Johannesburg, 29 Aug 2019
Growing up in Eersterust, east of Pretoria, during apartheid, Andréa Campbell’s life could have been vastly different. But, being born into the Campbell family, with education among its core values meant her life took a more positive path – along with her four siblings.
So important is education to the Campbells that every one of its seven members has graduated with a degree from the University of Pretoria. It’s an incredible achievement, and Andréa's career thus far has been a shining example to young South Africans of the potential and opportunities education can present.
She is the Commercial Attorney for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft (CELA), and the Honorary Treasurer of the Information Technology Association of South Africa (ITA) as well as the Treasurer of the SA Women in ICT Forum.
“My mom and dad worked extremely hard and had multiple jobs, at times ensuring we were equipped with a good education and the best of everything they could afford, despite us growing up, for the most part, during the apartheid regime,” she says.
ITA represents companies in the IT industry and works closely with government and consumers to improve skills and standards in the sector. At a time when ITA, along with the rest of South Africa, honour their exceptional women around Women’s Month, Andréa is hoping to highlight the issues faced by women in the sector and speak out against unfair practices and discrimination in the workplace all year round.
Her upbringing has prepared her to endure the challenges that come with being a woman in a key position in the ICT sector, a sector dominated by men in powerful, decision-making roles. The corporate world is changing thanks to women like Andréa and those who came before her.
“Well, if I can be honest, being a woman comes with its challenges nine days out of 10. I find I have to work twice as hard as my male counterparts to prove that I am capable,” Andréa says. “I have to constantly motivate why I deserve a seat at the table, despite having the necessary skillset and experience. These stereotypes are like shadows which follow you and the only way to deal with them is to keep your head up and remain focused, because I’ve learned that when you do that, there is no limit to what you can achieve.”
Andréa’s father Winston matriculated in 1965, but could only register to study in 1980 because of the law at the time that prevented people of colour from registering to study at most local universities. Winston eventually completed with BA honour's degree in politics and international politics in 1991.
Winston’s graduation started a chain reaction in the Campbell household, as, one by one, all the siblings attained their degrees – all from the University of Pretoria. Andréa achieved her law degree in 2006. After ensuring the two eldest children achieved their degrees, mother Colleen set out to earn her degree in industrial psychology and public/municipal administration in 2002. “I am so incredibly proud of my parents and siblings for what we have all achieved, the perseverance we journey with daily and for the love and support we show each other every single day,” Andréa says.
She is acutely aware that she is very much the exception in a society that doesn’t often value the progress of women. As ITA celebrates its women leaders at this time of the year, Andréa sees her role at the organisation as an opportunity to uplift and inspire women in the ICT sector.
“Being born in South Africa during apartheid, the challenges I faced as a coloured girl were at times difficult to comprehend because I was continually told that, due to the colour of my skin, I was not as capable. I was limited in terms of schools, where we stayed, where we could go and what we could do,” she says. “Because I was a girl there were additional limitations that were applicable to me. Boys act a certain way and are allowed to do certain things. The role they play in society and a household are defined, as are those of a girl. I had to find myself within those limitations and censor myself even though I knew I was capable of so much more.
“Today, as a working woman in South Africa, the challenges are similar, the legacy issues of apartheid are still very present in the workplace, but more so are the stereotypical limitations which are placed on women. South Africa, while ranking as one of the countries with the highest number of female CEOs in Africa, only has 11.6% women CEOs and chairpersons across all sectors and, of the 25 largest listed companies, only 2% have 21% or more director positions held by women,” she says. "If I was a male, the conversations I would be having would be different, I would potentially be much further in my career and this article would also be written differently as it would not include the gender parity dialogue.
“I have learned to not take things personally and allow them to get me down because impossible is just a word. I have learnt that there is a solution to every problem you face in life and hard work, determination and perseverance are the best answers to any challenge,” Andréa says.
Her career has been on an upward trajectory since her graduation in 2007, climbing the corporate ladder, but also being willing to be a change-maker rather than a follower.
“I made the move into the ICT sector after I realised that we are in the fourth industrial revolution and emerging technologies such as intelligent cloud, machine learning, advanced analytics and mixed reality are fundamentally changing how the world operates and how people live, work and play,” she says. “While I have a diverse background and have worked in various industries such as banking, insurance and even ran my own business, I studied law knowing that I want to be instrumental in shaping and changing my country, and potentially the world, for the better. In my current role and with platforms such as the ITA, I am able to contribute towards this change.”
So, are things changing? Is the ICT sector moving with the times and addressing the imbalances of the past?
“It has been and is still very male-dominated. Women tend to have more admin roles while men have the technical roles. There is a shift and you can start to see a slight change (if you look really hard) but more needs to be done to address gender parity,” Andréa says. “It will take another 217 years to close the economic gender gap. This is according to the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, which found that globally, gender parity is shifting into reverse for the first time since the World Economic Forum started measuring it in 2006.”
Andréa believes that empowering women in STEM fields drives economic growth, equality, and innovation, and so what is required is to create a culture where more women are attracted to the STEM fields and believe in themselves as having a career path in the technology industry. A preliminary survey of seven universities in countries including Palestine, the UAE and Saudi Arabia found between 30% and 70% of the enrolees in computer science programs were women. There are also reportedly more female tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world.
And, while Africa continues to face a major gender gap in the tech industry, this gap is closing. For example, Ghana’s All Nations University College has 70% women enrolled in its department of biomedical engineering. It’s clear that the long-standing stereotypes around women in tech are becoming less valid. The jobs of the future will all be driven by technology. We need to encourage young women to enter careers in science and technology, to continue closing the gender gap and become our future leaders.
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