GIBB continues to move away from gender bias
Queen Zenani, Technologist at GIBB.
According to a report compiled by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), only one in five engineers in South Africa is a woman. Although we live in a country that strongly advocates for women empowerment, there still remains a real need to change the under-representation of female engineers in leadership positions within the country. On a positive note, the number of women registered with ECSA continues to rise year on year, with their representation having increased over the years by 49%.
East London-born and bred Queen Zenani, who is a Technologist at GIBB, is a prime example of how ambition and hard work can lead to success despite the odds. Zenani who can be best described as energetic and vibrant, has always had a passion for upskilling herself. She believes that obtaining one qualification is not enough. She achieved her first qualification in Building Science and then went on to obtain a civil engineering qualification at the Walter Sisulu University.
Her ongoing hunger for growth then led her to complete a BTech degree through the Nelson Mandela University, which she started shortly before joining GIBB in 2009. GIBB, being a company that strongly believes in investing in its people, then funded Zenani’s tuition fees. This afforded her the opportunity to complete her degree, which she did in record time.
Although Zenani works in what society deems a male-dominated industry, she is appreciative of the fact that she has not experienced any real gender bias in her working environment, although she notes that women are often perceived as not having the required capabilities simply because they’re female.
“As a civil engineer, there are times when you need to be on site – this means you often interact and find solutions to problems with your male counterparts. This is where you can sometimes experience a bit of gender bias, but I believe that when you are confident in what you are doing, it becomes easier to gain the respect you deserve in the field,” Zenani says.
What she appreciates most about being a female engineer, besides the fact that she works on life-changing projects, is that she is part of an organisation that believes in people development, regardless of their gender. “GIBB offers equal opportunities when it comes to training and development, and mentorship. We are also all given a seat at the table and it is up to us as individuals to use that seat and voice our opinions, which are usually heard and taken into consideration by the wider team,” Zenani says.
Coming from a disadvantaged background, Zenani feels that one needs to write down one’s dreams and take one step at a time to achieve them. She says, “In life, sometimes there are doors that you need to keep knocking on until they open and lead you to the next part of your growth journey. The journey of life comes with failures but there are lessons within failures that teach us to do better,” she concludes.
