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WRITING
Theme: Women in IT
Company: Forge Ahead BMI-T
Title: Sharoda Rapeti - Quietly making an impact
The first thing to strike one when making contact with Sharoda Rapeti is the
calm, professional, yet friendly manner of her assistant, traits which are a
reflection of Sharoda herself. As Managing Director of Technology for the South
African Broadcast Corporation (SABC), Sharoda’s career achievements make a
statement for women in technology – one that says knowledge, determination and
leadership are qualities that can be found in either gender in the competitive,
but male-dominated ICT environment.
On meeting her, one is struck by her petite size and her warmth, a feature that
complements, rather than negates her authority.
Sharoda is not only a role-model for women in ICT, but for career women across
the industry spectrum. She has experienced diversity and grown through it,
continues to strive for balance in her full, demanding life, yet finds time to
assist other women to reach their potential.
Her qualifications belie the setbacks she experienced early in her academic
career. Financial constraints saw her leaving her studies at Wits University,
and starting to work. She was later able to resume her studies and now holds an
MBA (cum laude) from the University of Wales, and a Masters Diploma in
Electronic Engineering Technology.
Sharoda’s expertise, management style and achievements have been recognised more
than once through industry awards, including being named the top black woman in
the ICT sector, and the overall winner in the African ICT Achievers competition
in 2002. She has also been acknowledged for her outstanding contribution to
broadcast engineering. But utterly modest Sharoda insists that these awards are
a reflection of team accomplishments, not those of an individual.
As a woman in management, and a male-dominated sector, Sharoda is pragmatic
about gender issues.
“Outwardly facing, men and women deal with the same challenges. Budget
constraints and complexities around deliverables are not gender-sensitive. This
sends the message that we should not be discriminating when a male or female
does a job – it also means no special treatment for women,” she says.
This is not to say Sharoda has never come up against gender discrimination. “I
am very at home at the SABC – the gender issue is something I became comfortable
with long ago. I was appointed as a broadcast technician in KwaZulu-Natal, the
first female appointment to this position in the region. Men in technology make
it clear that you won’t get special privileges and then they put you to the
test.
“I have taken selected lessons out of encounters that were gender-biased. I have
always had a robustness about how I do my job, and others soon see that you’ll
stick it out. An important tool to overcome gender discrimination at all levels
is knowledge. And then, if you expect you must be accepted based on your skills,
there still needs to be acceptance of your leadership and output based on
competency. This applies to both genders in leadership roles, but especially
women as they are in the minority.”
In short, how you conduct yourself makes your gender irrelevant. “Look at the
quality of your contribution, your knowledge. Gender discrimination is here and
will be for some time. We need to frankly and candidly lift out problems related
to gender where they occur and work together to address them constructively.”
Women searching for meaning and recognition in a world suddenly filled with too
many choices may ask what character traits have served Sharoda well. “In the
last decade, I have learned tolerance and infinite patience,” she says. “I
always look to understand the big picture and truly listen to the other person’s
point of view. I work hard and focus on goals. The work here (at the SABC) is
too deep and too wide, and as a result I need to eliminate chaos. I truly
respect those I work with and it shows in the little things, like how you ask
for something, to the bigger things like motivating for a huge budget. I have
worked hard at developing these traits, and have found that you have to be
yourself. You cannot assume a different character in every different
environment, and then be able to call on principle-centred management. You need
to put the same person forward consistently.”
But what about the eternal question: how does a working mother manage to be
effective in all her roles?
“Balance,” says Sharoda. “Working towards a perfect balance is a constant focus.
I’ve had lots of hardship in my life. Before 30 I had to find myself, and deal
with what life gave me. I found that introspection happened because of my own
life experiences, which helped me, gave me strength and perhaps made me the way
I am.”
“During certain stages I put family first,” explains Sharoda. “My focus and
priorities change, and the challenge is in knowing what to focus on when; by
looking at all the possible consequences. You lose value when you go too fast,
because then you can’t measure rewards. You also need to do things for the right
reasons.”
Sharoda certainly seems to be finding balance. “I have four lives: in my role at
the SABC; as deputy chairperson of the Council for Built Environment; as
vice-president of the Engineering Council of SA; and my family life.”
“In a typical day I am up by 5am, pack lunch for my two children (Shahil,18 and
Zia, 10). I drive my son to university and go to work. I am usually home between
6 and 8 pm and supervise my daughter’s homework. Then I switch off, cook and
make roti, and eat with the family. I then catch up on work between about 10 and
11pm. Much of the weekend is spent in the kitchen.”
Certain behaviours are fundamental. “I always prepare for meetings, and take
pride in producing reports and motivations and preparing feedback and I have
meetings based on all three. At work I adhere to a strict schedule as determined
by the pending basket, and I depend on others to do what they must do. I like to
employ a project-based approach at home too, which helps plan ahead and avoid
last-minute frenzy. I am very thankful for my good health,” she adds.
Despite the varied demands on Sharoda’s time and energy, she is very tuned in to
her environment and the people around her, and allows herself time to reflect.
For example, she recently decided to teach her daughter how to crochet and in
the process realised that many similar skills are no longer passed on from
parents to children, and that perhaps the associated benefits of this type of
learning are being lost in this hi-tech world.
While the empathy and understanding are always present in her working
environment, Sharoda is also firm, but consistently so, constantly justifying a
principled style of management and clearly communicating why certain behaviours
are not desirable.
As a role-model for women in business, Sharoda often reaches out to assist
others. “Women must extend a helping hand to each other, downwards and sideways
in the hierarchy. I observe my female colleagues, giving feedback and
reassurance. Everyone needs a sounding board to unashamedly put yourself forward
to.” On a broader scale, Sharoda has launched a training programme for
engineering students. She is was also involved in Technology for Women in
Business, advising and encouraging schoolgirls and adult women about using
technology to improve their lives. As part of her responsibilities as the
reigning overall winner of African ICT Achievers, she will be donating computers
to two worthy schools. In typical Sharoda style, she has taken her obligations a
step further, and is personally securing the involvement of companies to sponsor
a total package – not just the computers – so that the donations include
training and software as well. Her aim is to ensure that the donations can be
used optimally and that schoolchildren and the community can use their leisure
time productively.
Sharoda is happy when, through her efforts, others are happy. “It makes me
unhappy when people don’t value the opportunities given to them. I don’t like a
sense of entitlement.”
As for her definition of success, she speaks for her department saying, “I
believe we have achieved success when others say we are successful.” And this
has, indeed, been said. The SABC used to record an average of 160 faults on air
per month, and since Sharoda’s appointment, the number has come down to 30. She
has also successfully motivated a budget for digitising the SABC, which will see
news have its first digital server-based production, and the transformation of
the whole production process which will spur growth and development.
By all standards then, Sharoda is a success, having quietly yet convincingly won
the support, respect and admiration of her organisation, the ICT industry and
her colleagues. ENDS
Theme: Women in IT
Publication: African ICT Achievers 2002
Title: Daughters of Africa
The ICT industry might have been dominated by men for the past 20 years, but
this doesn’t mean that women entering the industry are short of female
role-models.
“Sons and Daughters” asks two prominent female ICT personalities what challenges
they have faced in their respective roles, and which developments they would
like to see in the coming year as ICT takes shape on the continent.
Where the challenge is, you’ll find her
We had a hard time locating Jyoti Desai, who headed for Nigeria 13 months ago to
apply her can-do attitude to MTN’s operations there. After a number of calls
that illustrated just how valuable mobile technology is when communicating with
Nigeria (land-line connections seem few and far between) we managed to speak to
her between meetings, on a public holiday.
Jyoti first entered the ICT realm while at Standard Bank, where she was involved
in re-engineering projects. She then joined Telkom in an account management
capacity for the Information Systems operations. Her aim was to bridge the gap
between IS and business to improve delivery to customers. Jyoti was later
appointed to an executive position in IT and was able to implement her plans for
delivering more efficient IT services, addressing convergence, bundling business
services and preparing for competition. Her work at Telkom done, Jyoti accepted
the offer from MTN…and so began her adventure in mobile, in Africa. “At that
stage I was open to a new challenge and the opportunity posed by MTN Nigeria –
to be part of setting up an infrastructure from ground zero - was tremendous,”
she explains.
Jyoti sees herself as part of Nigeria’s ICT development for the foreseeable
future. “We face very tough conditions here. Unlike South Africa, we have a
constant battle against the environment. Other challenges include unstable
networks and congestion, which affect service delivery.” There are also
legislative and economic disablers. “In Nigeria, the economy has been stunted
due to slow development in legislation. Even so, telecoms opportunities right
now are numerous. Corruption is a real challenge, but we have found that we can
still engage in ethical practice within this framework. We just need to be very
vigilant to ensure we do not become victims of corruption.”
As a woman in ICT Jyoti has found that moving up the ladder was tough. “Women
always have to work harder to come across in a credible way and prove that you
can do the job. I have found that with a clear direction and objective to guide
me, nothing deters me. I have always been a tough person and have been able to
build and maintain good relationships, which enable effective delivery.”
Jyoti observes that in Nigeria, there is a higher prevalence of women in the
industry than in SA so her gender is of no consequence. “Now I face different
challenges, such as building a service culture.
“There are many opportunities opening up for women in African countries. It all
depends on the country’s cultural evolution, but there is a general acceptance
that gender equality is important.”
How does Jyoti see South Africa’s role on the continent? “Economically, South
Africa is ahead of many countries in terms of teledensity and the ability to
provide advanced services, for example. The continent needs a lot of support.
South African companies are entering the continent, bringing in their own skills
and support services. What they should be focusing on is skills development in
the countries they enter. They need to leave behind a skills set that supports
the development so that the companies become Nigerian, or Ugandan, or Tanzanian
at the end of the day.”
Asked where she sees the growth opportunities in Africa in the coming year,
Jyoti responds, “There is enormous potential in telecoms, as a result of network
roll-out and granting of licenses. There is massive opportunity in the
application space and in equipment supply, as all these operations need to be
supported. And Internet banking is now becoming real in Africa.”
“What is needed are enabling government policies that allow the industry to
grow, and encourage the transfer of skills to develop capacity and grow the
economy.”
Jyoti is enjoying being part of the high ICT growth stage in Nigeria, and
despite working six-and-a-half day weeks, is full of energy to face the
challenges at hand. She and other ex-pats manage to spend one afternoon on a
weekend relaxing, taking turns to host lunch. Then it’s back to work because,
“there is still so much to be done”.
An enabler with development at heart
Dipua Mvelase’s career in ICT is not a long one. When she was appointed to the
helm of the Universal Services Agency (USA) her strength was her background in
development, with ICT as a tool rather than a focus area.
Dipua sees the role of the USA as driving the process of development, and
finding solutions specific to a community. Bearing in mind that where areas are
underdeveloped in terms of ICT infrastructure, they are sure to lack other basic
services and utilities as well, it is not possible to take a one-size-fits-all
approach to development. “We cannot apply urban solutions to rural needs,” she
says.
The role of the USA is intricately woven into the emerging ICT landscape in
South Africa, and Dipua is in a position to reflect on the industry’s successes
over the past few years. “We have seen wins on three levels. Firstly, the policy
level, where we now have policies that are enabling and create a framework for
the direction we’re moving in. Secondly, we have regulations in place to help us
realize policy ideals and objectives. We are also seeing the impact that
operators are making in extending services, thus ensuring that end-users don’t
just have an infrastructure, but are also able to use it.”
“In the last five years we have moved forward in a big way. Until recently, we
have had two South Africas with quite a distance between them. We are now
closing the gap. In doing so we are not just relying on international
experience, but we have created a new knowledge and new processes and frameworks
specific to our country’s needs. This applies at the policy, regulatory and
delivery levels.”
As for a “wish list” for the coming year, Dipua believes that we need to reach
consensus on the framework for ICT in a converged environment. “At a delivery
level we want a universal service and access map in South Africa, so we all know
where we are, where we are going, and how we’re going to get there. I’d like to
see all the resources pulling together and being channeled in a particular
direction, with an appreciation for the different contributions we all have to
make.
Dipua enjoys being part of such a challenging industry, claiming that she has
learned more in the past few years than ever before in her life. “ICT cannot be
ignored as a sector, and you don’t even need to be an active participant in ICT
to appreciate its impact. So many of our country’s development solutions lie
within ICT.”
As a woman in this industry, Dipua has certainly seen gender bias. “We have to
be very, very good. It’s not assumed that you know what you’re doing and society
always contests your ability to deliver. There are initiatives to make the
environment less hostile and a lot of women are making headway. Men are starting
to see the reality: that we’re here to stay. We are more prepared for the
challenge now than ever before, but we do need to work twice as hard. Being
black and a woman doesn’t make it any easier.”
But this shouldn’t put women off. Dipua’s message to women in ICT is, “Go for
it. The sector isn’t going anywhere if women aren’t part of it. The creativity
and innovation required for growth lies primarily within women. Our advantage is
that we are not fascinated by the ‘toy’, but by its relevance to answering to a
need.” ENDS.
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