Top IT honors for S. African Indian woman

Thursday, 17 October 2002, 19:30 IST
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JOHANNESBURG: A belief that nothing is unattainable has resulted in a South African Indian woman here being named overall winner of the annual African ICT (information and communication technologies) Achievers Awards. Sharoda Rapeti, who rose from being a technician to become managing director of technology at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was also named Top Black Woman in ICT at the event. The awards were hosted for the fourth year by the company Forge Ahead BMIT and the South African Communications Ministry. "I feel very honored and absolutely privileged," Rapeti said. "But the thing that mattered to me most was that when I started off in the industry, I had so many reservations about the fact that I was not able to finish my university studies. She may not have studied as much as she wanted, but Rapeti holds an MBA (cum laude) from the University of Wales and a masters' diploma in electronic engineering. "I knew to myself that I had to work, that I was a mother, and had a real struggle and wondered where one gets to one day by starting out on that footing. "So what these awards mean to me, and to all the people that supported me throughout, is a symbol that it does not matter where you come from or how you start off. It does not matter if you think you have an inferior education because you could not access funding to get better education. "All of that does not matter because this ultimately rewards that suffering, trials and tribulations that you went through." Rapeti said there was still plenty of room for development in the ICT sector in South Africa, especially for women. "As more and more women embrace ICT, they can influence young people so that the growth of the industry takes on a life of its own." Said Jane Mosebi, director of Forge Ahead BMIT: "Sharoda has managed to cut across the obstacles faced by the few women in the ICT sector in South Africa, which is still very male-dominated. I think the fact that she handles a budget worth millions in a company as large as the SABC is proof that women have opportunities in the sector. For Sharoda, the sky is the limit." Mosebi said that as part of Rapeti's prize, she would be visiting Tanzania to give talks on how technology can change lives. "We want to use South Africa as a springboard to the rest of Africa. We should not leave the rest of Africa out, because we should use our role model to help demystify technology on the continent." Rapeti has also been appointed by the minister of public works as deputy chairperson of the Council for the Built (sic) Environment, and is the first woman to be appointed vice-president of the Engineering Council of South Africa. The diminutive but active executive has established herself as one of the country's leading experts on digital broadcasting and was co-opted to serve on the government's digital broadcasting advisory body. Another body she serves on is Technology for Women in Business, where she advises and encourages schoolgirls and techno phobic women, especially in rural areas, on how they can take advantage of ICT to improve their lives. Rapeti was the driving force behind the SABC's initiatives to use technology strategies as a base to inform other activities of the business, with a particular emphasis on involving more Black women in the ICT industry. "One of the business imperatives (at the SABC) is people growth and development, so we are specifically looking at all empowerment issues. "We have taken on eight students this year who are undergoing an intensive training program and have awarded a bursary to a female student studying engineering at the University of the Western Cape." But while Rapeti is a firm believer in the use of technology, she believes just as strongly that it must not be at the expense of jobs. "I am very much a people person. I do not believe in simply displacing people with equipment. I'm a person who believes in getting people involved in the development of things and would rather share the stage than be singled out for the success of a project."
Source: IANS
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