SEZs among South Africa’s most powerful engines of growth

The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone CFO Rebecca Hlabatau argues that leadership in SEZs is about more than managing finances. It is about driving industrialisation, creating sustainable jobs, and deliberately breaking down barriers to equity — especially for women in a male-dominated economy. (This article was first published in the Sunday Times Business Report on 31 August 2025.)

August in South Africa is not just another month in the calendar – it is Women’s Month, a reminder of the sacrifices of 1956 and the unfinished work of building a society where women’s potential is not constrained by bias, barriers, or old boys’ clubs.

For those of us in leadership, it is also a moment of reflection. What does it mean to be a woman leading in sectors that were never designed with us in mind? What does it mean to not only break ceilings for yourself, but to pull others up through the cracks?

In South Africa’s industrial policy landscape, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are not glamorous. They do not trend on social media and they rarely dominate headlines.

Yet, increasingly, they are proving to be among government’s most powerful tools to drive industrialisation, attract investment, and create jobs.

At the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ), my role as CFO is often misunderstood as a purely financial one.

But sustainability in an SEZ is not about spreadsheets; it is about shaping a platform where jobs multiply, investors thrive, and communities escape poverty. Each job created transforms not only an individual life, but an entire family. That multiplier effect is powerful – and it is the real bottom line.

My choice to serve in the public sector, even when private-sector opportunities were abundant, was deliberate.

Too often, the public sector is seen as a fallback, a place where talent lands when it cannot “make it” in corporate South Africa. That mindset must change.

State-owned enterprises like TASEZ deserve the best skills in the market, professionals who understand that public purpose and financial discipline are not contradictions.

But this is also where Women’s Month hits home: the road has never been straight for women leaders. Infrastructure, industrialisation, and construction remain male-dominated environments.

In my career, I have often had to prove myself twice over. Reports and strategies had to be watertight – not because they were not good enough, but because credibility was not granted as easily to women.

This year’s Women’s Month theme emphasises the importance of women’s participation in leadership and the economy: “Building resilient economies for all”.

Progress is being made, but it is too slow. Which is why equity cannot be left to chance, it requires deliberate action.

Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2025 reveals the stark disparities in the country’s labour market.

In a press release dated 12 August 2025, StatsSA noted: “South Africa’s national unemployment rate stands at 33,2%, but the figures show that women continue to carry a heavier share of this burden. The unemployment rate for women was 35,9%, compared to 31,0% for men, a gap of 4,9 percentage points.”

The differences reflect persistent gender imbalances in unemployment, labour force participation, and the sectors in which men and women are employed.

And this is carried across the education levels.

“In the second quarter of 2025, the official unemployment rate for graduates stood at 12,2%, marking a 0,5 percentage point increase from the previous quarter. While this rate is lower than the national average, a closer look reveals a persistent gender gap among the most educated. Female graduates faced an unemployment rate of 15,0%, compared to 8,9% for their male counterparts, a difference of 6,1 percentage points.”

The disparity is even more pronounced among those with lower educational qualifications.

“Women without a matric certificate recorded an unemployment rate of 42,8%, compared to 37,0% for men. This 5,8 percentage points difference highlights the heightened vulnerability of women with limited schooling, who face both educational and gender-based barriers to employment,” StatsSA notes.

“For individuals with only a matric certificate, the gender gap widens further. Unemployment among women in this group was 39,3%, while the rate for men was 31,7%. This 7,6 percentage  points gap is the widest across all education levels.”

Companies must actively hire women and black professionals in sectors where they have been excluded. This is not ticking boxes; it is dismantling barriers that should never have existed.

Recruitment alone, though, is not enough. Lifting others is central to leadership. Mentorship, coaching, and exposure are critical. Today’s interns must become tomorrow’s executives — and that only happens if leaders pull them up instead of climbing over them. I am where I am because someone once gave me a chance. Now, it is my duty to do the same for others.

Success should never be measured by being “the first” or “the only”. Real success is measured by how many others rise with you.

Women’s Month is a time to remember that leadership is not a title. It is a responsibility.

It is about living the values we speak about creating spaces where words become action, and opportunities become transformation.

Industrialisation, empowerment, and equity are not abstract ideals. They are urgent imperatives, and SEZs like TASEZ are where these ideals can be tested in real time.

Because in the end, the real measure of leadership is not how high you climb, but how many people – especially women – rise with you.