More than 100 Gqeberha businesswomen and University staff gathered at the Business School in Summerstrand for SecureHER — a lively seminar equipping them with the tools to protect themselves in several spheres of life.
From personal finances to online safety, career resilience to street smarts, the event highlighted both the risks women face and the skills they can develop to overcome them.
Introducing the recent event, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences Deputy Dean Professor Michelle Mey outlined why a multi-faceted approach was important.
“Today at our Business School, we celebrate the remarkable strength, courage and achievements of women worldwide with a special focus on developing our own individual competencies and personal safety,” she said.
Prof Mey shared the World Economic Forum’s prediction that it will take 134 years to close the international gender wage gap, and a United Nations’ statistic that one in every three women would experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Business School Professor Margaret Cullen facilitated the day’s presentations, which featured University academic staff Professor Grant Freedman and Professor Kerry-Lynn Thomson who were joined by Ryan Morris of Atlas Security and Fikiswa Manku from Nedbank.
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SecureHER panellists, from left, Mandela University’s Prof Grant Freedman and Prof Kerry-Lynn Thomson, Fikiswa Manku from Nedbank and Ryan Morris of Atlas Security
Cultivate a zero-trust mindset
Prof Thomson, who also was representing the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa, was first up, outlining how to stay safe online. The bottom line: cultivate a zero-trust mindset.
With cyber criminals and online scammers becoming increasingly sophisticated, and the avalanche of artificial intelligence (AI), anyone using the internet needed to take extra care.
“It is harsh, and sad, but we need to establish trust before we take action,” she warned. “Think – and verify. Be aware – not paranoid. Be skeptical – not cynical. Artificial intelligence is only getting better.”
And, with 30 billion online devices in the world today, it was essential to lock down electronics such as phones and computers with strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, VPNs and backups.
Be financially disciplined
Nedbank financial education facilitator Manku also had words of caution: “There are no magic secrets when it comes to saving – we just need to be disciplined”.
In South Africa, she said, three out of five people lived beyond their means. Furthermore, four out of five finished their salary in the first five days of the month.
“They rely on credit and will not be able to retire in comfort. This is why it is important to spend wisely. Save regularly and invest prudently.”
Listen to your instincts
Atlas Community Development Manager Morris said that although criminals perceived women as easier targets, this did not necessarily have to be so.
“Your instincts are not just imagination – listen to your sixth sense,” he advised, stressing how important it was to be aware of the surroundings.
However, awareness was only one part of what was needed: women also needed to act on that sense of unease, ideally by getting away from a potentially risky situation as quickly and as safely as possible.
Future-proof your career
The fourth and final panellist, Prof Freedman, heads Executive Education at Mandela University's Business School and works extensively in the field of industrial and organisational psychology.
“Our research into the executive landscape of the future, en route to 2045, shows that we will be working with AI colleagues,” he said.
It was important now, therefore, to discuss the implications – including the morality – attached to its use.
“How do we steward ethical AI?” he asked.
Prof Freedman sketched various potential executive career scenarios, each of which came with its own risks and rewards.
Whichever direction the world moved in, “we are going to have colleagues who are AI – so get used to it”.
There were tools that could help in future-proofing a career, with signals emerging that flagged what these could involve.
For example, as the large language models (LLM) behind generative AI were continually evolving, cognitive agility – flexibility in how we learn – was an important quality that workers would need.
Executives – and others – should not be afraid to walk across the metaphorical digital bridge to their future career. It would not help to bar the way with a gate or take another path. Now was the time to build guardrails on the sides of that bridge, to help ensure safe passage.
Guests took the messaging to heart, with Bay businesswoman Alasia Hayward, for example, finding it an “excellent” event.
“I liked the calibre of all the presenters, even though the topics were complicated what they had to say was informative, understandable and clear,” she said. “The networking afterwards was also very good so, all in all, it was a very successful Women’s Day presentation from the Business School.”
As part of its ongoing mission as an educational institution in service of society, Nelson Mandela University Business School plans to build on SecureHER.
As the seminar reminded participants, a secure woman is a stronger force for change — in her family, workplace and community — and the University is committed to helping women get there.