Get to know our staff: Christine's journey at Image At Work

CHRISTINE SITHOLE is one of the women that wake up in the wee hours of the morning to give their children a decent life. She travels almost 80 kilometres, daily, to and from work. Sometimes, when there is a backlog at work, she works on Saturdays. An avalanche of pressure falls upon her, but with the future of her children in mind, she gathers herself to face it. She’s one of those independent young women that refuse to idly cup their palms for alms. She says she doesn’t value rapid money-making shenanigans. Instead, she prefers straight paths as they mostly lead to divinely planned destinations and never erode one’s dignity.

As the International Women’s Day month ends, we decide to seal it in style by giving women a platform to take us through their experiences. In our brief interview, we pick Christine, one of our hardworking colleagues to represent women that we have in our organisation.

How long have you been at image? Can you please tell me a bit about your background?

I have been at Imageatwork for about 3 years.

What is your role in the company?

I am the head of the finishing department. This department is responsible for ensuring that manufactured products resonate with a customer’s expectations and the company’s criteria of measuring quality. In the manufacturing industry, our work is referred to as quality control. Our work also entails assembling items from other departments into final products. We also wrap and pack finished products before collection or delivery.

What do you think earned you your current head of department position?

I confidently associate my elevation with hard work. I started as a packer, packing products into boxes and gift bags, but my inquisitive nature helped me learn more about what was happening around the company and eventually catapulted me to the departmental head position. I also have a good eye, that means a product with an error hardly makes it to the client unnoticed whenever it passes through my hands. I am strict when it comes to quality control, for I know that overlooking small errors can tarnish the company’s image that has taken nearly three decades to build.

Does your role involve supervising men? If it does, what challenges have you faced in dealing with them given the patriarchal nature of society?

Yes, I deal with men in my department, and I’m the only woman and the youngest in the department. It is sometimes challenging having to be the one to tell them what to do as they are usually put in positions of authority in patriarchal establishments. Teaching and training them, telling them what is expected of them is hard, but I do it with a brave face and an authoritative voice anyway. I believe it’s high time we, as women, shrugged off shackles of patriarchy that have always confined us to being followers and subordinates. We should not be apologetic for being leaders.

What are the challenges that you face in ensuring you deliver high quality service?

As my duty involves ensuring products meet the client’s expectations, it means I must reject whatever product or service that does not meet conventional standards. A rejected product or service is attributed to someone, and that person must be given the product back and told that it still needs to be worked on. Rejecting a product that someone has put a lot of effort into is difficult because some people tend to think one is implying that they are not doing their job right. Errors can be detected and rectified if people would check their work before conveying it further for quality control.

How have you previously handled problems of this nature?

In cases like this, I speak to the head of the department responsible for the rejected job so that they have the problem rectified. If it can’t be solved there, I take the matter further to the team that sources jobs – that is where problems that we usually encounter concerning rejected jobs are finally solved. I am aligned to the principle of accountability, all the colleagues should account for their errors. If I ignore products that are not properly done, the blame will boomerang back to those in the finishing department for failure to detect errors.

Have you had any opportunities to advance?

Yes, I have had opportunities to advance. As I said earlier on, I started as a packer but eventually rose to the position of a departmental head. That is a huge milestone that communicates volumes about opportunities that I have been given. I am hoping to see more women given a chance to learn to do other jobs in the company. I can’t wait for a day when I’ll see them operate complicated printing machines in the absence of their male counterparts.

What motivates you to work hard?

What motivates me more than ever is my will to learn more and be a better person and to give my children a life better than I have had. I am also motivated by my own desire to create a legacy for my children, something that they’ll look at in future and proudly attribute to my hard work.

In your own capacity, how have you ensured fellow female colleagues are empowered?

I always encourage fellow female colleagues to develop the humility to learn from other women without feeling degraded. Learning from someone is never a display of stupidity, it is wisdom that comes with knowledge that prepares one for greater exploits in future. I also encourage them to assist other colleagues overwhelmed with stacks of work in their departments, this will obviously enable them to learn how to operate machines and eventually lead to their promotion.

What inspiration do you draw from working in a female-led company? A woman of colour for that matter.

Tanya Naidoo (Imageatwork CEO) has been a great inspiration to me. Without any financial assistance from financial institutions, she managed to start her small company in a small room from her personal savings. Today we are talking about one of the biggest female-led companies in South Africa. Her determination, patience and discipline are truly forces to reckon with. I am where I am today because of the faith she has always had in me. She has taught me to be strong enough to face problems and pressure head on regardless of what people say. She always says: “If you don’t know ask, don’t assume.” Her drive is inspiring and it is something anyone would envy. When I look at her, I see my own reflection in the future, and I strongly believe that being a woman of colour cannot deter me from pursuing my dreams.

Do you have family? If you do, can you tell me a bit about it?

Yes, I do have family. I am a single mother of two; Christabel, my 16-year-old daughter, and Jay, my 4-year-old son. My husband passed away in January last year (2022), and it has been difficult to handle everything alone with little or no support due to the fear of being labelled or negatively judged for seeking help from people.

Last Question: What do you think causes the exclusion of women in most facets of society?

It is the patriarchal culture that tops the list of the reasons behind the exclusion of women in many sectors of society. The passing down of the culture from one generation to another makes it hard for it to be done away with. However, I would also blame women for their confinement to the fringes of decision making processes. Women have conformed to patriarchy, and they subconsciously promote it by normalising it as a permissible culture. After all, cultures are social constructs that are never cast in stone. The day we’ll all unite and stop endorsing the violation of our rights to participate and be heard, patriarchy will collapse.