In recognition of Women’s Month, Masslift Africa launched a series of internal activations and initiatives to celebrate women throughout August. Masslift took this opportunity to showcase their overall commitment to the advancement of women within the company, the forklift industry and the country as a whole.
The focal point of Masslift’s Women’s Month celebrations was their company culture. Masslift’s internal culture is strongly entrenched among employees and all their cultural pillars speak in some way towards inclusion and promoting gender equality. In August, Masslift selected the concept of authenticity – under the umbrella of their Diversity and Inclusion value – as a vehicle for encouraging female employees to speak up, be confident and be unafraid to show their talents and value in the workplace.
“Women in history have proven time and again that we can be vehicles that bring about significant change to the world. I challenge myself and the rest of the women this Women’s Month to be agents of change in their environments and provide a support system for the future generation of women. The generational challenges that we face in society must be lessened over time,” says Thembi Mazibuko, CFO of Masslift Africa.
Mazibuko goes on to explain that change can be driven effectively by authenticity in the workplace. “Too often, we are still seeing women make themselves smaller, quieter to conform to male dominated workplaces. When we act authentically, we put forward new ideas with confidence and make the skills and knowledge that we have to offer known. When this happens, the entire company benefits, and the perception of female cohorts is changed – but this is a stance we must take for ourselves.”
In August, Masslift launched an internal campaign educating female employees on staying authentic in a constantly changing world. This was paired with interviews with female staff at all levels and their views were proudly shared on the company’s social media platforms making it clear that Masslift is ready to have these important conversations and to be transparent about the outcome.
Since its founding, Masslift has made significant strides to increase the representation of women in the forklifts industry. Along with appointing Mazibuko as their CFO, they have promoted women to managerial positions and focused on skills growth for female technicians. Additionally, Masslift has and will continue to support organisations to advance gender equality. This includes local NGO’s and causes.
“We strongly believe that equality – in every aspect – is something that should be focused on continuously. This is not something that we focus on one month out of the year but rather it is something that we act on every day. Women’s Month simply provides us with an occasion to celebrate our female employees, to reflect on how far we have come and to set goals for ourselves as there is always more that can be done,” concludes Mazibuko.
