Women in Leadership: What South African CEO learned from taking the reins during COVID

To mark Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we’re bringing you a special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership, featuring interviews with women CEOs and executives from across industries and around the globe. 

In this episode, we’re speaking to Jackie van Niekerk, CEO of South African real estate investment trust Attacq, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Attacq has a majority of women employees from executive leadership right through the business and tries to create an environment for women to succeed, Jackie tells us.  

“It's not a perfect science, but we really try to encourage that you can be a mom, you can be a wife, you can be a partner, and you can still have a beautiful career,” she says. 

Jackie took on the CEO role during COVID-19, and she talks about the lessons she learned from leading through the pandemic. 

"I really started listening to my people, to my clients, understanding what are you actually going through, learning how to pause and then implement," she says. "And that's the greatest thing I got out of COVID, and it's really, really helped me become a leader that's for the people and not just for the numbers."

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Read recent research from S&P Global on women in leadership here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future  

And here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/the-path-to-gender-parityy 

You can listen to previous episodes in our Women in Leadership series here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-in-leadership  

Photo source: Attacq 

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global 

DISCLAIMER 

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global. 

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. 

S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.