Tsogo Sun and Proudly South African partnered to host a lavish ‘Women in Business’ lunch on 8 August at Southern Sun Hyde Park, under the theme of, ‘Own your throne’, with celebrity and businesswoman Basetsana Kumalo, Executive Chairman and CEO of Basetsana Woman Investment Holdings, delivering the keynote address.
Explaining the theme, Candy Tothill, Tsogo Sun’s GM of Corporate Affairs, at the lunch quoted Marion Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?…”
The glamourous event featured TV presenter Leanne Manas as MC, welcome addresses by Tsogo Sun’s Candy Tothill and Happy MaKhumalo Ngidi, Chief Officer of Marketing & Communications, Proudly South African, and the post-lunch keynote address by Basetsana Kumalo. Excellent entertainment was provided by The Sax Player, Rike Coetzer, and later by brilliant South African comedienne, Khanyisa Bunu, who will be opening for Trevor Noah in his tour which runs in Johannesburg for three days from 9 August.
Proudly South African’s Ngidi said, “This year Tsogo Sun and Proudly South African partnered to present this spectacular lunch which acknowledges how remarkable women are. We each own our throne today and celebrate together our individual and collective strength.”
Tothill noted that Tsogo Sun’s celebration of women is born of the reality that the group bucks the global trend in its representation of women in its workforce – 53% of Tsogo Sun’s 14 500 employees are women. “This focus is also strongly reflected in the fact that 45% of Tsogo Sun’s management are women, and 39% of our executives and senior leadership comprise women. Senior leadership is thus substantially higher than the national average of 29% reported in the 2017 Grant Thornton International Business Report.”
Through its far-reaching Citizenship portfolio, Tsogo Sun also uplifts women in empowerment programmes that include Tsogo Sun Entrepreneurs that supports 200 businesses across South Africa, 164 of which are women-owned, and the Miss Earth leadership development programme that empowers hundreds of young women to become environmental youth ambassadors and role models in our society.
Invited guests at the Tsogo Sun Women’s Day event included businesswomen, entrepreneurs, media, drivers of change in corporate and community environments, and women who share Tsogo Sun’s passion for building up other women.
Tothill urged the guests, as beacons of hope for all young women who are starting out in their careers, “to play your part in creating a strong sisterhood of support for yourselves, for each other, and for them, and continue to be shining examples of what it truly means to ‘own your throne’.”
Tsogo Sun’s portfolio includes over 100 hotels and 14 casino and entertainment destinations throughout South Africa, Africa, the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.