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As Women's Month draws to a close, City Parks took its female staff to tea to thank them for the hard work they put in to keep the city looking beautiful.
AWAY from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, City Parks women took some time off to celebrate their femininity on Friday, 20 August at Thornbirds conference and wedding centre in Mondeor, in Joburg's south.
Women are in the forefront to ensure City Parks delivers quality serive, says MMC for environment Matshidiso Mfikoe
Wearing wide-brimmed hats decorated with pink roses, the women sang and danced to Lionel Richie songs playing in the background. Bar the modern music, the gathering could easily have been mistaken for a typical Victorian tea party.
The event took place in the context of Women's Month, celebrated every year in August. It pays tribute to the more than 20 000 South African women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 to protest against unjust pass laws, which enforced racial segregation.
This year, the theme is: "Working together for equal opportunities and progress, for women."
Geoffrey Cooke, the acting manager director of City Parks, paid tribute to the progress made by the female employees at the utility. "I want to salute your hard work and dedication and thank you for leading by example and for building a healthy environment in the city," he said.
City Parks was working towards increasing the number of women in the organisation. At present, it had a staff complement of 1 600, only 233 of whom were women.
Also there was the member of the mayoral committee for environment, Matshidiso Mfikoe, who commended the women for their positive contributions to the development of Joburg's parks. "You have been instrumental in ensuring that Johannesburg City Parks is at the forefront of service delivery and the cutting edge of innovation," said Mfikoe.
City Parks women sing and dance to celebrate their 'femininity'
She encouraged women to be vigilant in getting what they wanted.
June Crocker, an administrator at the utility, expressed appreciation for the support and encouragement shown by City Parks in honouring women. "It is such an honour to be given the whole day to celebrate our worth," Crocker said.
However, she was firm that a lot still needed to be done to ensure that women were fully empowered. "Although we now have gender equality, it is not yet working to its fullest ... there are still not enough females in high power posts," she pointed out.
In addition, the justice system was failing to protect women from violence. "Many women are finding solace in churches."
During the celebrations, certificates were given to a few women in recognition of their hard work, and then it was down to some serious fun, with music provided by a local deejay.
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