Johannesburg, 13 Mar 2017
T-Systems South Africa, a digital transformation specialist and leading provider of ICT solutions, recently hosted the third annual 30% Club Southern Africa members' dinner at its head office in Midrand.
The 30% Club is an international organisation comprising chairmen, CEOs and senior partners at leading private sector organisations, all of whom are committed to driving gender parity on boards. The 30% Club also focuses on developing and promoting gender diversity across business leadership.
A prestigious affair, the dinner was attended by prominent representatives from across South African business.
"T-Systems stands firmly behind equal opportunity creation for women in the workplace and we are proud to be an active member of the 30% Club of Southern Africa," says Gert Schoonbee, MD at T-Systems South Africa. "Inclusive transformation forms a vital part of our Nation Building Strategy and speaks directly to the core values held by T-Systems. We are committed to contributing to South Africa's growing diversity, which in turn will enable true digital transformation. We are delighted to have maintained our BBBEE Level 2 score on the new ICT codes, where our initiatives are integrated into our value chain to ensure sustainability and ultimately enable economic transformation in South Africa."
Schoonbee was joined on stage by Minister of Women in the Presidency, Susan Shabangu, keynote speaker Mardia Niehaus, Chair of the T-Systems South Africa board and Senior Vice President of Deutsche Telekom's International Carrier Sales and Solutions (ICSS) unit, and Colleen Larson, Managing Director of Business Engage, an organisation at the forefront of strategic thinking on gender mainstreaming in the private sector.
Schoonbee also took the opportunity to delve into the impact of the 4th Industrial revolution, where technology is moving up into organisations' business processes in ways and speeds which are disruptive and unpredictable. Schoonbee sees this technological disruption as an opportunity to create shared value for all stakeholders by generating economic value in a way that also produces value for society.
One real example is the rural T-Systems Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) in Hazyview, a key milestone in the T-Systems Nation Building journey. The rural CIC at Hazyview not only provides world class services at competitive prices, but gives ICT students in this rural community jobs where they can apply the new skills they have learned.
Schoonbee challenged business leaders to take gender transformation seriously, and to support initiatives such as the CIC in Hazyview which gives young people, particularly rural women the opportunity to gain skills and become employable in the modern ICT economy.
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