Dear Manglin Pillay, know that your apology is accepted but is not enough...

I am Anujah Bosman, the CEO of Chillisoft, a Metallurgical and Materials Engineer, (BSc Wits) with an Executive MBA (UCT GSB).  I am female, an engineer, an executive and a mum. I am woken up by my toddler at least 3 times a night and I still work a full day. This is my reality and it is normal. I am not the exception. This is the reality for many female engineers.

I have listed my qualifications so that you and managers who share your worldview, will understand that I am an engineer who occupies an executive position and am therefore in a perfect position to respond to your claims

From an engineer’s perspective:

I am flabbergasted at your portrayal of women. Yes I am a caring, nurturing individual who has dreamt of having a family for many years. I also have many male engineer friends who also have dreamt of having families. Many of my male engineering friends are also single dads. Given the tough economic conditions, it is quite normal for both parents to work and to juggle careers. Why do you assume that women would or have to choose between a career and having a family? Engineers are well paid and are in the economic bracket that enables them to have excellent help with child care and creating capacity in their lives.

Your comments about the disparity in pay  between women and men being attributed to reasons such as “life choice, phase of life, age, worklife balance, nature of work, flexibility, proximity to home, potential for personal growth” is confusing. Are you saying that these factors are only cited by women? I find this disturbing. You carefully allude to women being “precious”, expecting privileges that men don’t. Is this what you meant to say?

You go to great lengths to portray the engineering profession as tough with comments such as “shareholders waking you up in the middle of the night”. I am aware of plant emergencies and unscheduled anomalies. If your shareholders wake you up in the middle of the night, then there are bigger problems at play, such as micromanagement, a chaotic environment or an abuse of power. If engineering is such a tough environment, devoid of structures that considers an individual’s growth, why would anyone want to work in such a “chest beating” male bravado environment?

You must be aware that in this day and age of remote and distributed working, working offsite, flexible hours are the norm. Who has work-life balance and why do you assume that women in particular need or want worklife balance more than men? What does age have to do with engineering? In my experience older engineers are coveted by all organisations because of their wealth of information and their understanding of key equipment processes that were implemented ages ago, so I am confused as to how age becomes a limiting factor.

So in a nutshell it seems that your gripe is about women expecting privileges without having or wanting to work hard. Lets be honest about your thinly veiled biases and gripes and lets have a deeper, meaningful discussion about that. Lets also discuss why its necessary for both men and women to work under unsustainable conditions, where there is no place for “softer”, “caring” dispositions, under the guise of the engineering profession?

From a leadership perspective:

I am unsure if you were trying to be controversial. If you were you have failed dismally, and I have perceived you as sexist individual who has confused the challenges of engineering with environmental biases. I am horrified by the stereotypes that you propagate. In one foul swoop you have strengthened the stereotypes such as:

1) Male engineers generally lacking softskills and emotional intelligence.

2) Engineering being an old boys club that is modelled on the success of the successful archetype

3)  Logical and left brain competencies being the only competencies and skills that are required by engineers.

4) Engineering not being a place for women because of our “caring” dispositions

You have displayed the confirmation bias that typically exists in organisations that are typified by “an old boys club” mentality. This confirmation bias is reinforced by your selective research to support your world view. It is also evident in the examples that you quote. I am sure that there ae many readers including myself who want to read this research paper and understand their research methodology and context, so please provide us with the references.

Leadership is a tough role that deals with uncertainty and high levels of complexity. So I am confused by your flip flopping around saying that women choose softer roles such as executive positions and yet you simultaneously moan about the long hours that you work in an executive position. Your article was disturbing because it revealed a shallow understanding of individuals, ignoring the fact that each individual displays both masculine and feminine traits. The future demands that leaders (irrespective of gender) embrace more feminine aspects so that we are able to collaborate, respond to our environments and deal with uncertainty. This is a complex concept, and is in stark contrast to the world of predictability and certainty associated with engineering. As CEO of SAICE, your shallow comments are disturbing because it is indicative of the how far we have to go in terms of being able to develop the engineering leadership that is needed in South Africa today and for the future.

Yes, you get to keep your job, however know that an apology and the internal investigations by SAICE are inadequate measures to address the deeper underlying issue of sexism. Stop propagating perceptions and barriers to encourage women to leave the profession.