By Karabo Ngoepe and Lwazi Dlamini
Women have for many generations, gone against the grain and thrusted themselves into industries that were once perceived to be male-dominated.
They enter the space and leave a mark, paving the way for others to follow and thrive in a field that they have cultivated and made ready.
History has brought us the likes of Amelia Earhart, the American aviation pioneer and writer who was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Janet Guthrie, a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, both in 1977.
Those women we able to lay the foundation for other sectors, including banking which in the past was characterised by patriachy.
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Up until the early 1970s, a woman’s application for credit could be denied if a husband didn’t co-sign, which often created obstacles for both married and single women.
That changed in 1975 when First Women’s Bank opened in New York City to cater to women customers and help foster equal opportunities for women in banking.
Women’s rights activist and writer Betty Friedan was an organizer and director of the full-service bank, which also provided educational seminars for women.
It would however still take time for women to fully enjoy equal benefits and rights as men in banking.
Women broke ground by taking on high positions in financial institutions toward the end of the 20th century.
Rosemary McFadden became the first female president of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in 1984.
As NYMEX president, McFadden was paid a six-figure salary, and her job was to oversee the daily operations of the exchange and make policy recommendations.
By the time she left in 1989, the exchange’s volume of contracts had expanded to 34 million from 5 million.
The likes of McFadden and what they were able to do in those leadership positions showed that women were a force to be reckoned with.
It also made it more acceptable and not taboo for the likes of EswatiniBank Managing Director Nozizwe Mulela to occupy the corner office and thrive.
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As the world celebrated International Women’s Day, Mulela is proud of the progress that has been made in the sector when it comes to women’s empowerment and upliftment but is of the view that more can still be done.
“It feels good to be a woman in leadership and banking has a lot of women. We have a job to try and inspire, empower and align more women to take leadership positions,” she said.
Mulela added that in the banking sector, they have many women who are into business, and many SMEs who need to be supported.
“There should be financial inclusion for women. That’s what I am advocating for. My legacy is to empower, upskill and expose more women to leadership positions. As a bank, we are doing our best to innovate and create products that will appeal to many people of different backgrounds and my focus is on getting more people educated and also to improve technology to enable growth as an entity,” she added.
Her perspective and desires for the sector are echoed from across the oceans with calls for the inclusion of more women in the financial sector.
She says for that to be attained, there is a need to get even the banking staff to upskill and understand banking more.
“We need to retain pure banking skills, the way it used to be. While we pursue technology, it should not take away the skill. Technology should complement the banking skills we have. I must say I do feel to a certain extent we are lacking the understanding and drive. We need to retain the pure banking skills,” she said.