Women’s month: Spotlight on EMS achievers

Posted on August 24, 2018

The national commemoration of Women’s Month offers an opportunity to not only pay homage to the women who took to the streets in 1956 to march against the unjust pass laws of the day, but also to celebrate a new generation of women who have taken the baton forward and are making a significant contribution in their respective fields. The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) turns the spotlight on some of the women who play a part in realising the Faculty’s mission to advance relevant knowledge and develop employable, innovative and diverse graduates to co-create value for society.

	Prof Karin Barac, Head of the Department of Auditing, is leading a research team conducting an investigation into the probable future parameters of competency frameworks of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors of South Africa. The study is done to determine competencies for future chartered accountants and registered auditors, to remain relevant to the markets they serve and fulfil their responsibilities by serving the public interest. Prof Barac's research team consists of three colleagues in the Department of Auditing: Prof Kato Plant, Ms Marina Kirstein and Ms Rolien Kunz. The outcome of this study will have a major effect on the future expected competencies of chartered accountants and auditors.
	Prof Chitiga-Mabugu is the Director of the School of Public Management and Administration. In her research, she focuses on analysing the economy-wide impacts of public policies and other shocks to the economy. She is specifically interested in impacts on poverty, inequality and unemployment. In the past few years, she has been involved in collaborative research with various local and international partners. She has been appointed to the Science Advisory Council of the Stockholm Environment Institute, effective 1 October 2018.
	As the Chairperson of the student house Commercii, Remofilwe Dikoma leads a cabinet of diverse student leaders to ensure that the interests of the students in the Faculty of EMS are always represented. They strive to provide various opportunities for students to learn, expand their knowledge in their chosen career fields, and cultivate leadership.
	Prof Jenny Hoobler, Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management and Programme Manager of the doctoral programme, has been researching the topic of women and workplace issues for over 15 years. She has a keen interest in fairness and social justice for women, with a view to advance gender equity in the workplace. She holds various board and committee memberships, is an NRF B-3 rated researcher and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.
	Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Prof Roula Inglesi-Lotz, is the first president of the South African Association for Energy Economics (SAAEE), which was established in 2018 and is comprised of esteemed energy experts in the country. Among her many notable accomplishments, Prof Inglesi-Lotz was named the Distinguished Young Woman Researcher in the Humanities and Social Sciences category of the 2017 DST Women in Science Awards. She is an NRF Y-1 rated researcher and also an elected member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) and the Global Young Academy (GYA), both providing platforms for young scientists to contribute towards solutions to national and global challenges facing society.
	Phumzile Langeni, Executive Chairperson of Afropulse Group and an alumnus of the Faculty of EMS, was selected and appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to be a member of the four-person team to assist in raising R1,4 trillion foreign direct investment for South Africa. The team, consisting of Ms Langeni along with Trevor Manuel, former Minister of Finance, Mcebisi Jonas, former Deputy Minister of Finance and Jacko Maree, the sitting Chairperson of Liberty Holdings and former CEO of Standard Bank, is tasked with raising $100 billion over the next five years. The capital raised, which must include both local investment and foreign direct investments, is seen as a necessary intervention to unleash South Africa’s economic growth, which should underpin job creation and a sustainable economy.
	Emma Mashilo, an honours student in Business Management, received the Chancellor’s Award for the best performance in the Faculty of EMS at UP’s 2018 Autumn Graduation Ceremony. She obtained her BCom (Supply Chain Management) degree with distinction, following her successful completion of the BCom Extended Programme offered at the Mamelodi Campus to prepare students to cope with the academic demands of a mainstream three-year BCom programme.
	Prof Stella Nkomo, former deputy dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of EMS, is a noted scholar and consultant in the areas of leadership and change, diversified workforces, and women and leadership. Her internationally acclaimed research on race and gender in organisations, leadership, managing diversity and management in Africa appears in numerous journals. She recently earned the prestigious 2018 Award for Distinguished Service from the Academy of Management (AOM) for her outstanding contributions to transforming management research in Africa and developing emerging African academics.
	Tatjana Schoenmaker, a BCom (Financial Sciences) student, has made her mark in the swimming world. She flew the South African flag high at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast where she won two gold medals. Her time for the 100m breast stroke is a new African record of 1:06.41, 0.06 quicker than Penny Heyns’ 19-year-old previous record time of 1:06.47. She also won the 200m-breaststroke in a new African record time of 2:22.02.
	Students from UP have again taken the top position in South Africa with a stunning 99,5% cumulative pass rate for the January and June 2018 Initial Tests of Competence (ITC), the first of two national professional exams for prospective chartered accountants (CAs). This is the second year in a row for UP students to come out tops. Two women alumni from UP, Christin Thomas (in 8th place) and Jani Rademeyer, (placed 9th) featured in the list of the Top 10 in this exam, written by about 3 000 students nationally.