In the tough, male world of engineering, a dynamic young woman is flying high. Morongwe Raphasha is currently engineering manager at Hendrina Power Station following a seven-year stint as auxiliary engineering manager.
With an MBA from UNISA SBL and a degree in mechanical engineering among her qualifications, she has come a long way from her humble beginnings in a family of eight children in Makapanstad, where her mother was a domestic worker and her father a driver. Motion Control’s editor, Kim Roberts spoke to Raphasha to find out what drives her.
Raphasha says she is used to working in a man’s world. As a child, she was interested in fields such as mechanics and electricity from an early age, spending much more time with boys than girls as a result of her interest in building things. She didn’t dream of becoming the engineering manager of a large power station, but of being a CEO. “Men appreciate it when you know what you are talking about,” she says.
The need to attract more girls into engineering and to retain woman engineers has drawn global attention. Raphasha’s passion is helping young women to find a way forward in their careers, especially engineering. She is deeply involved in WomEng, an organisation that empowers women in engineering from high school all the way through to industry level. Started in 2006, the goals of WomEng are raising the profile of the engineering industry; attracting and retaining women in engineering; skills and leadership development; innovative problem solving, and mentorship. WomEng has created lasting partnerships with a range of top engineering companies in South Africa and Kenya and positively influences over 2000 young women every year. “It’s a great CSI organisation,” says Raphasha.
Various interventions are aimed at attracting, developing and nurturing the next generation of women engineering leaders. GirlEng attracts high potential maths and science high school students and nurtures and mentors them to enter the field of engineering. Weekend workshops are a pivotal part of the programme. The aim of these is to showcase the exciting world of engineering as a career choice; provide mentoring; expose students to a mini-engineering project to get practical exposure to engineering; assist with university funding opportunities, and provide role models.
The GirlEng information session is one of the most cost-effective tools to create awareness around engineering. The one-day sessions expose students to the broad world of engineering and they have the opportunity to hear the stories of other top engineering students and young engineers who serve as inspiration. WomEng also engages in partnerships and gets involved in university career fairs and open days as well as conducting school visits to create greater awareness.
Raphasha also chairs the WomEng Fellowship. This provides top female engineering students with the necessary life and business skills to succeed in industry, as well as a platform for innovative thinking. Workshops are held four times a year. The Fellowship holds an annual Technical Innovation Challenge for the best and brightest female engineering students. This is a week-long business and entrepreneurial workshop that aims to upskill aspiring women engineers through sessions with leading industry figures, one-on-one mentorship and a structured challenge that teaches them ideation and pitching skills. WomEng also introduces them to sponsors and potential employers. “This is a great platform to attract top talent and upskill these young students to get them business-ready. It provides them with first-hand experience in working in a team with people from diverse backgrounds,” Raphasha adds. Other critical skills, such as pitching an idea, presentation skills and meeting clients’ expectations are learnt through this intense week. An added bonus for the corporate partners is that they are able to recruit top engineering talent from youngsters who have undergone business training.
WomEng also trains mentors to work with high-school students. These are mainly industry representatives or female engineering students, some of whom are beneficiaries of the GirlEng programme and want to give back to their communities. Through these training programmes, WomEng has developed young women leaders who are agents of change. They have been recognised on various platforms and some have won prestigious leadership awards.
Raphasha says that one issue is that men focus on work whereas women as they grow tend to change career. “There are no woman chief engineers and this is the gap,” she explains. “The challenge is to retain talented woman engineers and to do this we need flexibility from companies and a support structure to help them grow in their careers and stay in the industry. If you are passionate about what you do it’s easy to work hard.”
For more information visit www.womeng.org/
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