Some of Africa’s most prominent female pioneers, innovators, leaders, and luminaries gathered for the 2024 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg last week to celebrate the significant strides made by women across the continent, and address the barriers still impeding true gender equality.

In addition to the many influential business leaders present, South African speakers and attendees included Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, Treasurer General of the African National Congress (ANC); Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya; Desiree Ellis, Head Coach of Banyana Banyana; musical icons Lira, Nomcebo Zikode, Shekinah, MOE and Mikaela Kleinsmith; as well as 2023 Miss South Africa Natasha Joubert; actress Ama Qamata; award-winning choreographer and Olympic hopeful Courtnae Paul; celebrity chef Siba Mtongana; and Captain Jane Trembath, the trailblazing female pilot and award-winning conservationist.

Numerous internationally acclaimed figures also graced the event, including Sabrina Elba, CEO of S’ABLE Labs Skincare; Sara Sabry, the first African and Arab woman to venture into space; Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022; and Mo Abudu, the Nigerian media mogul who is as per Forbes, one of the world’s most powerful women.

Paving new paths for African women

Marking the importance of International Women’s Day, the summit, and the formidable women present, the Honorable Soraya Munyana Hakuziyaremy, Deputy Governor of Rwanda shared a video message noting, “From grassroots to global forums, from rural communities to urban conglomerates, women's voices are growing stronger, influencing every aspect of society.

“Yet, despite significant achievements, African women still face barriers to education, economic opportunities, and political representation. It begs the question, how do we measure the success of trailblazing women, and how can we ensure that the next generation not only follows in their footsteps, but also paves new paths?”

In addition to performances from renowned African poets and artists, the summit therefore tackled a range of critical topics through insightful panel discussions with the precise aim of sharing and sparking new ideas to advance women’s progress.

These included reflecting on the role of women in driving positive change in society and business, especially against a context of inequality, crisis, and conflict; how female executives can uplift the next generation of female leaders; how women are challenging the status quo in sports and arts; and how artificial intelligence (AI) can impact the workforces of the future.

Intentional empowerment and inclusivity

Recognizing the obstacles that persist in achieving true gender diversity and inclusivity, speakers consistently emphasized the importance of deliberate interventions, mentorship, and shining a light on female success stories to inspire others.

Valdene Reddy, Director of Capital Markets at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, emphasized that progress in empowering women does not happen by chance, calling on businesses and female leaders to intentionally focus on shifting the needle: “One has to be deliberate about it. These things don't happen accidentally. Have good succession planning, have good identification of female potential, and make a meaningful, tangible effort. Secondly, we all speak about leadership, empowerment, and mentorship, but identify the talent that you want to bring in. There's always knowledge you can transfer as a leader to raise others’ skills.”

Likewise, Zuriel Oduwole, a 21-year-old global education advocate and filmmaker who has met with over 30 presidents and prime ministers, stated that women “have to decide that [they’re] subjects of excellence as opposed to objects to be defined by others.”

“We don't want a token CEO, token president, token manager, because we women have a lot to bring to the table. And the prospects of millions of girls around the world hinges on us choosing to redefine what it means to be beautiful,” she said.

“All of us here, anyone with a voice and a platform, we need to use it to redefine what it means to be beautiful, so that when we go out to the world, whether it's the corporate world or political world, we're going in from a point of strength and as subjects of excellence.”

Shaping policy

For example, women have a particularly vital role to play in shaping the future of the digital landscape to ensure that AI and new technologies are used to drive social progress and create opportunities for more inclusive workforces. This was according to Celina Lee, the CEO and co-founder of Zindi, a professional network and platform for data scientists, AI practitioners, and developers in Africa.

“As these types of technologies are coming out of centers like Silicon Valley and then dispersing across the globe, it's really important to make sure that we're conscious, thoughtful, and taking safeguards to make sure that AI is actually performing for the good of everybody, regardless of gender, race, geography,” she said.

“At Zindi, we have 70,000 young people who are on our platform upskilling every day, and finding jobs, including 20,000 women. So, the simple answer is representation. It's making sure that the people who are able to make decisions, who are responsible for making decisions, have a space at that table where those decisions are being made.”

The 2024 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit and Awards were proudly presented by McDonald’s South Africa, in partnership with Visa, Air Products, L'Oréal Paris, African Bank, KPMG Africa, Hollywood Group, Pura Soda, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Mercedes-Benz South Africa, PR Worx, CNBC Africa and Jacaranda FM.