Industry Shapeshifters Honoured At Connected Womxn

Friday, 30 September saw female leaders across the digital media and marketing, and technology industries converge on Machine_ JHB headquarters in Bryanston for the fourth Connected Womxn event. Hosted by the IAB South Africa Transformation Council, in partnership with Google South Africa, Meta, TBWA and Machine_, and further supported by Wavemaker and VMLYR, the event recognised leading womxn shapeshifters.

“Our goal with the Connected Womxn series is to create support structures and opportunities for senior industry leaders to connect, collectively develop solutions for some of the toughest challenges related to gender parity and growth, and create a space where leaders can openly share some of their personal struggles,” says Asha Patel, IAB South Africa Women’s Council and Connected Womxn Lead, and Head of B2B Marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa and Head of Marketing for South Africa at Google.

“This event, as well as Connected Womxn’s core purpose, was aligned to this year’s Women’s Day theme — ‘Women’s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women’s Improved Resilience’. After a month-long call for nominations, we were proud to honour the strong women who have made an impact and continue to drive change across the digital media and marketing, and technology industries.”

Womxn of Tomorrow

In the pursuit to advance the United Nations’ fifth Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) of achieving gender parity, Connected Womxn sought nominations of womxn leaders across various categories that highlighted each womxn’s impact within and for their organisation and the broader community of womxn in the digital media and marketing, and technology sectors.

Sikelela ‘Siki’ Msuseni, founder of Amplified Africa, walked away with the Rising Star of the Year award, which honoured nominees working in the industry for five years or less but who have greatly contributed to their organisation through innovative, creative thinking. Msuseni was chosen for her investment in teaching digital marketing skills for economic emancipation to young women between the ages of 18 and 24 while simultaneously building her public relations and social media management agency.

The Digital Shaper of the Year, an award for womxn thought leaders in technology, was awarded to Simone Frost, Senior Manager: Digital Marketing at Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH). Frost’s commitment to creating a team environment that thrives on energy, enthusiasm and teamwork, as well as her initiative to take on Telesure’s digital sales process and increasing online sales by 2,538% within a year, wowed the judges as much as it did her colleagues.

Robyn Campbell, Managing Director at creative agency Machine_, was nominated for her strong and powerful voice and advancement of other womxn in her organisation and across the industry. Campbell’s dedication to nurturing female talent while mentoring womxn in the industry and supporting industry events saw her receive the award for Womxn’s Advocate of the Year. The event further honoured Ameena Cachalia, Head of Digital at XLink Communications, a subsidiary of Vodacom, who is digitally transforming and shaping her environment through her passion for the digital economy and the empowerment and equity of womxn.

“All the amazing award winners as well as the womxn attendees are blazing a trail for their fellow South African womxn in the digital media and marketing, and technology sectors,” adds Razia Pillay, CEO of IAB South Africa. “In our pursuit to educate and support initiatives across the industry, IAB South Africa is also committed to South Africa’s goal of achieving gender equality by 2030, with a special focus on paving the way to leadership roles for young black women. To achieve this, we need to empower the next generation of females and banish ‘imposter syndrome’ from our vocabulary and thoughts while instilling confidence, a growth mindset and ambition to become the womxn leaders of tomorrow.”

The Connected Womxn series will continue in 2023 — keep up with the latest news by joining IAB South Africa and following along on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.