Key women appointments reflect giant strides of transformation in SA

In the past month or so, we have seen a few firsts for our country. On October 20, Tsakane Maluleke received an uncontested recommendation from parliament’s ad hoc committee on her appointment to the position of SA’s auditor-general. Maluleke has been unanimously voted in by the National Assembly as the new AG – a decision which is to be assented by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Should he assent, this will not be Maluleke’s first stint at being a first.

In 2012 she became the first woman to ascend the office of the auditor-general in the role of deputy auditor-general, since the institution's formation in 1911. Another recent first is the appointment of prof Puleng Lenkabula as the principal and vice-chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa), one of the oldest universities on the continent. Although slow – these are important, long overdue strides in our country's transformation mandate.

It baffles my mind that it is 26 years into our democracy and we still talk about firsts. The first black to… or the first woman to... This is quite shameful for a country as diverse, and as policy progressive, as ours. Both appointments are well deserved, not because they are women but because they are exceedingly competent individuals who happen to be women.

Why has transformation taken us so long? Twenty-six years into the democracy we so loudly pride ourselves on, and we still speak of firsts? There are thousands of women who are competent and gifted. Women who would take this country to another level, but it has always been about doubting and not acknowledging what women can do for our country.

Transformation is never easy because it seeks to create a new environment, to bring new sets of thinking and is to deal with the past. But most importantly to deal with the past that has oppressed, that has festered and has grown inequality. A past that has looked at men as a gift from God to mankind. Transformation is never an easy process because it seeks to undo an unjust system, and it is perceived to be taking away that which is supposed to rightfully belong to and benefit, a certain sector or individuals, i.e. men. Transformation therefore would be resisted and hated.

The beneficiaries of the oppressive status quo would go as far as labelling transformation strides as promoting mediocrity and entitlement. In actual fact, transformation solely seeks to undo that which has benefited others, unfairly so.

When a woman is appointed in any senior position, questions that are idiotic and patronising arise. Questions that do not arise when men are appointed. Because according to society, men have these inherent, divine gifts that give us permission to rule over women and institutions generally.

It is not difficult to spot the lack of transformation in most sectors of our country. Take a moment and look at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). How many women lead and occupy key, senior positions in these firms? Is the representation of women in the Constitutional Court, high courts, lower courts and appellate division a true representation of the demographics of this country? Demographics that point to women being the majority.

The question that all of us must honestly ask ourselves is; why have we not seen an increase of women occupying these top positions? Is it because we are convinced that women are inherently incompetent or is it because we inherently believe that we are a gift to mankind as men?

An answer to all of these questions is located within the functioning of patriarchy, and its ugly tentacles – which are everywhere and impact our society adversely, but more so impact women. We cannot continue with business as usual, when we are fully aware of how various institutions actively narrow the upward trajectory of women via gatekeeping and deliberately creating conditions that make it hard for women to thrive. Congratulations to both women, these strides are long overdue. May we see many more strides towards the transformation of key institutions in our country.