Inspired! Discovery Women Move launches at Constitution Hill

I was proud to witness the Discovery Women Move initiative go live on Monday this week. We kicked off with the most unforgettable event at an iconic venue - the old Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill. This launch comes a year after the idea for Discovery Women Move first came to me, and I could not be more grateful or more proud of all the team work and passion that’s gone into bringing it to life.

The event was attended by phenomenal women leaders within the Discovery Limited   business, who at general manager and deputy general manager level are the first Discovery Women Move cohort to participate in this awesome initiative.

It felt befitting to host the Discovery Women Move launch at the Women’s Jail. Here, some of our country’s most fearless women, including anti-apartheid activists – Barbara Hogan, Fatima Meer, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and others – were incarcerated and also strengthened in their conviction around a common vision for race and gender equality in South Africa. 

There has always been and will always be power in the unity of women

There is so much to unpack from the launch, but for now I want to reflect on the incredible privilege we had as women of Discovery to drink from the well of one of the former anti-apartheid prisoners at the Women’s Jail. 89-year-old Mama Joyce Piliso-Seroke was incarcerated at the jail in 1976.

A critical take out for me from her keynote address is that there has always been and will always be power in the unity of women. Despite the indignities they faced as Black women prisoners and the prison’s best attempts to keep the women separate, Mama Joyce shared how as women they still found ways to rally together to fight for their basic human rights – including being provided with underwear and sanitary items while in jail.

She told our guests: “We were supposed to be at their mercy, but we didn’t lose our courage. What gave us courage to fight apartheid was the collective power of like-minded women in solidarity with one another. We were a sisterhood of women, from all walks of life, fighting for human rights.”

Ultimately the same strength-in-unity approach applies to anything of great importance that women are working towards. Ma Joyce encouraged women in general saying: “I urge you not to work in isolation. Join with others and have hope!”

The four pillars of Discovery Women Move set out to elevate women leaders

I am even more energised after hearing these words, for the imminent opportunities that Discovery Women Move (DWM) presents to bring about even more progress within our business and further empower the women employed here. I also believe that this model is scalable and can be implemented by other businesses and organisations that want to improve gender equality and elevate even more women into leadership positions.

In closing, I want to share the four pillars that DWM encompasses – all of them evidence-based and chosen deliberately:

• The voice of the customer: In this case, the women leaders who are members of DWM – how do we keep important conversations going and make sure that the relevant forums hear us?
• Role modelling: We will create spaces in which to showcase powerful women in the business, and what they’re doing, so that other women can see what is possible.
• Networking: We will make sure there are opportunities for women in our business to get to know each other, what they do, and how they can leverage each other.  
• Mentoring, coaching and sponsorship: We will help women to mentor, coach and sponsor other high-potential women in the organisation. I know that, in my own career, mentorship has really mattered in taking me forward.

The DWM platform aims to keep women as active participants in the topics that affect them, so that we are pilots rather than passengers in the journeys we are on. I believe in women coming together and moving together to impact businesses and broader societies.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and also share what your organisations are doing on this front.