Balance is a key issue for Marna van der Walt

espite legislative initiatives and efforts by civil society and others, the advancement of women into the top ranks of South African business life continues to be a slow process. Lack of educational opportunities, stereotyping of career paths, motherhood, family obligations and “glass ceilings” as a result of prejudice all play a part.

According to a prominent business publication aimed at women, females in senior positions were even retrenched at a greater rate during the recession.

Notwithstanding these factors, there are many examples of women who successfully combine a top-level career with motherhood, a stable family life and outside leisure interests.

One of these is Marna van der Walt, chief executive officer of the JHI property services group — among the largest commercial and retail property organisations in the country, with more than 600 staff and around R41 billion in managed assets.

Her business leadership abilities, as well as her contribution to the empowerment of women in the workplace, were recognised in September when she was judged Top Woman of the Year in Business and Top Woman Executive at the 2010 Top Women Awards.

Now in their seventh year, the awards recognise the achievements of corporate pioneers, government employees and entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of gender empowerment.

Certainly, Van der Walt seems to be the quintessential ‘pin-up girl’ for the empowerment movement. Still relatively young at 42, she holds multiple qualifications and has successfully headed JHI since 2006 and, for three years prior to that, was CEO of Sanlam’s property division, Gensec (which then merged with JHI).

In addition, she is only the second woman to be appointed president of the powerful South African Property Owners Association in its 40-year history, and currently sits on its board.

This is blended with a long-standing marriage, two children and leisure interests that range from photography to scrapbooking, beading, painting and travel.

The judging panel for the Top Women Awards, chaired by prominent female marketer Manola Sanchez Aragu of the Wits University Business School, was particularly impressed with Van der Walt’s track record of female empowerment within JHI.

“Under her leadership, JHI’s staff representation is 58% female, and an extremely impressive 54% of management is female. One-third of the board and 15% of shareholders are also female.

“Forty percent of the executive committee is female,” the judges said. “The company has serious commitments to female empowerment, with an emphasis on education and training.

“As a role model, mentor and through strategy, Marna has proactively fostered an environment in which women can excel,” they added.

Empowerment philosophy

But Van der Walt insists gender equality in the workplace should be earned and not forced.

“While I have a commitment to empowerment, I don’t have to drive it at JHI because, ultimately, when we look to fill a position, we look for a competent person. It just turns out that a good many of them are women.”

What, then, do females bring to the corporate table that men typically do not? “I think we have intuition and we are willing to act on it,”
she says. “Emotionally, we’re a bit more sensitive to situations and better at relationships. In general, women want to prove themselves, so you get high performance.”

Van der Walt believes, however, that the rate of advancement of women into top management positions is still too low, and says there is anecdotal evidence that the number of females in top jobs has actually shrunk during the recession.

But she is adamant that women should not feel obliged to climb the corporate ladder, or pursue high-powered positions, at the expense of family life. “For me, it’s about women having choices. All I want to see, is that they can decide for themselves. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ – if you want to be a housewife, that’s fine. But if you want a career and have the drive to do it, that’s your choice, too.”

Being a career woman is not easy, Van der Walt points out, particularly when there are demanding responsibilities at home. “But if the company is quite flexible, you can normally get by,” she says.

“It’s the individual who decides what price they are willing to pay and how they are going to balance their lives between family, personal time, health and all those issues.”

Finding balance

Finding that balance is a key issue for Van der Walt, who admits to “struggling a bit” with the balance in her own life. She happily works 12-hour days throughout the week, but believes weekends are “family time” for her two children, aged nine and 13, and husband Johan – who himself has a senior executive position with South African Tourism.

Giving the youngsters in her life a stable home environment is important, and she says there is a necessary juggling of travel schedules to ensure one parent is always at home if the other is away on business.

Balance is further achieved by regular leave – Van der Walt takes about two months a year to be with the children and go camping, off-roading and travelling through Africa.

“I’m a very passionate photographer, and have now got my daughter into it as well,” she says.

“I don’t normally have obsessions, but I confess to two: the business and photography. I have all the tools, like big lenses and a studio at home. I’m a wildlife photographer; I think I only go camping because I need to get to the animals to take the photos.”

Van der Walt believes she is self-driven and loves her work, but is “not that ambitious” anymore. “It’s more about success for the team and success for the company.

“I want to grow this JHI baby of mine to the point where it’s a sustainable business and the team can take over and kick me out.

“I can still be involved in some way, but I also want to have time for other things – like photography. And maybe go back to study for my PhD, write a book and things like that,” she adds.

So, what advice does Van der Walt have for women who aspire to reach the same levels in business as she has?

“When you’re young, start off by getting the best qualification you can. And, even if you’re tired and you think you shouldn’t carry on – continue. Don’t stop with that first degree, go for the second and for the third. The better you’re qualified, the more doors will open for you.

“But that’s all it will do. Thereafter, you have to make a choice as to how hard you want to work – nothing happens by accident. There’s much hard work involved after you have the qualifications.

“Also remember that it’s not a short-term thing, but a long-term strategy. Take any job, do as much as you can and don’t complain too much if you have poor salary in the beginning. Long term, you’ll reap the rewards.” ▲

Mike Simpson