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...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Ayanda Mafuleka – CEO FASSET (Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority) who has partnered with The International Women’s Forum South Africa (“IWFSA”) to deliver the Women in Leadership Programme or Women Legacy Programme (“WLP”), which aims to develop 1000 women in the financial sector over a 3-year period. Women are underrepresented in the financial services sector, currently there...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Liana Roodt who is a specialist general surgeon with a passion for cutting-edge breast care and surgery including breast conserving cancer surgery. Part of her practice’s value proposition is to offer not just surgery but access to a complete package of breast and personal health. During a cancer journey, at times patients are at their most vulnerable, but also at their absolute bravest and courageous. In...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Miss South Africa 2023, Natasha Joubert. We discuss her Miss SA journey, from childhood aspirations to be a woman that inspires others, to competing in 2020 and entering the Miss Universe stage, experiencing disappointment and overcoming depression to go on to win the Miss SA crown in 2023. A person’s encounters have an impact on their life, but Natasha emphasises that people should never allow themselves to be a...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Heleen Hanekom who is a specialist radiologist in private practice. She recently launched the Club Women’s Imaging Centre in Hazelwood with the focus of providing compassionate care in a patient-friendly environment. She sits on several multi-specialist oncology boards and is part of the Breast Care Group and the Breast Imaging Society of South Africa, all aimed at providing world class care to patients. October...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Adele Da Veiga from the School of Computing in the College of Science Engineering and Computing at the University of South Africa (UNISA), who has a special interest in information security culture as well as data privacy. Her research raises important questions for consumers and businesses about what information can be disclosed; what measures are in place to protect information; where information is stored; how...

The 10th of October marks World Mental Health Day, and this year’s theme is “Mental health is a universal human right”. This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Alicia Porter, who is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Charlotte Maxete Academic Hospital and lectures in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand. Some of her areas of interest include child and adolescent mental health, woman’s mental health, mental health...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to wheelchair tennis champion Kgothatso Montjane who has made significant achievements in 2023’s grand slam circuit. Winning doubles at the US Open and French Open (Roland Garros), placing second in doubles at Wimbledon and semi-finalist in doubles at the Australian Open. The International Tennis Federation ranks her 9th in the world, one of the world’s top 10 players. KG shares her journey into tennis, which started...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Minister of Justice from the Republic of Namibia, Yvonne Dausab. Prior to this appointment she served as the Chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission, and previously occupied the role of  Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Namibia. Minister Dausab shares some of the factors that contributed to her pursuit of a career in law, including historical context, particularly living through...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Kerstin Jordaan, who is a Professor in Mathematics in the Department of Decision Sciences at the University of South Africa (UNISA), and part time Executive Director of the South African Mathematics Foundation. She holds an NRF B rating and is one of only three women in the country to hold a B rating for mathematics. Prof Jordaan gives some insight into the multidisciplinary nature of decision science and...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Judge Soma Naidoo from the Free State Division of the High Court, who shares part of her journey to the bench. In early childhood Judge Naidoo came face-to-face with injustices of apartheid and was aware that the “law” was the instrument of discrimination, these experiences motivated her to change the “law”. Her path was not easy, but she stayed the course pursuing excellence in all her endeavours and proving her...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Judge Raylene Keightley, a permanent judge of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, who is currently serving as Acting Judge for the Supreme Court of Appeal. Judge Keightley has an accomplished academic career and her transition into practice was prompted by an opportunity from the National Prosecuting Authority’s role in a new act for the prevention of organised crime and establishing the asset forfeiture unit which...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Justice Leona Theron, who is a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The Constitutional Court is described as the highest court in South Africa, it was born of the country's first democratic Constitution in 1994 and 11 judges stand guard over the Constitution charged with protecting everyone's human rights, more than 60 million lives. Over time the Court’s mandate has enlarged. The judiciary should...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Judge Sharon Chesiwe from the Free State division of the High Court. When Judge Chesiwe graduated from high school her career options, as a black woman in South Africa, were limited; primarily to teaching and nursing. For more than a decade Judge Chesiwe followed a nursing track and eventually transitioned into law. She explained her decision to shift careers was partly motivated by incidents of injustice she had observed...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Temi Lydia Leshoro from the Department of Economics at the University of South Africa (UNISA), who has a special interest in macroeconomic studies. She sheds light on the pressing economic issues faced by South Africa. The nation grapples with the daunting triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, compounded by energy insecurity, crime, corruption, and skill shortages. Prof Leshoro...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Sunet Eybers from the School of Computing in the College of Science Engineering and Computing at the University of South Africa (UNISA), who lectures on Human-Computer Interaction as well as Principle Concepts of IT Service Management. We note that diverse professional opportunities are open to technology graduates in different industries. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the hot topic of the day. We talk about...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Judy Van Biljon from the School of Computing in the College of Science Engineering and Computing at the University of South Africa (UNISA), who also holds the National Research Foundation’s Chair in Information and Communication for Development (ICT4D). She highlights some of her research areas, such as human-computer-interaction (HCI) and knowledge mobilisation and visualisation; focussing on the importance...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Nomcebo Mthombeni, who heads up the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment at the Durban University of Technology. She highlights the broad applicability of chemical engineering across sectors and the need for collaborative research between industry and academia, that addresses societal and industrial challenges. For example Dr Mthombeni highlights some of the...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Ntanganedzeni Olivia Mapholi, who heads up the Department of Agriculture and Animal Health at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Agriculture and food feature prominently in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals because of the role they have in the economy and environment, and the impact they have on sustainability, climate and biodiversity, as well as nutrition and health. UNISA’s Department...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Bernadette Sunjka, who heads up the Industrial Engineering Stream within the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand. Engineering is one of the four STEM subjects that contribute towards innovation and development and Dr Sunjka emphasises applications of industrial engineering to help students solve research problems, particularly in the small to medium...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Liezl van Dyk, who is the Executive Dean for the Faculty of Engineering at North-West University. The faculty’s vision is to change the world for the better. Prof. van Dyk shares some of the success factors that went into the development of the Faculty’s solar car, which won the Structural Design Award in Sasol Solar Challenge 2022. This project combined different disciplines within engineering (like chemical,...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Riëtte de Kock, who lectures in the Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, the Faculty of Natural Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria. The Department of Consumer and Food Sciences provides relevant, world-class education and training for future leaders in consumer science, food science, culinary science and nutrition, and takes in students from across the continent, like Botswana, Ghana, Kenya,...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Marianne Vanderschuren, the Deputy Dean Transformation and Social Responsiveness in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town. She is also NRF/DSI CSIR Co-funded Smart Mobility Chair, President South African Institution of Civil Engineering 2022, FSAICE, FICE. The civil engineering discipline tends to be associated with large scale infrastructure, like high-rise buildings, bridges, water...

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to award winning South African actress Kim Engelbrecht whose recent television work has included the American science fiction drama Raised by Wolves and playing the lead in the South African production Reyka, a role which earned her the award for Best Actress in the South African Film and Television Awards as well as a Best Actress nomination of the international Emmy Awards. Kim walks us through some of the milestones...