Shallow view on a skin deep thing

Disclaimer: it goes without my saying: Strictly my views - don't quote me...unless you really want to quote me.


So (South African) Twitter was in a frenzy recently because of one name: "Tasneem Motara", the beautiful MP who was part of the SONA (State of the Nation Address) Debate. I swear I learnt all about Tasneem faster than I got up to speed on our (back then) little known, newly appointed Minister of Finance, David van Rooyen. Side note: I'm still struggling to reconcile his name with his actual physical appearance, but "what's in a name", right?

Anyway, the question is, would  people have taken note if Tasneem wasn't beautiful? Probably not - well she wouldn't have been #trending at least.

I know that most women would probably view this as a problem. I beg to differ. *runs and hides away from staunch feminists*

See, I don't think that's the problem. I don't see how it's a problem. Humans are visual creatures. Men even more so. We see before we hear. That's just the way we're built. I use to have a problem with that, being seen before being heard, but that's not in your control. The downside is that good looking people just have to work harder to prove that they're "not just a pretty face". I mean how else did that saying come about? I've never heard someone say "she's not just an intelligent brain" and rarely do I hear people say "AND shes beautiful" it's always " AND she's smart"...because the beauty is established way before. Equally so, why is "beauty and brains" a thing? Why never "character and brains"? ...please draw me a picture of character while you think of that one.

If someone doesn't know you, they will judge you by the way you look and more often than not, subconsciously draw the conclusion on where you rank on the intellect scale. The more beautiful or the more "narcissistic" you are, the less smart they think you are. Like this one friend of mine for example. People always think he's just a pretty boy who's obsessed about his body, dress code and girls but that boy is probably one of the smartest people I've ever met. I've once told someone how smart he is and that person responded "oh, he doesn't look it". How does smart look like exactly? Oh wait, thick glasses, crooked teeth, bad hair and  a pimply face. Cause let's face it, the typical nerd in all those cartoons we grew up watching was never 1.8m tall and hella good looking....

In his book "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful" (2011), economist Daniel Hamermesh reveals research that shows attractive people get paid more, are hired sooner, promoted faster and get more company perks.

But nonetheless, back to Tasneem. She's a breathe of fresh air and that's why everybody took note. Humans like pretty things. And good looking people are usually overtly confident. Makes people want to be like her/him. Now imagine being good looking AND smart. Then you are basically ruler of the universe. You've won in this life thing.

The London experience

It was the 1st of November on a cold London morning when I landed at Heathrow with my driver waiting for me with a placard with my name and company name on it. "Mamma I made it" the little voice in my head screamed, not because I had finally arrived in London to work at the head office of one of the biggest banks in the world but rather because all my life all I've ever wanted was for someone to wait for me at the airport with a placard with my name on it!

After an hour on the road mainly because of getting lost, we finally managed to find my temporary home, a cute apartment in the heart of Canary Wharf. And so my London experience began...

Working in London...

My first day at work was a bit of a blur. I spent half my time trying to figure out what the hell was going on and the other half pretending I knew. Everything was 10 times faster. I was now in an office of close to 8000 employees from our South African office which has about 200. There was such a buzz and occasional announcements made from one squawk box or another and everything being due yesterday, phones ringing off the hook, people sitting in front of multiple screens and a funny looking phone which I later learnt is actually called a dealerboard.

I worked with the most amazing team comprising of Russians, Turks, French, Bulgarians and of course Brits. I also learnt that yes in Russian is "Da" which sounds more like "nda" when said out loud (hmmm, Tshivenda much?)

Dating in London...

Ok I'm just going to come straight out with it because my colleagues have already judged me to no end...

I used Tinder to kick start my dating life...*as my street cred drops*

I managed to secure two Tinder dates, one with what turned out to be an unemployed Spanish guy (whose Tinder pic clearly failed to show his one missing tooth). The other was an Italian hairdresser...he had a great personality (?) *clears throat*

Anyway...I did manage to go on two other dates with guys I met in more conventional ways. Ends there. *hides*

Now this is the thing ladies, dating in London is expensive! (...or maybe it was just my luck). Prepare to spend money on a return trip and also on going Dutch when the bill comes. I'm sure you'd appreciate that after 5 or so dates and the exchange rate, I had to humbly turn in my resignation and step down from my position as serial dater. 

Shopping in London...

...is an absolute dream! I must've shopped almost every weekend. When the likes of H&M, Bershka, Forever 21, Zara, Top Shop and River Island become your pocket friendly shops, the temptation just becomes too strong to resist!

Partying in London...

...is even better than the shopping. Barring the ice cold weather, I had the most amazing times going out. Shorditch and Soho are definitely my uncontested faves!

That miserable London weather...

...will never stop you from doing stuff. No matter how cold, if I wasn't visiting friends or eating out I was at a market or museum. Londoners never let the lack of sun steal their fun!

Lastly, traveling in and around Europe is so cheap! Makes you realize how much we are over charged in South African. Bleh...

And that's my London experience in a nutshell, quite an amazing and humbling one at that. 

Now to work on that Wall Street dream...

Learning to think

You've done all the preps, you know the textbook back to front, up down, right to left...then you get into the exam room and none of the questions look anything like the 1000 past papers you've done. Your confidence goes into a coma and your guaranteed pass slips with. 

Sounds familiar? Well I've experienced this a couple of times in my life and over the years I've grown to understand the root of this problem, rote learning. 

The problem I have with rote learning is that it fixes your thinking to what you've only memorised so once the plot is twisted, you're completely thrown off. Yes, there are some instances where it's pure medicine, like basic education maths (remember how we were taught time tables?) but I think schools and sometimes even parents get it all wrong! They focus on getting the child to simply memorise rules and such when what is more important is understanding the thinking behind the rules. 

I have recently been involved in two organisations that are trying to change this, Junior Achievement SA and ENTACTUS (google).

On my first project with JA, we visited a school in Alexander, Johannesburg where we taught kids about money. How to save, make deposits, withdrawals and general financial decisions. We played a game similar to Monopoly but instead of being property based, it was financial, involving bank transactions and business acumen. At the end, the group that made the most money from their transactions won. With my group, instead of simply pushing them to make as much money as possible I would ask them to justify each and every transaction. Want to buy a business? Why? Not planning to run an ad campaign? Why? Are you going to spend or reinvest the profits? Why? 

With ENACTUS, I sat on the judging panel for their nationals. Here a representative team from different higher learning institutions from around the country would present two to three projects (existing small business) they have adopted. They would then have to take the audience through how they have improved the business economically and socially. Let's just say, I was the Simon Cowell/ Randal Abrahams of the panel because I was not going easy on the questions. Don't get me wrong, I was not "the mean judge", I just wanted the contestants to THINK instead of regurgitating what they had rehearsed/advised by their mentors. Overall it was an amazing experience with a group of smart, forward-thinking students. This type of involvement will definitely make their transition into the working world that much smoother. 

So guess what I'm trying to say is...

1. We need to encourage kids to think   and question. I find that in traditional black homes, questioning is not encouraged and this feeds through to the child's learning behaviour and ultimately the kind of adult they become. This separates leaders from followers. 

2. We need to make learning more interactive. We need more active learning.

If we can get this right, then half the job is done. 

Changing Faces: Investment Banker

Let’s cut to the chase, where are you from and what do you do?

I moved around a lot due to the nature of my parents work and them both having me when they were fairly young. So plenty of farm life with the grandparents growing up

I'm currently an Investment Banking Associate in mergers and acquisitions.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

I triple majored in international politics, economics and Chinese. In a strange way I get to use all three of them daily 

How long have you been working and what do you like most about it?

4 years – I love miss the financial freedom and working on interesting real life situations/ problems

Tell us about your work typical day.

Client calls, reviewing financial models, helping to draft transaction documents and doing market updates for "live" deals. Usually punctuated by a rushed lunch and pre-empted with a morning workout.

I tend to get in around 9am every day and depending on whether we're in the pitching or live stage of a deal I leave any time between 8pm - 5am

Yoh! So you must have a bed at the office by now! Ok, what tips would you give people wanting to your your line of work?

Make sure IB (Investment Banking) is what you want to get into - have an aptitude for people and numbers 

Prioritise 

Have an eagerness to learn 

What do you think is the biggest obstacle preventing women of colour from climbing the corporate ladder as fast as they should?

I think the hardest problem really is not having enough role models to look up to you who understand the plight of being a young black woman. Who understand that the industry is still white male dominated and it is intimidating at times 

Changing Faces: Environmental Specialist

Care to share a little about your childhood?

In my early childhood, I grew up in an informal township called Dambuza in Pietermaritzburg

with my Mom and Gran and other extended family members. My parents were not married

until I was 6 years old so I would visit my Dad during weekends. Later on when my parents got

married we moved to a place I would call a “black suburb” called West Gate in Pietermaritzburg

and then a flat in town where in both places we were sharing a place with other families. My

parents then managed to build their own house in Imbali a township in Pietermaritzburg where

they still reside today with my little brother.

I grew up in a very loving home, and was often outside playing with friends. Even though my

parents were not well off, I never felt that as I went to good public schools from a young age.

Although as an adult, I am now aware of the sacrifices that they had to make, to make sure I

receive a good education.


Now that you're all grown up, what is it that you do?

I am an Environmental Specialist for a construction company.


What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

I studied Geography and Environmental Management up to Honours level at UKZN and I am

currently doing an MSc at Wits University. Yes, I am using my degree in my line of work although

I do feel that my work is extremely dynamic and practical and I've learnt a lot more from

experience.


How long have you been working and what do you miss student life?
I have been working for 6 years now. I miss the long holidays, and not having the

responsibility of paying bills and being a bit more carefree.


Tell us about your work typical day.

A typical day for me is trying to fix a mess caused by a project engineer on the environment

from taking short-cuts on a project... My workload consists of identifying, assessing,

documenting and managing environmental aspects of the company in a way, which will allow

pro-active measurement and analysis to reduce, mitigate or where possible, eliminate

environmental impacts from construction. This includes aspects such as pollution control, waste

and water management, vegetation management and rehabilitation. I have to ensure that our

projects comply with environmental legislation, environmental authorisations and client

specifications. I train staff at all levels of the company on environmental issues and their

responsibilities in order to improve environmental performance. There is a good mix of work

out on site and back in the office.


Three tips on people keen to join your line of work?

You need to have a passion for nature and for preserving the environment. The job

can be very rewarding and fulfilling when you feel like you have positively

contributed to the well-being of the environment.

Environmental management/science is a broad and multi-disciplinary field, it will be

You also need to enjoy being outdoors as a lot of the work is out on site in remote

up to you to develop a skill-set for yourself in one of the many areas of the field that

catches your interest and specialize in it.

areas and different landscapes. You are often in safety boots, a hard hat and

reflective vest in sunny and dusty conditions


Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in 

corporate SA? 

The biggest challenge is working in a predominately male industry. There are still very few

women in the construction industry that have prominent positions and therefore there is a

notion and sense that you do not belong there. The language used in the industry can also

be very vulgar most of the time and as a woman you need to be tough and not take it too

personally. I have learnt though, that you teach people how to treat you and once they

understand how you want to be treated, you get more respect without having to

overcompensate for being a woman.


Taking what you've said in your previous answer into consideration. Can you give an example of one particular experience and how you think it could be countered/managed going forward?
I don’t think this challenge is unique to my industry I am glad that there are many women

empowerment programs and discourses taking place in society. But what good is it to empower

women without changing and shaping the mindset of our young fellow men. If we want to make

men take us more seriously as women we must stop having events that exclude them they need

to be an integral part of the change.

Changing Faces: Banking Associate

Tell us about how you grew up

I was born in Durban, kwa Dabeka township kwa A. I had a wonderful upbringing sharing it with a house full of my cousins in a house led by my grandmother. I loved playing, singing and watching Kideo. I was a happy child but very cocooned and could only play in my yard…that cheesy township life. LOL. My primary school life began with me moving to the suburbs, this was a lonely life, being an only child and having to now entertain myself with indoor activities. This gave me no option but to love school. I loved reading and doing my homework and took pride in academic achievement.  I also engaged myself in sports and cultural activities. This was sustained all the way through high school and I was very fortunate to get accolades of Head Girl, Dux, sports captain, national debating and the like.

Geez! Thank you for making us mere mortal feel like under achievers! So where has all this super star quality brought you now?

I am now a banker (Coverage) at Citi Bank. Within Corporate Banking I manage a portfolio of clients within the non-banking financial institutions sector.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

 B.com Accounting.

I use this to a very small degree. (Financial Analysis)

How long have you been working and what do you miss about not working (i.e. being a full time student)

 I have been working for 5 years

What I miss about not working is sleep and flexibility i.e. the option to not wake up if I wanted to.

How is your typical day?

There is no such thing as a typical day. I operate in a very client driven environment so often a client can turn my day upside down. LOL

A day comprises of a quick market update in the morning, drafting credit papers, client meetings, internal product meetings, KYC and AML management as per US reg. (USA regulation). Dealing with a lot with compliance given regulation as we comply with US reg.

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA? 

Yes.

Being young in the banking environment is tough because I find I am the youngest by far in my team. The team is well seasoned and it’s great to learn from but difficult at times to challenge things or add input due to lack of experience.

Black- It’s challenging in the industry as a whole as the face of banking is still heavily “white male”.

Woman- We have a long way to go. This is evidenced by lack of female presence in management. It’s not inspiring at times but equally challenging as we need to break the ceiling. Moving up- not because we are woman but because we are credible and able to add value.

Three tips on people keen to join your line of work?

Open mind

Thick skin

Speak Up

Changing Faces: Chartered Accountant/Investment Associate

Where did you grow up and how was your childhood like?
I grew up in a small town in the Eastern Cape. Hardly anything happens in my small town, lived in the "ghetto" till I was about 11, then moved to a better area and moved to a private school at the same time. That's when you could say my life changed. 

What do you now?

I'm a Chartered Accountant by profession, and work as an Investment Associate for a development fund.

We look into funding black entrepreneurs, enter into untapped markets and find solutions for need (infrastructure development, education etc.) in Africa.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

I did a Bachelor of Accounting Science at Wits, went the CA route and qualified as a CA in December 2013. I use aspects of what I studied, but I had to learn a lot of what I do on the job. I also decided to study further to better my understanding of Development Finance. 

How long have you been working and what do you miss about not working (i.e. being a full time student) 
I've been working for 4 years now (this being my fifth year). I miss the lack of responsibility that comes with being a student. It was OK to not have money, and you didn't have to spend your entire life thinking about career progression. 

If I could have a do over of university though, I would be less hard on myself. I would have made more friends, made more memories. I would have tried harder to find this "balance" people kept talking about. 

Sounds like what you lost in balance you won in getting ahead, now, I'm sure a lot has changed since then, How would you describe your typical day at the office?

My typical work day involves status meetings with clients/ my bosses in the morning. Then analysis of market trends and trends in investments.  I do sight visits on average twice a week.

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?

Every day is a struggle. Between convincing yourself that you are good enough,that you deserve to be here, that it's not about some "employment equity" score (which your white counterparts will remind you of from time to time)

You have to be better at everything, just to be considered average. And when you make a mistake (which I have made countless times), it can feel like the whole world is against you. 

But I've learnt to take it on my stride, we are a culture and a people that are made to overcome. This melanin represents the strength! 

Lastly, three tips for people keen to join your line of work?

Be clear on why you want to become a chartered accountant. Spend time thinking about what you want to do after you qualify. This will help you in remembering why you started when the going gets tough.
Don't be afraid to fail, and don't be so hard on yourself. Don't be afraid to start over. It's scary and you may feel like a failure at times, but finding what makes you tick makes it worth it.

Be kind, all the time. Humility and compassion will open doors for you. Be damn good at what you do, but show up every day with kindness. People will notice.