This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Lusanda Bomela  who is an orthopaedic spine surgeon in private practice. Women are underrepresented in orthopaedics, making up less than 5% of orthopaedic surgeons. Dr Bombela shares how her interest in the spine, coupled to the fact that few women take up this area of specialisation motivated her to pursue her studies in this field. One of her hopes is that she sets an example to encourage other women to take up...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Kathryn Chu, who is a Professor of Global Surgery and is the Director of the Centre of Global Surgery at the University of Stellenbosch. Prof. Chu specialises in colorectal procedures and is a general surgeon. Her academic journey began at Stanford University, where she earned her undergraduate degree. Following this, she pursued her medical degree and underwent residency training in general surgery at the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Nicky Falkof, who is a cultural studies scholar based in the Media Studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand. Media is ubiquitous and takes multiple forms, that impact how individuals perceive themselves and others, construct their identities, and navigate their social worlds. Prof Falkof shares some insights into the themes of her academic qualifications; studying a Masters in critical theory with...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Marí Thiart who is a Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon based at Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. She is President of the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance (IODA) and founder of the South African Female Orthopaedic Surgeons' Society (SAFOSS) In South Africa only 5% of orthopaedic surgeons are female; unfortunately this is a global trend. One of Dr Thiart’s objectives...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Eunice Mphako-Banda from the School of Mathematics at the University of Witwatersrand. Mathematics is instrumental to science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. According to the Pew Research Centre, jobs in STEM occupations have grown by 79% since 1990. STEM jobs are projected to grow at a higher rate than non-STEM subjects and have higher earning potential.  Despite these statistics, women make up...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Tharina Guse, who heads up the Department of Psychology at the University of Pretoria and is a counselling psychologist. Professor Gusa shares some of her motivations for becoming a psychologist from initial plans to pursue journalism, which stemmed from her interest in people, their experiences and stories. Studying psychology was a natural fit to really understand people through human behaviour, human...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, in celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, #InvestinWomen, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of the European Union Sandra Kramer, the Ambassador of Denmark Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania Rasa Jankauskaite, the Ambassador of Austria Romana Königsbrun, the High Commissioner of Jamaica Joan Thomas Edwards and the High Commissioner of Australia Tegan Brink. The conversation touches on the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Maryana Iskander the Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, the global nonprofit that supports Wikipedia. Previously she spent a decade as the CEO of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a social enterprise building African solutions to tackle the global crisis of youth unemployment. Prior to that she served as Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and as the Advisor to the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Melissa Steyn , who holds the Department of Science and Technology National Research Foundation (DST-NRF) National Research Chair in Critical Diversity Studies and is the Founding Director of the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies. Prof. Steyn describes critical diversity studies and her motivations for specialising in this field. Part of this stemmed from growing up in Apartheid era South Africa, where difference...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Maduoe Aphane, who is an ophthalmologist in private practice and former head of the Ophthalmology Department at 1 Military Hospital, which serves military personnel and their dependents. Dr. Aphane discusses some of the factors that motivated her to pursue ophthalmology as a specialisation, in part personal safety, as a woman working in South Africa, was one consideration. Dr. Aphane describes how rewarding her...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Karin-Therese Howell who is the Academic Director of Mathematical Sciences at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which is Africa’s first network of centres of excellence in mathematical sciences. There are currently  centres  in Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa.  The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences brings together some of the most gifted students in the continent and uses the slogan,...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr René Ferguson, who was formerly the Head of the Social and Economic Sciences Department at the University of Witwatersrand. Dr. Ferguson’s work focuses on teacher education with an emphasis on life orientation subject matters. Life orientation studies form part of the national school curriculum in South Africa and aims to equip learners with essential life skills, which promote personal, social, and intellectual...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Keitumetse "Tumi" Mashego who is a clinical and sports psychologist in private practice. Dr. Mashego offers some strategies to help people fulfil their goals, partly through managing expectations and showing ourselves grace.  She shares a useful breathing technique to bring one back into the present and be more mindful, which overcomes autopilot mode. Striking a balance between home and work commitments can be a...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Australia Tegan Brink, she is accredited to seven countries in Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and eSwatini. Prior to this appointment she was posted in New York as Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Permanent Mission to the UN, and Chef de Cabinet to the President of the UN General Assembly. She also served in the Australian Permanent Mission to the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of the European Union Sandra Kramer, the Ambassador of Denmark Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone and the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania Rasa Jankauskaite. This conversation takes a multi-dimensional view of women pursuing their careers and being leaders. Some of the internal factors that play a role for the individual include earning technical qualifications, being mentored, receiving support from...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Lizelle de Wee who is a clinical psychologist in private practice. The beginning of a new year is often a period of reflection and many of us are no strangers to creating resolutions for the new year. Unfortunately, the majority of us miss the mark. The key difference between those that follow through with their commitments versus those that give up is putting concrete steps into achieving their goals. In addition...

Welcome to Womanity-Women in Unity, join us for our new year broadcast with a compilation of voice from female leaders in politics, business and academia. We hear from Patricia de Lille, the current Minister of Tourism, former Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, who is also the leader of the political party “Good”;  Lillian Barnard the President of Microsoft Africa, talking about opportunities and entry points for women in ICT; and Prof Michèle Ramsay who holds the SARCHI Chair for...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity for our final broadcast of 2023. We hope that this mix inspires you to consider possibilities, find passion and purpose. Today’s guests are role models who prove there is no space that women cannot be. Namibia’s Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab demonstrates some of the factors that strengthen gender parity in Namibia. Professor Liezl van Dyk, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at North West University, encourages women to seek career...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, for our special compilation of select programs over the last year. We hope to inspire you through the words of three remarkable women that have succeeded in their respective fields. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the Director-General of the World Trade Organization shares landmarks in her career and opening spaces for women. The High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards encourages people to live their authentic selves and to recognise that...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Advocate Thando Gumede, a Commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), which is one of six Chapter 9 institutions tasked with guarding South Africa's Democracy. We discuss the role of the CGE, which is mandated to promote, respect, protect, develop and attain gender equality, as well as making recommendations affecting the status of women. Several international instruments promote and uphold the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the High Commissioner of Jamaica to South Africa Joan Thomas Edwards, who is concurrently accredited to 18 other countries from Southern and East Africa. The High Commissioner launched Jamaica’s first High Commission in South Africa in 2006 and today serves as its leader. Jamaica has established several memorandums of understanding with South Africa, in sports, tourism, arts and culture as well as trade. The High...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of Netherlands to South Africa, Joanne Doornewaard. Prior to this role, she served as Ambassador to South Korea and before that as Ambassador to Sri Lanka. She had an atypical entry into foreign affairs, having previously worked as a landscape architect, and at the onset of her diplomatic career considered representing the Netherlands abroad was a way to combine her interests in travel, culture and...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Amanda Dempsey who leads the School of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg, prior to this role she served as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences at the University of Johannesburg. She is a Chartered Accountant registered with SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants), holds a BCom and MCom in accounting. This year she received the SAICA Chairman’s Difference...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of Austria to South Africa, Romana Königsbrun, who is also accredited to nine other countries in the region: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Ambassador Königsbrun shares some of the landmarks in her career, remarking on the positive impact of good bosses. Mentors nurture development and encourage mentees to stretch beyond their comfort...