Over the years, the Gender Mainstreaming Awards have proven to be a powerful indicator of the strides made to create more gender-balanced corporate entities. Business Engage developed the Gender Mainstreaming Awards to encourage and motivate private corporates to buy into achieving more meaningful representation of women in the mainstream of business as a strategic imperative. Individuals are also recognised for their role in the gender mainstreaming journey.

The awards are hosted annually to reward corporates and individuals for the change they ensure on the ground in terms of gender mainstreaming. The winners and finalists have continued to show remarkable commitments to gender parity. However, more must be done to ensure that issues around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging do not become a tick-box requirement but are inculcated into the culture of African public and private spaces.

"To drive change, organisations need to refocus their environments to support the development of women alongside their male counterparts – as equals. Both women and men must become agents of gender equality within their workplaces and spheres of influence. Each business leader must become a champion for change, supporting women's advancement into leadership positions by recognising and promoting capable women where it is due."

"We are proud to be the naming sponsor of the Accenture 2023 GMA Awards as these awards celebrate the fundamental principle of gender equality that Accenture regards as our normal way of doing business."  - Khethiwe Nkuna,  CSI and Responsible Business lead for Accenture in Africa.

Welcome to the 2023 Accenture Gender Mainstreaming Awards, an initiative of Business Engage, a platform that publicly recognises good practices and excellence in diversity with its emphasis on Gender Mainstreaming.

“Transformation is always at the helm of our agenda; hence we are deliberate in our efforts to appoint women in strategic positions and contribute to a society that supports and embraces the empowerment of its women.”

Assupol is proud to be involved in the 2023 Gender Mainstreaming Awards. As leaders in our industry, we take the responsibility to lead by example very seriously. - Bridget Mokwena-Halala, Assupol CEO

Business Engage, and all of the sponsors invite you to celebrate gender mainstreaming by nominating individuals and corporates to celebrate our 11th Gender Mainstreaming Awards on 5 October 2023. Entries are open for nominations from corporates and individuals for the various categories to fit the level of diversity that your company is currently at. For more information on the Gender Mainstreaming Awards, visit www.genderawards.com. 

“Our partnership with the Gender Mainstreaming Awards aligns closely with our continuous drive for gender diversity, gender equality and women empowerment in the workplace – ensuring that as a business and individuals, we hold ourselves accountable to being the change we want to see. We have a long-standing history with Business Engage and have felt the significant impact that these Awards bring to businesses and people. We look forward to this year’s entries and the continued commitment by corporate South Africa to driving and supporting women empowerment.”  - Esha Mansingh, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at Imperial, a DP World Company.

“As the JSE, we recognise and understand that gender equality is both a moral imperative and important driver of financial inclusion in South Africa. It is for this reason that we support the Gender Mainstreaming Awards, as they are a vehicle for recognising organisations that are making meaningful contribution to the progression of women in their businesses and communities. In our organisation, 64% of our board of directors and 80% of our executive members are women.” - Vuyo Lee, Director: Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the JSE.

“We are proud of this achievement and our participation in the awards, and hope this serves as a catalyst for more companies to focus on gender mainstreaming in our economy.”

The Awards have been expanded into Africa for individuals and corporates in East and West Africa. The 10th Gender Mainstreaming Awards in 2022 comprised very successful simultaneous in-person events with 500 attendees in Gauteng, South Africa, 300 in Nairobi, Kenya and 100 in Accra, Ghana. The event was also streamed online, hosting 6800 attendees from across Africa. Including the entire Africa in the Gender Mainstreaming Awards intends to make Africa the gender hub from which we export stories of success to the rest of the world rather than constantly importing reports of gender equality.

“Our longstanding relationship with the Business Engage and the Gender Mainstreaming awards is an attestation to our commitment to a more gender equal future. We continuously work towards creating an environment where women feel they are empowered to achieve their individual career goals and are committed to growing the number of women in leadership in financial services.” - Dharshni Padayachee , RMB

Currently, there are twelve private sector categories for corporates and individuals to enter:

Corporates Awards

• Women on boards
• Women on Executive Committees in Multinationals
• Women's Empowerment in the Workplace
• Mainstreaming Gender and Disability Awards
• Economic Empowerment Award
• Equal Representation and Participation Awards
• Investing in Young Women
• Empowerment of Women in the Community
• Gender Reporting of JSE-Listed companies (nomination category – no entries accepted)

“As AECI , our commitment to gender equality remains a key ESG imperative and is embedded in our ‘One AECI for a better world purpose’. “A better world is inclusive for everybody, and this includes the communities around our operations”. Gender Mainstreaming Champion, Southern Africa 2022. AECI Group Manager: Diversity and Inclusion, Nina Ngidi

Individual Awards

• Positive Role Model
• Inclusive Leader Award
• RMB African's Fearless Thinker Award

“Our longstanding relationship with the Business Engage and the Gender Mainstreaming awards is an attestation to our commitment to a more gender equal future. We continuously work towards creating an environment where women feel they are empowered to achieve their individual career goals and are committed to growing the number of women in leadership in financial services.” - Dharshni Padayachee , RMB

Corporates and individuals should note that all entries are submitted online with supporting documentation under the Enrolment Form tab on http://gender-mainstreaming.awardsplatform.com. We have entries for East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa. It is a condition of entry that finalists attend the Gender Mainstreaming Awards.

The deadline for Entries is 31 May 2023. The semi-final event for individual categories in Southern Africa will follow on 28 July 2023. The judges will interview all shortlisted companies and individuals from 4 July 2023 – 28 July 2023, and finalists will be announced by 2 August 2023.

"We believe the best way to influence change is to strengthen and grow the current conversation, then couple that with deliberate actions."
~ Colleen Larsen, Business Engage

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NOTES TO THE EDITORS

Please contact Jonathan Mahapa at Accenture South Africa at +27 11 208 3947 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Alternatively, please contact Colleen Larsen at Business Engage Association NPC for further media information, enquiries or interview requests. 

ABOUT BUSINESS ENGAGE

  Business Engage Association NPC is a non-profit company established in 2005. It is an exciting and inventive organisation at the forefront of strategic thinking on gender mainstreaming in the private sector. It is a collaboration of corporates working together to create the business case for gender mainstreaming. Business Engage is the 30% Club Southern and East Africa custodian. 30% Club is an international group of Chairmen, CEOs, senior executives and senior partners of the private sector and state-owned organisations that are publicly committed to achieving and sustaining at least 30% women on boards within a designated period because they believe it is suitable for the overall effectiveness of the boardroom – and therefore ideal for business. Focus is also placed on pipeline development to create sustainable change. Visit us at www.businessengage.africa

ABOUT ACCENTURE

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading digital, cloud and security capabilities. Combining unmatched experience and specialised skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations Services and Accenture Song — powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centres. Our 721,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity daily, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.