Maxcine Pillay, Product and Partner Manager at Sentiv
I have watched women stand on the first tee with their hands shaking, worried about getting it wrong, worried about slowing everyone down, and unsure whether they belong there at all. A few holes later, something starts to shift. The swing loosens. The laughter comes more easily. By the end of the round, many of them walk off carrying themselves differently. I have seen the same change in technology.
For Women’s Month, we often talk about representation, opportunity, and opening doors. Those conversations are useful, but I have come to believe that real inclusion depends on something more sustained. It depends on whether we are willing to walk the full journey with women while they build confidence, capability, and authority. That lesson has shaped a lot of my own career.
More than 20 years ago, I stumbled into the tech industry without a background in the field and without any grand plan to build a career there. I joined a small business where fewer than 20 people worked, which meant everyone wore several hats. I started in sales as an account manager, but the role gradually widened into project management, solution design, product management, marketing, and order management.
That kind of environment can be hard work, but it can also be a gift. It gave me exposure to the parts of the business where real growth happens. Over time, I realised I kept gravitating back to solution design and product management. I loved being handed a problem and figuring out how to solve it well, and then finding a way to solve it better than anyone else in the market.
That early stretch across different responsibilities taught me something I still believe now. People do not build confidence because they were welcomed warmly. They build confidence when they are trusted with meaningful work.
Authority grows through access
The technology industry has long been male-dominated. When I started out, most of the women I encountered were in finance or administration. Far fewer were the people designing the solution, speaking to the technology, or advising customers on technical direction.
I have been judged on my gender more than once. Many women in this industry have. What changed those situations for me was not a speech about inclusion. It was the work itself. Once people saw that I understood the client’s environment, could design a workable solution, and could speak credibly about the technology, the conversation changed.
That is one of the reasons I feel so strongly about technical credibility. Customers are not looking for someone to sell them a box. They want someone who understands where they are trying to go, what constraints they face, and whether the proposed solution will still serve them two or three years from now. In fields such as cybersecurity, communications, and operational technology, that level of trust is earned through learning, and then more learning after that.
It is also earned through access. Women need exposure to the work that builds authority. They need room to design, advise, challenge, and lead. If those opportunities are withheld, it becomes much harder to build the kind of confidence that turns someone from a supplier into a trusted adviser.
I have also been fortunate to have mentors and peers who supported me and relied on me. That support helped me grow into rooms where I was consulting with CTOs and other senior leaders about budgets, roadmaps, and long-term technical decisions. Trust of that kind is built over time, and it changes how you see yourself as much as how others see you.
Support has to last
That same idea led me to start Queens of the Greens at Eagle Canyon Country Club with our Golf Director and PGA coaches. It is a beginner programme for women, but the reason it works is not that it offers a single moment of encouragement. It works because it is a 12-month journey.
Most programmes aimed at women in golf are short clinics or one-day events. They may spark interest, but they often end before confidence has time to take root. Queens of the Greens was built differently. The base structure teaches the skills to play the sport. The real value is in how we pair beginners with mentors during a monthly nine-hole scramble, so new players can get onto the course without the pressure that often comes with starting. We build community while we build skill.
South Africa has around 12% female participation in golf, compared with roughly 28% globally. If we want those numbers to change, we have to do more than invite women to try the sport. We have to stay with them long enough for them to feel that they belong in it.
The same is true in business. Recruitment is only the beginning. Women need the chance to grow into technical roles, partner-facing roles, operational roles, and leadership roles. They need mentors who stay involved, managers who trust them with complex work, and organisations that understand inclusion as a long-term commitment rather than a campaign theme for August.
The long game is worth playing
I do not think every barrier will disappear in my working lifetime, whether in technology or in golf. Even so, I have seen enough change to know that progress is possible. There are more women in senior technology positions than when I started. More women are stepping into roles once seen as out of bounds. There are also more clubs and organisations trying to change how women are welcomed and supported.
That is encouraging, but it also comes with a responsibility. If we want more women to participate and progress, we have to offer more than access. We have to offer a pathway.
Whether I am helping a customer shape a solution or standing beside a nervous beginner on the first tee, I come back to the same belief. People grow when someone is willing to walk the journey with them. That is how confidence is built. That is how authority is earned. And that is how inclusion becomes real.
GLORIA MALAN EXECUTIVE MANAGER
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