Women’s Month 2026 gave Gauteng Lifestyle Magazine an opportunity to listen to womens stories, recognise their journeys and shine a light on the many different ways women are creating impact.
Throughout August, Gauteng Lifestyle Magazine featured women from business, technology, education, finance, entertainment, music, sport, motoring, community development and lifestyle. Some are established leaders. Others are building their legacies, challenging traditional industries or creating opportunities for the women who will follow them.
What connected these stories was not a job title or a particular definition of success. It was purpose, resilience, courage and the willingness to create space for others.
Anita Erasmus – leading from experience
Our conversation with Anita Erasmus explored what it means to grow into leadership through experience. As she prepared to take the helm as CEO of Bob, Erasmus reflected on nearly a decade in ecommerce and logistics, the opportunities that shaped her career and the importance of meaningful, sustainable growth. Her story is also about representation and the responsibility of women in leadership to make it easier for the next woman to believe that she belongs in the room.
Leading from experience: Anita Erasmus on growth, opportunity & building what comes next
Olivia Hutton – leadership with purpose
Our feature on Olivia Hutton highlighted another dimension of women’s leadership: using influence and professional experience to create meaningful impact. Her story formed part of our Women Who Lead South Africa 2026 series, reinforcing our belief that leadership is not simply about position, but about the difference a woman makes through the work she does and the people she influences.
Traci Willis – moving mountains in education
Traci Willis represents women who are changing the way future generations learn. An international education consultant and strategic leader, Willis has built a career around professional learning, curriculum transformation and educational innovation. Her journey demonstrates how women can challenge conventional thinking and create new possibilities within education.
Dr Sonja Stribling – wealth, leadership and Purpose
Dr Sonja Stribling brought an international perspective to our Women Who Lead conversation. A retired U.S. Army Major, entrepreneur, speaker and author, her journey spans military leadership, business and personal transformation. Her message is ultimately about turning experience into influence and using leadership, resilience and purpose to help others move towards their own next level.
Pamela Niemand on building a legacy nne opportunity at a time
Pamela Niemand’s story is one of ambition, entrepreneurship and giving opportunity meaning. From humble beginnings to building a successful career in hospitality and property, Niemand has consistently challenged expectations about what women can achieve. Her journey also demonstrates that success becomes even more powerful when it creates opportunities for others. Her long-standing work in hospitality and property has made her a notable figure in South Africa’s business landscape.
Women’s Month: Pamela Niemand’s Legacy Is Being Built One Opportunity at a Time
AusTebza talks about finding her own spotlight
Music became the stage through which AusTebza could tell her story. Born Tebogo Sedumedi, she began playing bass at 15 and went on to spend 12 years performing with the late HHP’s band before developing her own solo career. Our feature celebrated a woman who moved from supporting other artists to stepping confidently into her own creative space, with a sound rooted in African rhythms, storytelling and lived experience.
AusTebza takes centre stage to close off divas in concert women’s month
Mandy Davis – your starting point does not define your destination
Mandy Davis’ career reminded us that leadership is rarely a straight line. She began in retail, moved into finance and worked her way through a series of positions before ultimately becoming Managing Director of Penquin. Her story challenges the idea that successful leaders must follow a predetermined career path. Instead, it celebrates adaptability, learning and the courage to start again.
Why the Best Marketing Leaders Don’t Always Start in Marketing
South African stars – the advice every woman needs to hear
South African stars such as Carol Ofori, Leandie du Randt, Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp and Courtnaé Paul shared personal lessons around self-belief, comparison, forgiveness, embracing individuality and supporting other women. Their message was beautifully simple: be kinder to yourself, trust your journey and remember that your story is still being written.
South African Stars Share the Advice They Wish Every Woman Could Hear This Women’s Day
Tribute to women – celebrating through music and community
Women’s Month was also celebrated through music, culture and collective memory. Tribute To Women 2026 brought artists including Msaki, Sjava, Mafikizolo, Nomfundo Moh and Busiswa together at Mark’s Park for a celebration of womanhood. The event connected entertainment with community and remembrance, showing how music can become a powerful vehicle for celebrating women and South Africa’s cultural history.
Tribute To Women Brings Music, Memory And Community To Johannesburg
Loot Love talked to us about being driven by purpose
Our conversation with Loot Love explored a woman whose influence extends beyond entertainment. The feature looked at purpose, personal growth and the importance of building a life and career that reflects who you are. Her story added another important voice to our Women’s Month conversations one that speaks to women navigating visibility, ambition and identity in the public eye.
Driven by Purpose: A Women’s Month Conversation with Loot Love
The Springbok women breaking barriers on the field
The rise of the Springbok Women offered perhaps one of the clearest examples of resilience and collective leadership. From self-funded amateur beginnings in 2004 to becoming a professional international squad, the team has broken new ground in South African sport. Their first Rugby World Cup knockout-stage appearance in 2025, growing audience and investment in U16 and U18 development pathways demonstrate that their impact extends beyond today’s players. They are helping create a future for the girls who will come next.
Five Unbeatable Moments Behind The Rise Of The Springbok Women
Women behind the wheel – taking the driver’s seat
This feature Jetour highlighted a changing South African automotive landscape, where women are increasingly making their own decisions about mobility and vehicle ownership. Women accounted for 39% of financed vehicle purchases in South Africa, while more than half of Jetour’s financed customers were women at the time of the feature. The story was ultimately about more than cars it was about independence, confidence and women taking control of where they are going.
WDB Trust – rural women as architects of economic security
WDB Trust broadened the conversation beyond boardrooms and public stages. For more than three decades, the organisation has focused on economically empowering rural women through access to finance, skills, enterprise opportunities and community support. Its philosophy recognises rural women not as passive recipients of development, but as drivers, innovators and architects of stronger families and communities.
WDB Trust champions rural women as architects of food and economic security
Women’s skin – celebrating confidence at every age
This feature reminded us that celebrating women also means acknowledging the everyday realities that affect them. The conversation around skincare explored concerns including hyperpigmentation, hormonal changes, sun exposure and the effects of lifestyle and stress on South African women’s skin. More importantly, it moved the conversation away from unrealistic perfection and towards healthy, resilient skin and confidence at every age.
Women’s Month: Understanding the most common skincare concerns affecting South African women today
Looking back at these stories, one thing becomes clear: there is no single way to be a woman who leads. Leadership can look like becoming a CEO in a technology company. It can look like transforming education. It can be found on a rugby field, behind a microphone, behind the wheel of a car or in a rural community building economic security for a family.
It can mean starting again. It can mean creating opportunities for someone else. It can mean stepping into your own spotlight after years of supporting others. And sometimes, it simply means having the courage to believe that your story matters.
That is what Gauteng Lifestyle Magazine set out to celebrate this Women’s Month.
