Considering women’s contribution to bodies corporate

In a world that generally runs at a frantic pace, I truly enjoy days of the year set aside to commemorate special people and moments in life, such as the recently celebrated Mandela Day. This is not because of the public holiday accompanying the celebration, but rather that the day itself reminds us to push the pause button and deliberate on something meaningful. A time to reflect, to appreciate, and to give cognisance too. On the 9^th of August, we South Africans get to celebrate Women’s Day.

Generally, when celebrating Women’s Day, important aspects such as equality, protection and opportunity are the central themes, and deservedly so. However, in this article, I focus on women in sectional title and on the impact many of them continue to make in our industry. Three themes specifically come to mind, namely inclusion, education, and appreciation.

The core component of a body corporate is its trustees, and the legislation that sets out their functions, duties, and responsibilities. These various responsibilities and the many contentious issues that need to be dealt with result in many owners not volunteering to become a trustee. In addition, my experience is that most trustees, and specifically the chairperson, are men. While I accept that the professional abilities of women and men are equal, I would like to encourage the industry to consider other important values such as empathy, diversity and a sense of community that need to belong within the board of trustees. As in most contexts, it is often the women who enable and nurture these values. As such, we as sectional title owners should encourage more women to become trustees – not just for their professional abilities, but to encourage diversity and establish a sense of community amongst the owners too.

One of the ways to achieve gender equality is through education. Ideally, a body corporate should help provide this education to their owners, which is becoming easier to do through online learning. There are now numerous environments where sectional title training is available. One such example is the Training Academy for Community Schemes (TRACS) – a free online platform that was created in collaboration with several women and offers inclusive sectional title education in several languages (English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Sepedi). To learn more about this initiative or to register for a course, visit the website: tracslearning.co.za

Anyone who has ever served as a body corporate trustee will attest to the fact that appreciation is not generally in huge supply. Having sought out and encouraged ladies to become trustees and supported them by making training available, the last step is showing appreciation for the tremendous work these women continue to do for the industry.

Finally, as we celebrate Woman’s Day 2022 and continue to pay attention to the critical need for general equality, protection and opportunity for women in society, we should also look at ways to include more women in sectional title and to appreciate those who are already making the industry better.