Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, December 6, 2006

When we think of South Africa, Soweto is always engraved in our memory as Canadians. Soweto where Archbishop Desmund Tutu and Nelson Mandela lived and inspired a whole generation.

It’s good to be here with you. It is an honour.

I like to think of my first State Visit to Africa as a journey of hope. In Algeria, in Mali, in Ghana, and now in South Africa, I have been witnessing the essential work of women in every sector of society, both in urban and remote areas.

More than ever, I am convinced that, in the African renaissance, women hold up more than half the sky.

I have met women from all walks of life.

Women who are experts in their specialized fields.

Women who play a key role in decision-making as Ministers, Parliamentarians, or members of peacekeeping forces.

Women who work in vital sectors such as health, education, and justice.

Women who are doers, shakers and capacity builders.

I am also extremely impressed by the exceptional work of women who have no academic background, some of whom are illiterate, but whose commitment to the well-being of their communities is remarkable.

They enrich their fellow citizens with their good judgment, their knowledge, and their wisdom.

They are key in creating social consensus around difficult, but unavoidable, issues such as family planning, physical integrity of girls, violence against women, access to education, food security, crime prevention and environmental protection.

I must say that I am particularly touched by the way all these women, from such different horizons, can pool their efforts and work towards the common good.

I have always believed that the real power of women lays in their capacity to put forward at all times the human dimension of any given situation. Women nurture that sense of togetherness and foster a strong community spirit.

Empowering women is empowering a nation.

Let me repeat. Empowering women is empowering a nation.

Let’s say it together …

The idea is to believe that we are making a difference. We must seize every opportunity to speak out and to participate fully in the development of society.

We must believe in our dreams and turn them into reality.

We must always believe that everything is always possible.

I look at you, in this room, and I think of the meaningful contributions you are making to the economic development of South Africa.

I am happy to learn that the number of women in corporate leadership roles has been increasing in recent years.

But women are still under-represented in all areas of the workforce. So, your responsibility as role models for the younger generation is to be taken very seriously.

As employers, you must want to focus on the issue of unemployment in South Africa and to increase the representation of women in the workforce.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Africa and often takes the face of a woman.

I have met so many women who, thanks to a small loan, through micro-finance, were able to create jobs, to make a profit, to reimburse their loan, and to become financially autonomous while improving the living conditions of their families and their communities.

For some women in Africa, the route out of poverty starts with a micro-enterprise.

I am very pleased to mention that Canada is active in this area, providing considerable resources to support micro-finance initiatives in Africa.

I am also pleased to witness that African women do not hesitate to engage in non-traditional fields as mechanics, engineers, business leaders and, of course, as politicians.

Men are impressed, if not overwhelmed, by the determination, the achievements and, yes, the stubbornness of women in Africa.

If I may say so, even your President recognizes that women in government work better and harder than the men.

Canada believes in gender equity. It is encouraging to see many African women coming forward in positions of leadership in various areas.

I’m thinking of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, who is challenging the entire world to take action to save our environment. And there is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia, Africa’s first elected female head of state.

Here in South Africa, I was very impressed to learn that 30 percent of the Cabinet and the legislature are women. It is higher than many other countries, including mine!

These women are responsible for important portfolios.

And of course there are the three women Justices on your Constitutional Court.

And your Deputy President is a woman. Another brilliant woman I had the pleasure to meet yesterday.

Beyond those high profile examples and others, women are also leaders in their local communities, as teachers, health professionals, administrators, and of course, in business.

Your role as businesswomen is very important to your local communities, and to society in general. By generating wealth, when you buy goods and services from suppliers or hire staff to work in your business, you are creating prosperity that, eventually, benefits everyone.

I know that for many in this room, you have the drive to succeed and surpass yourselves. I learned recently that on the Businesswomen’s Association website there’s a very informative section called “What Women Want”.

Based on a 2005 Survey, it contains a great deal of information on topics such as relationships, HIV/AIDS, on how many women want to be President, among others.

One that I found very interesting revealed something about South African women’s attitude toward work. More than half of those surveyed said they felt very fortunate to have a job given the serious unemployment problem.

However—and this is the figure that I found encouraging—almost a quarter of the respondents said that their current job is a stepping-stone to a better one.

These women understand the wisdom behind the saying, “Work is the medicine for poverty.” And as we find work that pays better, we can lift ourselves and our families further up the ladder of prosperity.

Canada and Canadian firms are also actively involved in other areas, fostering prosperity here in South Africa through a variety of investments, corporate partnerships, and imports and exports.

Indeed, South Africa is, by far, Canada’s most important commercial partner in sub-Saharan Africa. Canadian business interests here in South Africa are strong, and are growing.

To get a sense of what I mean, consider that Canada-South Africa trade doubled in the last five years.

The strength of our commercial trading relations is reflected in our two countries’ sustained commitment—based on mutual interest—to further liberalize the world trading environment.

With the cooperation of South Africa, Canada remains committed to achieving a substantial and meaningful agreement in World Trade Organization negotiations.

We both seek an agreement that is equitable and favourable to the interests of the developing world.

Canada and South African share the strong belief that the creation of a free and fair international trading system is crucial if the developing world is to achieve sustainable economic growth.

However, regardless of what sector they are involved in, I am especially pleased to underline that all Canadian investors in South Africa are committed to achieving the objectives of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.

Some major Canadian investors have also implemented extensive programs to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on their workers and their workers families, and have invested heavily in related education, public health, and rural sustainable employment initiatives.

These Canadian initiatives have been acclaimed in South Africa as the standard for other investors to follow.

Most importantly, consistent with the skills development priorities of the South African government, Canadian investment will create sustainable knowledge-based employment in South Africa.

All these developments hold great promise for the people of South Africa, but clearly there is still much work to be done.

South African women and men must have the skills to succeed in these new industries.

Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, throughout Africa, women still lag behind men in terms of literacy, in terms of school enrolment.

The place to start working is education.

In the words of my grandmother, Dejanira, “knowledge is the key to empowerment and freedom.”

Throughout history, education has been the great leveller, giving people the expertise, the credentials and the credibility that break down false barriers based on class or privilege.

Education gives us the tools to make a valuable contribution to our world.

All of you are leaders in your fields, and in your neighbourhoods. Despite all the challenges you face, all the obstacles you have overcome—and are still overcoming!—you are successful.

In this year, the 50^th anniversary of the historic women’s march to the Union Buildings, I think it would be a wonderful occasion to celebrate what South African women are capable of, and to look to the future with a sense of hope and a new purpose.

On this continent, in this country, youth make up a large percentage of the population and looks for hope, for opportunities and perhaps, most of all, for examples to follow.

Women can be a source of inspiration for the children of this nation.

You and your fellow citizens have come so far in such a short time.

I know there is still a great deal to do, but when I look around this room, at the beautiful diversity of faces and ages, I have no doubt that your responsibility is to succeed and to work relentlessly to the overall empowerment of South African women.

But, in order to succeed, a woman must be able to flourish without constraints and without fear. It is a fundamental right.

As President Mbeki says, "As long as we do not stop women abuse, domestic violence, the rape of children, young and old women, we should know that we are still far from achieving the critical goal of the emancipation of women."

I thank you with all my heart.