All Quotes

"I think it’s no secret that the decision makers in STI are predominantly male, and that is not to say there are no capable women. Of course, the capable women are a lot less few, because of a problem that starts with the access to education and opportunity that is skewed toward the male child, especially in my part of the world."

"I think the world is poorer for not giving a chance to the girl child. I think that skewed system then carves out the research agenda in a manner that could have benefited immensely from having women at the top, given our role in society."

"It is an honour for me to be recognised as one of the 50 most influential people navigating disruption in the ‘collaborators’ category."

"This recognition is in line with the collaboration value in our CSIR EPIC values and is testament to how we live up to these values."

"I’m a paleontologist, and a biologist. The particular area that I work in is called paleobiology. I use my understanding of bone structures of modern animals to make extrapolations to the fossil record."

"When fossils are found, people try to identify and understand the fossil itself. But my research goes beyond that. I want to try and understand something about the animal when it was living — how long did it take to grow, what kind of factors affected its growth, did it have any disease, was it male or female."

"My second book is called . This book is about is the history of life on earth from a perspective of the African continent. It’s like a big picture story. The book was aimed at the high school level but can also be enjoyed equally by adults.One of my very big interests is to promote science through different platforms."

"Kids have so much information about the prehistoric world, it is unreal. They know the geological time, they know about predators and prey and the names of so many dinosaurs."

"South Africa certainly has unique issues. As you know, our country has the legacy of the apartheid. So for me, as an Indian woman, growing up in South Africa meant that there were certain restrictions — which universities I could attend, what I could do. If you look at the numbers of black women in science in South Africa"

"I often work with the Association for South African Women in Science and Engineering and I’m very involved in trying to promote and encourage young people to come into science"

"I was lucky enough to be mentored by Dr. Botha de Meillon, the doyen of African Anopheles mosquitoes and author of several books on the topic, who encouraged me to embark on post-graduate studies at Wits University."

"Throughout my career, my research has focussed on the mosquitoes that transmit malaria parasites and how to control them. I have studied their morphology, chromosomes, and isoenzymes, cross-mated them, and bred them in huge numbers in the laboratory."

"The project I was involved in, in northern South Africa, looked at the effectiveness of reactive or targeted IRS (responding only when there was a malaria case) versus proactive IRS (the standard IRS blanket spraying program carried out at the beginning of the season) and how much each cost per annum."

"Entomology is quite often neglected but is critically important if real control or elimination is to be achieved. Capacity building in entomology would also be a crucial aspect that could be addressed by the savings made in targeted IRS."

"I'm humbled and honoured to be named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women's Executive Network @WXN"

"I'm a winner in the Science and Tech category, recognizing my contributions and commitment to tech advancement as well as diversity and inclusion in #STEM."

"It's hard for anybody. There are people who are comfortable -- I don't know what the percentage of the people who are comfortable or are not comfortable [is], with people being differently able. I wrote in my book"

"It might have to do with how my mother was, and I observed her dealing with people who were different and as matter of fact and equal to anybody else, as deserving of respect and kindness. People have asked me over the years, "How do you work with people who are differently abled?" I always say,"

"I just have to learn what their special needs are. And what I'm going to do with them, I do with everybody. I want to find out what they're capable of, not what they're not capable of -- I mean, we know what they're not capable of, but it's so different for everyone, even if you don't have a physical disability."

"Everybody underestimates. And then there are people that think, am I a freak? Am I kinky? Is this strange? And I always say, "No." Find the person who loves to do what you love to do, and then you'll have the best relationship."

"If you're with somebody you feel is judging you when you make a suggestion, give it a try if you're really attracted to the person, but I wouldn't stick around for that."

"Gender was never a constraint on our aspirations; instead, being girls instilled us with unwavering independence and unshakable confidence."

"Aligning digital strategy with business objectives ensures focused efforts, efficient resource allocation, and a clear path to achieving long-term goals."

"To overcome these roadblocks, the right mindset, a solid strategy, change management plan and communications framework and of course the right implementation team, consultants, partners and technology vendors are key."

"I have never seen successful and most importantly sustainable digital transformation without leadership buy-in."

"The most important thing about potential costs and ROI of digital transformation is to look at digital transformation as an investment and not as a cost centre."

"It’s important to define your picture of success at the start."

"The notion is always that women should do art, be fashion designers, etcetera. I don’t agree with all that. Some women are astronauts! So, you can do whatever you put your mind to."

"Ironic that the largest minority group which cuts across race, religion and sexual orientation is (one of) the most discriminated against."

"You must put in the work. Do not expect a free pass just because you have special needs. You need to be exceptionally good at what you are doing but institutions also need to put up an enabling environment that lets people with special needs be as productive as they can be."

"Nobody is perfect. We all have a part of us that doesn’t work well. Identify your disability and turn it into greatness."

"I tell myself, “You can do this, you’ve done more difficult things and survived. And even if you don’t make this deal or you can’t do this task, life goes on”. My faith has also played an important role."

"We first of all have to cultivate the habit of reading, before more people would be motivated to write."

"Representation matters, and persons with disabilities are sorely underrepresented."

"Persons with disabilities are usually portrayed as being feeble and asking for handouts, in the media. I want to change that perception. We have weaknesses and strengths like everybody else and it’s about time the focus moved from what we can’t do to what we CAN do."

"A strong female lead, gives a role model for girls to want to emulate."

"I intend to change perceptions with my story."

"I was frustrated; frustrated with societal perception of people with disabilities and frustrated with reading about a foreigner's perspective of the "African Story", which usually involves wars, famines, AIDS and child soldiers. I think it is time for us to tell our own stories.Farida speaking on the inspiration for her writing"

"I didn’t set out to impact anybody. I set out to prove to myself and to society that I could be a successful software developer despite having a neurological condition."

"If you don’t have a passion for your product and you want to become an entrepreneur because of the money, close up your business and look for a well-paying job."

"The frustrations and disappointments that come with entrepreneurship can break you, but if you are in it because you want to make a difference or you believe in what you are producing, then that spurs you on."

"There is a lot of potential for fintech in this part of the world."

"All my life I’ve been told to remove the word ‘I can’t’ from my vocabulary and replace it with ‘I’ll try’ and by grace, everything I’ve tried I’ve been successful at."

"“People with disability don’t want preferential treatment we want the playing ground to be given so we can compete as competitively as anybody else.”"

"“Writing has become my homeland, my home.”"

"I will spend my life reminding the Indian Ocean, which tends to think of itself as apart, that we are part of Africa."

"What is interesting in this book is the duality of situations during decolonization: people lived between two worlds"

"We all know how unpredictable the comments section can be—but I said yes. Not because I’m fearless, but because I believe in showing up, as I am, with confidence and kindness"

"confidence is the most powerful thing you can wear. It doesn’t come in a bottle, a bikini, or a lipstick tube—it comes from how you feel in your own skin. And that feeling? It’s something you build, not something you wait for permission to have."

"If a red lip gives you a spark—put it on."