Resilient Women

Women’s month serves as a lovely reminder of how courageous women are. It is important for today’s young girls to know and understand that a woman can accomplish things that go beyond what they think is possible.

Throughout history, it has been evident that women can achieve anything that they put their minds to, despite their struggles, traumas, circumstances, or whatever the world has against them. Think of the 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest against the pass laws that were passed on to women in South Africa. Think of women like Oprah, who grew up in extreme poverty and went through childhood trauma to become one of the most well-known TV hosts worldwide. Think of J.K. Rowling, the woman behind the popular Harry Potter series, who was a single mother living on welfare when she wrote the first book of the series. All those women did not just become overnight sensations. They fought hard to rise above their circumstances. And that is what inspired me to thrive in life, no matter how unkind life was towards me.

My story dates back to when I was a pregnant 15-year-old and my world felt like it was crumbling down. You can imagine how brutal society was towards me, labelling me with all sorts of names and basically painting me as the girl who would not go anywhere in life. As a 15-year-old, the first thing that comes to mind when you are going through that is that life is not worth living. However, there was no way I was going to give up, no matter how hard it got.

Years go by, and the girl they said would not get anywhere in life passes her matric very well, and the shock on their faces was evident. Now imagine how they looked when they found out that I was accepted into one of the top universities in the country. I knew from the moment I started university that my reality was not the same as everyone else in varsity. I had to stay focused. I could not afford to mess up or have moments of recklessness because I was not just living for myself but for the little boy who was back home waiting for his mommy to finish school so she could take him and give him a better future.

My story is not about how I am some resilient woman who is determined to make it no matter what. My story is about how, in my times of weakness and misery, I still managed to pick myself up and work towards achieving my goals. I have become a woman that 15-year-old me is extremely proud of. A young mom who is raising her 10-year-old son and providing the best possible life for him.

One thing I can tell all women out there, especially the young women who feel like the world is against them, is that you have a fighting spirit inside of you. You are courageous, deserving, and a force to be reckoned with. Whatever you are going through, whatever challenges you will face, always make sure you pick yourself up and try again. Even if you fall a thousand times, you can get up a thousand times more.

Yolani Williams – Content Writer

Yolani Williams is the Content Writer at The CRM Team, with the role to produce relevant content such as blogs, articles, and social media copy. Yolani holds a qualification in Strategic Corporate Communication and has 3 years of relevant experience in the marketing field.

Women and Work: Then, Now and
What The Future Holds

When I was eighteen years old, I majored in English Literature in my Senior high school year.  As we read the poems, plays and novels I was often struck by how the world has been unfair towards women.  I was often left shocked angry and sad for the female leads in the novels, plays and poems we studied. From their inability to choose who they love, when to have children, access to education, access to certain professions like studying medicine or law….Oh, the scandal to want to be educated! They were born in a wrong time.  It is this reflection that makes me sober when I think of how far we have come.   Is there still much to be done? Yes, but this does not cloud my perception of whether we are better of or worse. 

In the 21st century, our society has made significant progress with regard to gender discrimination, we can vote, go to school and choose our professions among many other freedoms.  Granted, some professions are still male-dominated, and settling in those spaces can be quite difficult, we still acknowledge and are happy that the doors are open to women now. We are way better of than women in earlier years. We still do have a gender pay gap to consider, friendlier maternity leave policies to be implemented, ending child marriage, socialising our society to not accept domestic violence as a norm amongst some of the hurdles we need to jump.

Women are now given the opportunity to sit at the table in boardrooms, in parliament, etc. And it is now our responsibility to take up space. We must show up when given the baton in this relay. Women before us were ostracised and ridiculed for wanting this opportunity and so we must not take it for granted.

It is now our responsibility to be the torch bearers for the next generation. We owe it to ourselves to empower young girls, to teach them how to speak up, and to teach them to take up their own space in whatever field they want to be in.

Over the last 10 years, in particular, a significant amount of research has been conducted on gender diversity in leadership. We are now living at a time when women leaders are on the rise, especially in the political space.  I love this because representation at the top is the best way to get your challenges considered. Being in the IT world I do believe that we need more women in IT.  There is a noticeable lack of Snr Software Engineers. I am confident that this will change with time as more young women take up IT studies.

This is a great time for women to surround themselves with women who are powerful – you have to step out of your comfort zone and put yourself in spaces where you will be inspired. Things like resilience, courage, and leadership are like muscles that you have to build and strengthen, so do whatever you must to ensure that you are constantly working those muscles and learning from various leaders.

“Our Deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light and not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you” Marianne Williamson. I love this quote because it implies that women can do great things.

Be courageous.

Bertha has been with The CRM Team for 5 years overseeing Delivery Operations, she is a Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing Functional Consultant Associate and she holds a BCOM in Marketing Degree. She is currently busy with an Advanced Project Management Certification and is equipped to deliver projects using Agile Principles. Her Favorite workplace Moto is  “When our Customers Win, We win! ”

Women Who Do It All: Family, Home, and Career.

South Africa will celebrate this year’s Women’s Month under the theme: “Women’s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women’s Improved Resilience”. As part of The CRM Team’s August monthlong theme, we aim to inspire women from all walks of life.

Among the most admirable qualities of women is their ability to juggle many roles. For example, wives, mothers, and career women. The ability to play all those roles at once is admirable, but also quite challenging.

There is no one-way formula to handle a career, being a wife, and motherhood – no clear instruction on how to “have it all.” But one thing is for sure, you can do it, and you can do it well.

A woman’s career ambitions and her responsibilities as a mother are in constant conflict from what I have heard, but as a woman, you should be able to thrive in both. As a Marketing Manager, a wife, and a mother of three beautiful girls, it is only by grace and my support structure that I have managed to juggle all of the roles.

There is no doubt that there is difficulty in managing to be a wife to my husband and making sure that we spend as much time together as we can, then giving individual attention to all three of my daughters, and then making sure I give my utmost best in the role I am in at work.

So how do I do it? Firstly, having a supportive and active partner makes a huge difference. We do everything together, we raise our children together, and we succeed in our careers together. Having a strict routine works wonders for me.  A routine that gives equal attention to my family and career – because it requires a lot of attention. Someone once said that there is no such thing as “work-life balance” just life and I fully live by that motto. It is quite important to work with people that understand that you have a life outside of your work and once that is clear it gives time for your personal life to thrive as well.

A lot of young people currently feel like they have to choose between having a career and a family – but what if I told you that you can do both? I hope to inspire women to see that you can have both! With a bit of hard work in between it is very much possible to excel at home as a spouse, a parent, and at work. It all comes down to the environment you choose to be in, having a child or a family shouldn’t limit your career goals.

I was 17 years old, stepping into my matric year, when I left my parent’s home and started my own life. At that point, I was not sure how I would have the financial resources to study further since I did not have any support structure at that point in my life. My circumstances did not determine my future, so I decided to give it my most determined shot, and to do my best to pay for my studies and become an independent person. I made it a life goal to have a partner that would be supportive and to give my children a support structure. I had that same mindset with my career as well, to give my all and go above and beyond to excel. I am also not saying there aren’t tough times, but it is how you as a person react to it and how you decide to approach it that makes a difference.

Of course, there are things I have had to push aside in order to have work-life harmony, like having a hobby. However, I still set aside time monthly to go do my nails and spend time alone with my husband. Times like those are very important.

My story is not a guide on how to be a career woman, wife, and mother. It is simply to inspire all women out there to know that it is possible to balance it all, it might not be easy but you can do it! Your personal goals are as important as your career goals. Never feel like you have to choose.

You are a phenomenal woman and there is nothing you cannot achieve if you put your mind to it.

Bianca Kruger – Marketing Manager

Bianca Kruger is the Marketing Manager at The CRM Team, with responsibility for marketing programs, brand management, strategic marketing campaigns that drive business objectives. Bianca has over 10 years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing and holds a qualification in Business Management.

Innovative, Dynamic, and Passionate is what best describes Bianca.