Women Don’t Just Need a Seat at the Table—They Need an Industry That Makes Space for Them
Women’s Month is an opportunity to celebrate progress, but it should also challenge us to ask a bigger question: are we creating workplaces where women can genuinely build long-term careers?
In industries like materials handling, engineering and logistics, the answer cannot be measured by diversity statistics alone. Meaningful empowerment goes beyond diversity statistics. It requires organisations to intentionally attract, develop, support and retain women throughout every stage of their careers. The conversation should no longer be about getting women into the room; it should be about ensuring the environment enables them to thrive.
At Masslift Africa, we’ve learned that empowering women requires far more than recruitment. It requires investment in people, policies and infrastructure that support women throughout every stage of their careers.
When we employed our first female technician in 2020, we quickly realised that attracting women into technical roles was only the beginning. We needed to ensure our workplace was designed to support them. That meant creating dedicated change rooms, strengthening our maternity policy, making provision for light-duty work during pregnancy and ensuring flexibility where possible. These weren’t simply policy decisions—they were investments in building an industry where women can see a future.
We have also been intentional about developing female technical talent. Today, one-third of our apprentices are women, with female representation across technical training, Production, Inspection and Delivery (PDI), spray painting and contracts management. One of our proudest milestones has been seeing Hlanganane become the first female apprentice to qualify as a technician through our MERSETA-accredited apprenticeship programme—a milestone that demonstrates what becomes possible when opportunity is matched with genuine support. More importantly, she won’t be the last.
Leadership development has been equally important. Over the past year, Masslift invested 287 hours of training in the women across our organisation, while our female leadership coaching programme continues to prepare women for greater responsibility. Today, women represent 44% of our senior and middle management team, with 25% of our Executive Committee made up of women. Those numbers are not the goal—they are the result of intentional investment.
The greatest lesson we’ve learned is that inclusion creates stronger businesses. Diverse teams bring broader perspectives, encourage better decision-making and help organisations respond with greater agility in an increasingly complex world.
For young women considering careers in technical industries or business leadership, my message is simple: show up as your authentic self and never feel the need to shrink yourself to fit someone else’s expectations. You belong because of your talent, your commitment and the value you bring.
If we want to see more women leading our industries tomorrow, we need to do more than invite them in today. We need to build workplaces where they can grow, lead and inspire those who follow. That is the future Masslift Africa is committed to building—one deliberate step, one opportunity and one career at a time.
