Associations
WOMEN IN COOLING
Edited by Eamonn Ryan
Phophi Nematangari , SARACCA National Executive Committee member as well as vice chair , is charged with raising awareness of HVAC & R among South Africa ’ s female population .
© Eamonn Ryan / RACA Journal
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Nematangari ( also known as Nematangale due to a bungle at the Department of Home Affairs ) is the owner and managing director of Mumy & Sons Projects and Construction , a fully black female owned business established in 2009 . The company has experience in HVAC & R , facilities management and project management . Some of its clients include the Department of Public Works ( Pretoria regional office ) and City of Joburg Property Company .
Over 15 million people are employed worldwide in the refrigeration industry , which means that almost five out of 1 000 people have a job linked to the manufacturing , installation , maintenance and servicing of refrigeration equipment . According to the international report Women in Cooling , a survey of 810 women from all continents , found at only 6 % of the membership of national refrigeration associations , organisations and institutions women “ are highly under-represented ”.
As the need for Refrigeration , Air Conditioning and Heat Pump professionals continues to grow , the potential of the sector can best be unleashed by encouraging women to pursue education and job opportunities in this sector .
Notwithstanding the low female representation , fewer still are in the maintenance sector of HVAC & R ( 8 %) while 22 % are in design and / or R & D , 15 % in sales and marketing and 13 % in academic and teaching roles .
The report found that promotion prospects for women were limited : 20 % of respondents had been promoted twice in the past 10 years and 24 % had never been promoted . On the other hand ,
New SARACCA NEC member Phophi Nematangari .
RACA Journal I April 2023 only 10 % reported being excessively under-paid , and 55.4 % felt they were fairly paid in relation to their job compared to their male counterparts in similar positions .
Women identified the top five challenges that they experience the most in their workday as : - Difficulties in managing a healthy work-life balance - Lack of career advancement opportunities - Stereotypes or prejudice about women from clients or customers - No other female colleagues in their organisation - Limited training opportunities to further develop their skills
Women ’ s motivations for entering the sector were varied . The report found that women were mostly motivated by the environmental impact of a career in HVAC & R ; the feeling of carrying out work that is useful to society ; the fact that it is an interesting subject area ; the diversity of roles available ; and the job security associated with the sector .
“ Interestingly , earning the respect of their colleagues represented the proudest career achievement for many women . Previous studies have shown that support from coworkers , namely male colleagues , is crucial to maintaining women in engineering positions and furthering their careers ,” the report noted .
Half of the women had no role model . Those who had a role model had been influenced by either someone working in the HVAC & R sector , a teacher or a family member . The top three factors that had influenced their decision to pursue an HVAC & R career were ( 1 ) someone already working in the sector ; ( 2 ) individual initiative through reading and research ; and ( 3 ) school .
Furthermore , when asked about their involvement in activities to inspire other women or young people to join HVAC & R , 53 % of respondents were directly involved in activities such as training , workshops , mentoring or recruitment .
It found that 65.7 % of women valued the environmental dimension of their work in the HVAC & R sector . Respondents indicated that their work involved topics such as energy efficiency , technology selection , compliance with environmental regulations and refrigerant choice .
In order to draw in more women and young girls , training programmes could focus on environmental and sustainability-
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