By Sam Chikwembani & Kate Bryan

In her plenary talk at the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) Conference held at Rhodes University, Department of Physics & Electronics last month, Professor Raesibe Sylvia Ledwaba highlighted the importance of mentorship, advocacy, and support networks as key elements in empowering women to embrace physics as a career path in their lives. 

Professor Ledwaba is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Limpopo based at the Materials Modelling Centre. She earned her PhD in Physics from the University of Limpopo specialising in computational modelling of materials. Professor Ledwaba is passionate about the role women must play in advancing careers in physics.

Professor Ledwaba believes that capacity building is at the pinnacle of providing the next generation of young scientists with a clear career direction toward becoming physicists. She identifies three legs of capacity building.

MENTORSHIP: To facilitate personal and professional growth of individuals by providing guidance, support, and knowledge transfer from experienced mentors to mentees. The first step is initiation; one should seek to establish a relationship with upcoming academics, and they should be encouraged to reach out and ask for help from those that they admire. The second is cultivation, as the relationship will need to be developed. Third, facilitation to develop individual skills will help prepare the mentee for taking their own lead. The fourth step is the reflection of the lessons learnt along the way to ensure they are truly understood and, finally, redefinition: setting up for the next step.

ADVOCACY: To help you to express your views and wishes in order to better stand up for your rights. Advocacy can be accomplished through physical and social media campaigns, representation in the organisation where you are, and launching petitions. Advocates work to find ways to organise attention and action to create positive change.

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING: The process of expanding your knowledge and capability by interacting with other professionals in your career field. Professor Ledwaba gave Women in Physics in South Africa (WiPiSA) as an example of a group that serves as a professional support network, and she encouraged all women in the field to join.

In a mentoring relationship, the mentor typically serves as a role model for the mentee, demonstrating what it means to be successful and helping to define what 'success' might even mean for the mentee. This positive role modelling can help the mentee to set achievable goals and strive for success.

The mentee must ask a series of questions to arrive at a desired career. What goals would I want to reach? Which steps would I need to take to get closer to my goals? What kind of environment would enable me to reach my goals? What are my timeline goals?

It is essential to Identify necessary skills to attain each one of your goals. Have in mind expected outputs of each skills set and develop a strategy to attain the required skills (self-study, learn from others through teamwork, mentorship from someone in a similar position).

The implementation stage requires a stepwise facilitation of one’s goals, as below.

• START JOURNALING: Write down your goals.
• SET SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES: Breakdown each goal into “small” objectives that are attached to a timeline.
• TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: Keep the bigger picture in mind. Hold yourself accountable.
• REMAIN EAGER TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW: Continuous learning enhances growth.
• FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Avoid worrying about the past and feeling anxious about the future.
• SHARE AND ENGAGE MORE WITH OTHERS: Share skills and expertise, learn from others with others, this will sharpen you.
• PRACTICE GRATITUDE: Every stage of your progress is important enough to embrace and celebrate.
• MONITORING: Remain accountable for goals to self and mentor.