is a very apt quote to all women who must have the courage to go after their dreams because fear is the paralysis of one’s strengths.