influential women leaders
11 February 2009
The Speaker of Parliament's National Assembly, the Honourable Gwen
Mahlangu-Nkabinde today (11 February 2009) addressed the workshop of the
International Women's Forum of South Africa (IWFA). IWFSA is a local chapter of
an international body of highly influential and women executives in business,
government, academics and non-government organisations. Amongst some of its
members are Ms Hillary Clinton, the current United States (US) Secretary of
State, Ms Marilyn Albright, former US Secretary of State, Ms Connie Chen,
former anchor women of Cable News Network (CNN) and Ms Carol Hyatt of the Hyatt
Empire. The SA chapter of IWFSA consists of distinguished women leaders such as
Dr Anna Mokgokong (President â IWFSA), Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane (Sentech),
Ms Basetsana Khumalo (Businesswomen's Associates) and Ms Karin Louis Pickard
(Pickard).
IWFSA has been meeting since 2002 just a few hours before the Budget Speech
by the Minister of Finance, the Hon Trevor Manuel, to reflect on the impact of
the Budget on women. From this, it then devices ways and means of improving the
lives of the most marginalised women in their programmes. Among some of its
achievements was the selection of twenty women with exceptional potential, from
its sixty forums around the world, for a one-week leadership training course,
The IWF Leadership Foundation Fellows, offered at Harvard University's John F
Kennedy School of Government. In 2000, Ms Totsie Memela-Khambule was selected
as a South African candidate to attend the Leadership Foundation Programme.
In her address to this gathering, the Hon Mahlangu-Nkabinde emphasised the
importance of making the Budget Speech relevant to the majority of marginalised
women who cannot even afford to purchase a portable radio to listen to the
speech, let alone being aware that there is such a gathering which would have a
direct impact on, say, the social grants they receive on behalf of needy
children. This is what she said:
Being the ones endowed with some good fortune and all sorts of
qualifications with nice titles such as Speaker, Doctor and CEO, the question
we need to ask ourselves as we listen to the Budget Speech would be: what is it
we ought to do to interpret it, in practical terms, for our less fortunate
grandmothers, mothers, aunts and sisters out there so that they are able to
translate it into something tangible for their lives, like putting a plate of
food on the table?
For enquiries, please contact:
Mr Lebogang L Nawa
Communications Manager
Office of the Speaker
P O Box 15, Cape Town, 8000
Issued by: Parliament of South Africa
11 February 2009
Source: Parliament of South Africa (http://www.parliament.gov.za)
