Spotlight shining on ‘bold’ women
THE George Municipality has celebrated Women’s Month by running a social media campaign – sharing the stories of their female workers excelling in male-dominated jobs.
The project tells the stories of 10 women who hold positions in predominantly male-dominated fields – which often include hard physical labour, dealing with prejudice, danger and unpleasant characters.
George municipal manager, Trevor Botha said: “The George Municipality is extremely proud of such outstanding women among us, even more so because the municipality has been part of their success stories.”
Botha said the campaign was met with overwhelming positive responses and admiration “for women who were determined to make the most of opportunities, and were decidedly positive in the face of tough circumstances”.
“The George Municipality has made significant strides in fulfilling its Employment Equity Policy and will continue to invest in people.
“There are countless inspiring men and women who work for the municipality, and we hope in future we will be able to tell more of these stories,” Botha said.
George Municipality communications manager Chantel Edwards-Klose said: “We had really just captioned the pictures so people had some context, but these posts unexpectedly also received above-average attention.
“As most of the women featured do not have smartphones or access to the internet, we will be printing out their Facebook posts and feedback for them, so they can see what the rest of the world thinks of their extraordinary ways.”
“Sometimes people call me sir,” – Tersia Stoffels, 34.
“Work overalls are not the most flattering attire any day of the week, but if you are a woman, it is tough the first few times – someone at first glance calls you ‘sir’.
“Though I understood that in full gear, doing hard labour like any other man in the team, I really didn’t look very feminine, it still stung a bit. After 12 years, I am used to it and have accepted it comes with the territory,” said Stoffels, a mom from Pacaltsdorp.
Stoffels is an electrical assistant working with the municipality’s electricians on low voltage lines, but has experience across most areas within the municipal electrical sphere – including high voltage, street lights and the night-time standby teams.
“People are always very apologetic when they realise I am a woman and I just laugh it off now. I get the job done, which is what is important.”
“Not a man’s job or a woman’s job, it is my job,” – Belinda Jantjies, 53.
“The men always say ‘50/50’, which means if women are going to work here, they must do all the work the same as the men. If a hole must be two metres deep, the man does a metre and I do the other metre. “That’s fine by me, I really don’t mind the physical work.”
Jantjies is an electrical assistant in New Works at the George Municipality – the teams responsible for setting up new transformers and infrastructure and laying new lines.
There are all kinds of big and little things that come with the job, but Jantjies’ job really comes down to safety – from putting down danger cones and wheel stoppers behind truck wheels, to balancing trucks on uneven surfaces and keeping pedestrians clear of work sites.
At the age of 53, any kind of physical work takes its toll, but Jantjies is not just any woman. Before she started at the George Municipality as electrical assistant in 2007, she was working on construction sites – as a labourer, which included laying paving, and later as supervisor responsible for health and safety.
“I realised there was a need for people who could operate a cherry picker truck, so I did a course in that to empower myself, which ultimately helped me get the job at the municipality,” said Jantjies.
“Not afraid of heights and other challenges,” – Loyanda August, 33.
The back of Loyanda August’s work bakkie is probably the best indicator that installing and fixing traffic lights is much more intricate than fiddling with wires and replacing light bulbs.
In addition to traffic signs, ladders, wires, tools and gadgets, you will also find hardcore pickets and spades – because, if it calls for it, she digs holes, replants poles and does whatever in the past may have been considered male territory.
August is a special works person: traffic lights, which means she has expert training and experience to deal with all aspects of installing and fixing traffic lights.
This includes specialist electronic programming, electrics, mechanics, hard labour and sometimes just plain old common sense. As traffic lights are part of road systems, she also works closely with civil engineering contractors building and upgrading roads in the city.
“When people see it is a woman up the ladder fixing a traffic light, there is almost always a response. People driving by hoot and wave. Some men get a bit cheeky and shout stuff out the window but generally it is all in good spirit.
“Passers-by stop and look, often asking how a woman got such a job. They are even more amused when they realise we are an all-woman team (my assistant, Noloyiso Baleni, is also a woman) and there are no men in sight to do the ‘hard’ work. When we tell them we do our own ‘dirty work’, they are very impressed.”
“Hard work, soft answers,” – Noloyiso Baleni, 46.
“I have people at home who depend on me, I can’t listen to the opinions of people who don’t approve of me doing what they think is a man’s job,” said Baleni, an electrical assistant: traffic lights, of the comments she and her female colleague, Loyanda August, sometimes endure.
“I’m sure the all-male traffic light teams also get flack, but sometimes you can hear from the way they speak to us that there are some men who think the women don’t know what they are doing and that’s why the traffic lights are off”
Fixing traffic lights is a specialised field that requires specialised training and skills.
“I am proud that I can help support my family and know that they are proud of what I do.”