The female millennials – the tech-savvy women born between 1980 and 2000 – are radically shaping the future workplace and are using the ubiquity of broadband to change how societies live, work and play.
These insights were shared by Mandisa Ntloko, Head of Marketing for MTN Business South Africa at the maiden edition of the Leading Women Summit, an event that is co-sponsored by MTN Business and Forbes Africa to commemorate International Women’s Day.
The event was held on Thursday, 10 March in Johannesburg under the theme: The Rise of the Female Millennial.
This event brought together some key influencers from across various industries and delegates exchanged ideas and experiences and unpacked the phenomenon of the female millennial.
The lively and robust discussions also examined how this generation will impact our world, as well as the challenges confronting those who will employ and manage this generation.
Ntloko told delegates that female millennials have found innovative and resourceful ways of using technology and connectivity in order to effectively juggle the multiple roles they play as professionals, mothers and spouses.
“This generation of women millennials refuse to be confined to one platform such as a desk to complete work tasks, instead they have led a shift to a computing paradigm where tasks can be performed on the go,” said Ntloko.
Quoting a study by Ericsson, Ntloko says women are driving the uptake of smartphones and continue to lead many communication and daily life related behaviours on smartphones.
She warned that the evolving ecosystem will phase out certain traditional careers and spawn new ones that are in line with the requirements of the digital age.
Ntloko said that the future workforce will be characterised by a need for new skills set to meet the challenges of the digital age and the resultant changes in operational requirements. The challenge facing organisations will be to adapt timeously to meet the needs of this new generation if in order to maximise their chances of attracting and retaining talent.
“The new skills required will include including data analysis and visualisation, security management and digital business acumen. Other skills will be specialised, based on specific business activities,” said Ntloko.
“Organisations need to be cognisant of the importance of creating an environment that allows employees to create their own career brand across functions, while at the same time fostering work-life integration and innovative work environments. At MTN Business, we use technology to enable and inspire sustainable growth and development of our clients,” concluded Ntloko.
Staff Writer
