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#WomensMonth2021: Women have sharp minds and brilliant leadership qualities

05 August 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Charl Devenish

Itumeleng Mabusa copy — Itumeleng Mabusa, analyst in the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS), says women in South Africa and the world at large are still facing the most discrimination in the workplace.

It is time that women realise their brilliant leadership qualities. Women are more sensitive and intuitive and bring a different dimension of leadership to the workplace.

For Itumeleng Mabusa, analyst at the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS), this is one of the ways to address the challenges that women still face. Mabusa believes the opportunities for women are not as prominent as it should be and believe that gender discrimination in the workplace still exists and should be addressed.

Mabusa, who has been a member of SADoCoL since April 2015, analyses urine samples from athletes to test for prohibited drugs in sports. Her day-to-day work involves sample extractions, running the extracts on analytical instruments such as the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC) machines, and analysing the data to see if there are any performance-enhancing drugs that are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Women still face the most discrimination in the workplace

According to her, women in South Africa and the world at large are still facing the most discrimination in the workplace. Women still have to fight to get their views across, and they are still not taken seriously because of patriarchal stereotypes.

“In some corporate settings, women are still remunerated as well as men, regardless of both being in the same position and equally talented. It is hard enough to be equally recognised as a professional in your own field of expertise as a woman, which is exacerbated if you are a woman of colour. The other most pressing issue is the high prevalence of gender-based violence, with women holding the record for high incidents of violence against them,” says Mabusa.

Addressing the challenges

These challenges, says Mabusa, can be addressed by allowing women to do any job that a man can do. Women in leadership are often disregarded and their judgments are always questioned, she says.

“There has to be more outreach programmes to teach young girls at a very young age that they can be leaders in absolutely any career they desire, from science, engineering, and aviation – to name but a few. Most importantly, leaders should groom the women in their organisations to one day take over the higher positions, and not always leave them for men.”

“My opinion regarding issues of gender-based violence is that it must be addressed from an early age, in addition to teaching and preparing the girl-child to fend off danger. I think the boy child should also be empowered and taught to be self-sufficient, and not be egotistical, but respectful towards women of any age. Boys and girls should be groomed to be able to co-exist cohesively in a society where they both have equal chances of achieving greatness.”

What is the most interesting thing to you in the field of anti-doping science?

As a WADA-certified scientist, Mabusa says the best and the worst part of her field is when she has to take part in external quality assessment scheme (EQAS). All the WADA-accredited laboratories in the world must take part in the analyses of the same samples three times a year at the same time.

“These are both nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time; it always reminds me of the feeling I used to get when I had to write final exams. I like comparing my statistical results with the rest of the world, for example finding out what quantitative concentration values and Z-scores the rest of the world obtained for their analysis compared to mine.”

“It is also very interesting to find the scientific evidence and analysis you completed, led to the prosecution of an athlete due to an anti-doping rule violation. I also love doing scientific research and being able to share it with the rest of the world. Working with different analytical equipment and different software – from GC-MS and LC-MS to LC-UV – is exciting,” says Mabusa.

Community value impacts life as a scientist and woman

Mabusa says as a woman, especially a black woman being given the chance to use her scientific skills as a WADA-certified scientist, it is an honour, as it gives everyone competing in sports in Africa a fair chance to compete. By testing these athletes, she explains, she is making sure that everyone plays fairly without their performances being influenced by any prohibited drugs.

“Among the prohibited drugs are also drugs of abuse, including for example, cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy). By testing athletes for these drugs, I am helping the athletic community to try to stay off illegal recreational drugs.”

Playing her part in the Olympics and coping with challenges

With the Olympic Games taking place between July and August, Mabusa says it is a great feeling to know that she is part of a team of scientists who are producing test reports that will ultimately determine whether tested athletes will be eligible or banned from representing their African countries at the Games.

According to her, they have a high volume of samples to analyse on a daily basis, because of all the sports competitions in South Africa and the continent in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

Mabusa says the challenges associated with this work include the extremely strict rules of analysis, called the International Standard of Laboratories (ISL), set for all accredited laboratories to follow. The strict timelines that they all have to stick to in order to report the results to clients on time – no matter how many samples there are – is also a challenge.

“This means analysing a large amount of data as accurately as possible in the shortest time I can. A skill I had to harness and embrace and learned to perfect over time, is the ability to pay very close attention to detail; this comes in handy when dealing with analytical work.”

“There is also countless paperwork to fill in in order to follow a chain of custody for a sample. Each and every step gets recorded, from sample reception all the way to reporting; paying attention to detail comes in quite handy through all this,” says Mabusa.

News Archive

During 2011: Achievements at the UFS

2011-12-01

Sarah Shannon

Dr Alex Amtaika, Department of Political Science

During a conference at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, Dr Alexius Amtaika from our Department of Political Science was elected as Executive Director and Convener of the International Committee of Scholars of Local Government. This honour was bestowed upon Dr Alexius during the first International Conference on Local Government at Khon Kaen University.

Sarah Shannon

We all have heard stories about inspirational people, who defy the odds, fight circumstance every day and never give up. Sarah Shannon has cerebral palsy but has never stopped dreaming and achieving them.

Sarah is also a competitive swimmer, and is currently ranked seventh in the world in her class of disabilities.

She is currently completing her postgraduate certificate in Education, Foundation Phrase, through Unisa. She is also studying Sociology at our university.

DW Bester and Sannah Mokone, Rhodes Scholars

Of the four open Rhodes Scholarships available to students from all universities in Southern Africa, two of our students won these prestigious scholarships. DW Bester, B.Sc. Hons. Actuarial Science student, and Sannah Mokone, BPub-cum laude student, joined Oxford University in the United Kingdom in September 2011 to further their studies.

The Rhodes Scholarships, arguably one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world, were founded in 1903 in the will of Cecil John Rhodes and cover the full costs of study at Oxford University.

While academic excellence is a pre-condition for consideration for the Rhodes Scholarship, these scholarships are unique in that Rhodes Scholars are outstanding young students who excel academically, but very importantly, demonstrate leadership, are committed to making a difference in the world, and have the energy to fulfill their ambitions.

Dr Derik Coetzee, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences

When you suddenly receive a call during a World Cup year and requested to come and assist in leading the Springboks, then you have to know, you have something to offer. This is what happened to Dr Derik Coetzee from our Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences. This year he once again became involved in the Springbok rugby team, after he had been die Bokke’s conditioning trainer from 2004 to 2007.

His primary task as conditioning head was to help in seeing to it that the Springboks reached their best level of play – psychologically, physically an emotionally. Amongst others, his duties included the optimisation of the players’ muscle and explosive power, speed, anaerobic ability and technical skills.

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee en Mart Kotzé

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee, from Willowmore in the Eastern Cape, and Mart Kotzé from Bloemfontein, recently made history by being the first students from our Department of Drama and Theatre Arts featuring in an Afrikaans South African film Skoonheid, the first ever to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie won the Queer Palm Award at the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival, where Robert de Niro was the chairperson of the panel of judges.

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Department of Haematology and Cell Biology

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Specialist Scientist in our Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, is responsible for establishing the Specialised Haemostasis Laboratory at our university and the Universitas Hospital’s National Health Laboratory Service. She established this centre as a reference centre for Von Willebrand disease, a genetic bleeding disorder, in South Africa. This laboratory is internationally recognised for their research and as a reference laboratory.

Prof. Meiring develops and tests antithrombotic (anti-clotting) agents and her long list of publications, research awards and congress presentations has earned her a nomination for the Department of Science and Technology’s Distinguished Woman Scientist Award. She was one of two scientists of the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) to receive the award – Prof. Meiring being the only woman from our university.

Medical facilities from all over the country make use of her and her team’s expertise when testing for blood disorders and she hopes to expand the centre even further.

Melinda Jonker

Melinda Jonker, one of our third-year financial economic students, won the overall national competition of the prestigious Traders Trophy competition at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The competition, sponsored by Nedbank Capital and Oxyor in Amsterdam, requires participants to trade actual JSE-listed shares against one another on a simulated platform. The winner is determined not only by the highest profit, but also by the technique used throughout the trading session.

Christopher Diab, also a student from our Department of Economics, won the regional UFS competition.

ASSAf members

Seven of our academic colleagues have been elected as members of the Academy for Science of South Africa (ASSAf). They are Proff. Hendrik Swart, Physics; André Roodt, Chemistry; Zakkie Pretorius, Plant Sciences; Max Finkelstein, Mathematics; James du Preez, Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; Maryke Labuschagne, Plant Breeding; and Neil Roos from our Postgraduate School.

Due main objective of the Academy is to promote and apply scientific thought in the service of the society, in order to determine the quality and scope of the role that the Academy can plays in the country’s life and progress, and eventually apply it

Other colleagues who are currently members of ASSAf include Proff. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector; Johan Henning, Dean: Faculty of Law; and Frans Swanepoel, Senior Director: Research Development.

Samantha Renda-Dollman

Samantha Renda-Dollman, a BSc (Zoology) student on our Qwaqwa Campus, has obtained 19 distinctions out of the 22 modules she has written since 2009.

Her hard work earned Samantha the prestigious Dux Student award of our 2011 Annual Student Affairs Excellence Awards, held at our Qwaqwa Campus. This makes her the best overall academic performer of the entire student body on this campus.

Jaco Griessel

Jaco Griessel, an Honours student at our Odeion School for Music, received a prestigious Mandela Rhodes bursary for 2012 to study towards his Master’s degree next year.

Jaco, who is currently busy with his BMus Honours degree, is a performer par excellence, with many achievements to his name. In 2010, he received the Fanie Beetge Prize for the best undergraduate student in Systematic Music Studies. A year before, he received the same prize as best undergraduate student in Historic Music Studies. He shall continue his Master’s degree with Music Composition as field of specialisation at our university in 2012.

Prof. Helena van Zyl, UFS School of Management

Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS Business School, was elected as President of the South African Association of Business Schools (SABSA). Since the beginning of 2010 she has been acting as president. Prof. Van Zyl is the first woman to occupy this position and also the first woman who is currently heading a business school in South Africa. She will serve SABSA as the president for the next two years.

Prof. Zakkie Pretorius, Department of Plant Sciences

Research by Prof. Zakkie Pretorius from our Department of Plant Sciences, has become part of Phase II of a mayor global project to combat deadly strains of a wheat pathogen that poses a threat to global food security.

Prof. Pretorius focuses on the identification of resistance in wheat to the stem rust disease and will assist breeders and geneticists in the accurate phenotyping of international breeding lines and mapping populations. In addition, Prof. Pretorius will support scientists from Africa with critical skills development through training programmes.

The Ug99 strain was discovered in Kenya in 1998, but are now also threatening major wheat-growing areas of Southern and Eastern Africa, the Central Asian Republics, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, South America, Australia and North America.

Prof. Danie Strauss, research fellow in the Faculty of Humanities

Prof. Danie Strauss, a research fellow in our Faculty of the Humanities, won the Dooyeweerd Prize from the Board of the Association for Reformational Philosophies in Amsterdam. Prof. Strauss, former Dean of our Faculty of the Humanities and head of our Department of Philosophy, won the prize for his book Philosophy: Discipline of the Disciplines. The prize is awarded for work in the field of systematic philosophy.

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb, Abe Bailey Travel Bursary holders

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb are two of the proud recipients of Abe Bailey Travel Bursaries. Both students are academic achievers, but also excel in other fields. This is what set them apart from the rest of the applicants for the bursaries.

Ryan (23), a Medical Physics Honours student at our Faculty of Health Sciences, received the Senate’s Medal for the best Bachelor’s Degree student at the UFS. He was one of 100 students at the Brightest Young Minds Summit this year and was one of the 2008 delegates to the World Youth Forum, hosted by the International Association for Poetry and Solidarity in Italy.

Nida (21) is a very familiar face on our Bloemfontein Campus, as she served as the Deputy Chairperson of our Interim Student Council in 2011.

Loerie Award for Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi

The creativity of a group of students from our university was rewarded with a bronze Loerie Award after they won an internal competition. Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi, all third-year Marketing Communication students, won the award for an advertisement they designed for Cansa.

Each year, the third-year Marketing Communication students of our Department of Communication Science have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in the Copy-writing class. The challenge is to design two advertisements for any charity organisation by applying the knowledge they gained from the subject in a practical way. The top three groups are then entered for the Loerie and Pendoring awards – two of the most prestigious awards in the South African advertising industry.

The top three groups designed advertisements for Cansa, the South African Blood Service and Crime Line.

Hendrik Kruger and Anke Malan walk away with awards at Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium

Two students in our Faculty of Health Sciences won awards at a Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium.

Hendrik Kruger, a medical student, represented his group, which won the clinical category with the paper “Injury patterns of occupants surviving motor vehicle accidents in the Free State”. This presentation was based on a study which is the first of its kind in South Africa.

The group with Anke Malan from our Department of Nutrition and Dietetics as presenter received the prize in the community-based category with the presentation ’Knowledge, practices and perceptions of undergraduate students at the UFS regarding the risk factors of osteoporoses’. Anke’s team was also nominated as the overall winner of the symposium. Presentations were delivered in three categories, namely clinical, community-based and laboratory research.

Prof. Louis Scott, Department of Plant Sciences

Prof. Louis Scott from our Department of Plant Sciences was formally rewarded the Fellowship of Royal Society of South Africa (RSSA).

Prof. Scott is an internationally recognised Palinologist at our university and a B-rated scientist.

Fellows of the RSSA are considered to be part of a very elite group of South African scientists who have achieved international acknowledgment.

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Aldo Stroebel has been elected as a Founding Member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS).

He is Associate Professor in our Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, as well as the Director of International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor.

The Young Academy has as its objectives to represent young scientists in advising the government on science and technology policy and human resource development. In addition, they will prepare the SAYAS to join the Global Young Academy (GYA) to engage with high-level international bodies, including the World Economic Forum.

Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology

Prof. Lodewyk Kock was a sought-after keynote speaker at various conferences and seminars around the globe on our nanotechnology breakthrough research.

He delivered keynote lectures at international conferences of repute in the USA, China and Greece. In the USA he delivered a the keynote address at the Conference & Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs (Pharma-2011), held in Baltimore, and was a keynote speaker at the 2nd World Congress on Biotechnology in Philadelphia. He was also invited to present various lectures abroad.

He posted two video lectures in e-conference format on his research on the web page of the journal Translational Biomedicine. He was also invited by the International Society of Translational Medicine (ISTM) to head their “Molecular Imaging” Division.

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