International Women’s Day(IWD) is a day that’s taken out to celebrate women. Worldwide there are events to commemorate this special event.Although there has been some progress made there is more work to be done to ensure that women are empowered and treated equally.
This year I went to an event in Victoria Australia hosted by Africa Day Australia. The theme was DigitAll: “Innovation & technology for gender equality.”The two speakers Mayase Jere and Junie Baptiste-Poitevien inspired everyone when they shared their journey in the tech industry.
The second woman to be celebrated in this series is Getrude Matshe-Kanicki. Getrude is originally from Zimbabwe but is based in New Zealand where she relocated to in 2001.This woman wears many hats: She is an Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Author Rooney International Scholar, TED Speaker and Rotary Member.
As an Entrepreneur She started Medical Recruiters of New Zealand Ltd, GM Global Investments Ltd (Property) and Simzisani Ltd, a talent agency catering for the film and advertising industry. As philanthropist Getrude founded a not for profit organisation Africa Alive Education Foundation, an organization that supports HIV orphans in Zimbabwe.
Getrude Matshe-Kanicki
Getrude has written several books including ‘Born on the Continent – Ubuntu’ and “It’s not what happens to you that matters!”. As someone who has been a TED Speaker she has a conference called HERSTORY circle that gives women a platform to speak and share their story.
We celebrate you our heroine Getrude, keep doing the amazing work that you do!
The first woman to be celebrated in this years Heroine series is Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.Dr Okonjo-Iweala has a Bachelors in Economics from Harvard University, as well as a PhD from MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology). She also has built an amazing career in international development. She has worked for the World Bank for 25 years and and selected to be the Minister of Finance in her country of origin Nigeria,(2003-2006,2011-2015). She was born in the southern Nigeria town of Ogwashi-Ukwu. She is a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States.Also a family woman, she has a daughter and three sons and a husband who is a neurosurgeon.
This remarkable woman also sits on the board of prestigious organisations such Twitter and Standard Chartered PLC. With the COVID pandemic, her leadership has been sought after and she has been appointed as WHO COVID-19 Special Envoy and AU COVID-19 Special Envoy.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – Director General WTO
Dr Ngozi highest achievements include the following:
-Becoming the first female and African Director General, World Trade Organization
-Being named by Forbes as one of Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World four years in a row
-She continues to inspire young women to follow their dreams and make history. We celebrate you our heroine, Dr Ngozi.
Today is that one day where the world focuses just on women, so I’m taking time out to celebrate myself as a woman and other phenomenal women making the world a better place.
2021 has started off on a high note in the woman kingdom with Firstly the first ever female vice president of the United States was inaugurated, Kamala Harris. Also, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and the first African to be chosen as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation(WTO). With representation in these spaces, young women will have role models to look up to.
Kamala Harris – Vice President of the United StatesDr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala –Director General World Trade Organisation
To celebrate women’s day and women’s history month, I’ll be doing a series highlighting phenomenal women that inspire me.
Sibonginkosi Moyo 