Women in the workplace: Thuli Mnyakeni
As we reflect back on National Women’s Month, we still have a few more insights to share with you from the women who work at PG Bison. In this post we chat to Thuli Mnyakeni, Risk Manager for PG Bison in Piet Retief / Mkhondo.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a mom of two girls and two boys. One is in university; I have two teenagers and then a 10-year-old. I’m a single parent since my husband passed on in 2018, which has been very hard and a big transition for us.
I’ve been with PG Bison for 11 years and before that I was in the public sector. In my role as Cluster Risk Manager with my team is to eliminate or mitigate operational business risk to an acceptable business risk level. Ensuring good governance and compliance within our operational area.
Can you give us an example of the types of risks you mean?
We deal with everything from occupational health and safety (for example, making sure that employees are trained to understand the risks within their working environment and how to respond to the undesired events) right through to risks associated with insurance, security, health, environment, and the community that may be affected by our activities.
What has your experience been as a woman in the manufacturing sector?
In the public sector, I was one of the few woman in the teams dominated by males, hence I was familiar to a male-dominated environment, when I moved to PG Bison. But as a woman in management, it meant that the men here also had to adjust – it wasn’t just me adjusting to a new sector. It was challenging initially, but we’ve come through those challenges and we’re starting to see more women coming into the sector, even though there’s still a lot that needs to be done, to get a good representation of women in senior positions within the business. Potential of women within the business has been acknowledge and there is more of a movement to accommodate women, for example making arrangements for women to attend to certain activities relating to their family members at a certain time. It has really moved forward.
What gets you up in the mornings?
Lots of things! Normally there’s a plan to complete certain tasks, but my line of work requires one to be flexible, as the environment can change, and you need to adapt. So, when I get up, my first thought is to go and do what I’ve planned. And my children! I must get a kiss from my children to start my day.
Do you have any words of encouragement to share with other women in the workplace?
Women should be proud of themselves. They must not try to imitate men. They must be themselves and stay true to themselves. There’s this thing people say when women work hard and smart that “oh, you work like a man!” No, that’s how women work. We are resilient.
We also shouldn’t expect to be treated differently because we’re women. We should focus on achieving our goals and not just occupying space.
Finally, we want to see more women at senior levels in PG Bison. It’s wonderful to see Tamaryn, the woman in the executive team, and we are looking forward to continue seeing more women represented across all levels within the business. Women are competent enough to occupy such senior positions.
