Save the date: 19 August 2010 (date to be announced - read more)

"We cannot speak of genuine liberation without integrating within that, the emancipation of women." - President Nelson Mandela, 1994 inaugural speech.

Eight years ago, Cell C introduced Take a Girl Child to Work Day® to address the under-representation of women in the workplace and the initiative has enjoyed unrivalled success ever since.

For one day every year Cell C encourages individuals and businesses in the private and public sector to host Grade 10-12 girl learners. By allowing girl children to experience the world of work firsthand, Cell C aims to show them the range of opportunities that await them in the job market, as well as provide them with positive role models.

Armed with the knowledge of all life's possibilities, girl children will have the power to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential. So far an estimated 350 000 girl learners across the country have participated in the project.

Why girl children?

A socio-economic imperative for South Africa

Achieving gender equality is a challenge that requires not only the institutionalization of anti-discriminatory measures, but also targeted interventions that create a platform for dialogue and social change. Take a Girl Child to Work Day® is one such intervention.

The initiative underscores the need to find sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by girl children. Some facts about South Africa's gender disparity: 

• Four out of ten girls become pregnant at least once before the age 20 -which leads to them dropping out of school.
• Even though over 50% of the South African population is made up of women, only 42,4% of women are employed
• Only 25,3% of Executive Managers are women
• Only 14.3% of Directors are women
• Only 7.8% of CEOs and Board Chairs are women
• HIV/Aids and child-headed families, as well as high levels of sexual abuse, rape and violence against women and girls are widespread.
• Underrepresentation in the corporate world and industries like Science and Engineering, Aviation and Information Technology continues.

2010 Theme: "Today a Girl, Tomorrow a Leader"

This year's theme is a challenge to young women and girls around South Africa to believe in themselves, to open their eyes to the possibilities around them and to make a difference in their own lives. It provides an opportunity for girl children to consider how the choices they make today will shape their future careers and change the world for the better.

Take a Girl Child to Work Day® is aligned with the global Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3 on promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and is endorsed by the department of education.

To view our endorsement letter from the department of education
click here.

To view pictures from past Take a Girl Child to Work Days click here.

Calling all TGCWD alumni

Join the list of other girl learners who have participated in Cell C's Take a Girl Child to Work Day® over the years. Share your story with Cell C. We would like to hear and learn from your experience of Take a Girl Child to Work Day®. What impact did the experience have on your life and where are you today in terms of your studies, career and personal life? By sharing this information you will not only help Cell C assess the success of this initiative, but also inform our plans for the future.

Tell us your story: please send your comments, experiences and suggestions by completing this form. All fields are required unless otherwise stipulated. 

Partially funded by Cell C since 2003, the Durban Music School was founded by Werner Dannewitz, one of South Africa's most experienced and devoted music teachers, with the aim of providing affordable musical education to young people and developing the musical talent of the KwaZulu-Natal area.

The school is situated in central Durban and provides tuition in music theory and practice. Lessons are offered on diverse music genres including classical and jazz, and are open to young learners aged ten and upwards. Great effort is taken to cater for each student's own musical preferences, and each student is guaranteed personal attention. Music lessons are taught during evenings and over weekends, enabling students to continue their school and/or academic education without interruption. The majority of students come from disadvantaged family backgrounds and are funded through bursaries.

In addition to its annual Christmas Concert, the school also holds an annual Cell-C Street Festival which has over the years become a highlight of the Celebrate Durban initiative. Thanks to the ongoing support of Cell C, the future of South Africa looks, and sounds, that much brighter.

Contact the Durban Music School at +27 31 304 1001 or e-mail durbanmusicschool@iburst.co.za

Cell C's support of education goes way beyond the classroom. As an extension of the Take a Girl Child to Work Day®, the company introduced the Career Choice Expo in 2007. Targeted at rural and disadvantaged learners in grade 9 to 12, the expo is held in some of the most remote areas within seven of the nine provinces.

To date the project has reached over 21 000 grade 9 to 12 learners from over 250 rural schools in 21 rural communities. In all, 230 companies, government departments, educational institutions and organisations participated as exhibitors at these expos. The Expos incorporated life skills for learners and career education guidance sessions for educators.

To view the Project Footprint, click here.
To view photos from past events click here.

Why did you postpone the Take a Girl Child to Work Day® project, what is the main reason for the postponement?
This decision comes in the wake of the announcement by SADTU that its teachers will embark on a full scale indefinite strike starting Wednesday, 18August 2010.

How does the teacher strike affect your planning in as far as the project is concerned?
The teachers play a pivotal role in the running of the project, particularly for companies who have formed a formal partnership with Cell C.  With formal partnerships, companies host 20 or more girl learners who are transported from their respective schools to the companies by Cell C. This requires adult supervision and educators act as chaperones on the day. Therefore it is imperative that we run the project in conjunction with the school management – i.e. educators and the school principal.

In addition, the pick-up and drop-off zones are at the actual school premises and therefore the safety of learners is our priority.

The postponement is a huge inconvenience to many private and public officials who’ve cleared their diaries to host girl learners – could this not have been avoided?
It was certainly not our intention to cause any inconvenience and postpone the project at such short notice but the strike necessitated this move.

Do you not think it is irresponsible to cancel at such short notice?
The safety of the learners is our primary concern and in addition, the teachers play a vital role in the Day.  Take a Girl Child to Work Day has not been canceled but rather postponed and we are fully committed to host this project at a later stage.  A new date will be announced shortly.

We believe other companies are still continuing with the project despite tomorrow’s postponement?
Cell C is aware that some companies are continuing with their programmes tomorrow. Cell C has reiterated the importance of the safety and wellbeing of the learners to these companies and we wish them success with their programme. 

How much money have you lost as a result of the cancellation?
We are not in a position to divulge such information.

When do you hope to postpone this project to – this year, next year, give us an indication?
As soon as schools resume, we will announce a suitable date.

To keep the momentum of Take a Girl Child to Work Day® going throughout the year, Cell C has launched the following three initiatives:

The Writing competition
Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be the President, the CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange or the host of well-known talkshow?
At Cell C we believe that every girl child has the potential to become a great leader. This writing competition asks girl children to imagine just that, and the winners are given the opportunity to experience the reality first-hand. With the involvement of our custodians who include among others; the Office of the President, CEO's of big corporates and leaders in the media and entertainment industry, Cell C has helped inspire hundreds of girls to break barriers and be the best they can be.

Girl Achiever Career Boot Camp
24th - 26th September 2010
This year Cell C will run a "Girl Achiever Career Boot camp" for the 100 winners of the writing competition.

The boot camp will be a fun-filled and empowering three-day workshop which focuses on careers, beauty and health. The aim is to get the girls to recognise their abilities, embrace their unique qualities, to love and respect themselves and to believe in their capacity to be future leaders.

The activities will address some of the personal issues and challenges faced by girl children and equip them with life skills that are needed for success. Our wish for the girls who attend the boot camp is for them to be inspired, encouraged, and affirmed. To be able to accept themselves as they are and aspire to more than what is conventional.

The workshop will use social networks like MXit and Facebook to extend the campaign and include all young South African women in digital conversations about careers, beauty and health.

Girl Child Bursary Fund
Cell C has introduced the Girl Child Bursary Fund Campaign to ensure that deserving girl learners are afforded the opportunity to pursue further education and training in 2011. Funding is raised through an SMS campaign, which encourages companies and the general public to support the initiative by SMSing the word "Girl" to 38060 at R10 per SMS. Cell C will match all contributions.

Cell C is pleased to report that to date we have received financial support from ABSA Bank in the amount of R200 000, in addition to the funds raised from SMS donations. Cell C will match all these funds.

Should you require any assistance or clarity on any issue relating to this project, please do not hesitate to contact us on the following numbers: 

Guide for all participating companies

Checklist for participating companies (Formal partnership)

Checklist for participating companies (Supporting and Informal partnerships)

Checklist for participating schools

Indemnity form for parent/guardian

Indemnity form for own transport

Certificate 2010

Thank you for your participation, but registration for Take a girl child to work day 2010 is closed.

How to participate for companies

There are three ways in which your organisations can participate in Take Girl Child to Work Day®:

Formal partnership

• Companies to host a minimum of 20 girls from a school selected by Cell C in cooperation with the Department of Education.
• Cell C will provide transportation for the 20+ learners to your workplace
• run introductory workshops for companies and schools being hosted
• supply guidebooks and promotional materials

NB: Cell C is offering the above option to the first 160 companies to register. (Option closed)

Supporting partnership

• Companies registering as supporting partners will host schools of their choice and also cater for their transportation.
• We encourage companies to partner with a school or schools from historically disadvantaged communities.
• Companies in this role will also receive promotional materials from Cell C

Informal partnership

• Companies registering as informal partners are encouraged to get their employees/staff to bring their girl children to work on Thursday, 19th August.
• To facilitated a smooth running of the project please download the check list

How to participate for learners

Hey there!

The Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® is dedicated to you. Each year Cell C provides you with the opportunity to learn more about the next steps toward your future career by allowing you to spend a day at work learning about all the career options available to you.

In partnership with various corporations, government departments and civic organizations, we open our doors to welcome you with a view to providing guidance as you make decisions that shape your future career choices. This opportunity enables you to actually see first-hand how the working world operates. Interested in jumping on board with this exciting project? 

• Find out from your teacher if your school is involved in the project this year. If your school has already been selected to be a formal partner in the project, Cell C will partner your school with a company that will host at least 20 girl pupils from your school on Thursday, 19th August 2010. If you're really enthusiastic to be a part of the project, ask your teacher if you can be one of the 20 pupils representing your school on Take a Girl Child to Work Day®.
• Other girl learners, like you, will spend their day at various companies, organisations, and government departments exploring the different career and job opportunities open to them. The girls and boys remaining in school won't be left out. They will still support the day by having discussions about gender differences and barriers to the success of girl children in South Africa.
• If your school is not in a formal partnership, nothing stops you from asking your parents / neighbors / family members if you could accompany them to work on the day. Keep in mind though, that this adult has to get permission from their superiors before taking you along to work with them Take a Girl Child to Work Day®. Should they agree, provide your school teacher with a written request to participate on the day. You must also make sure that your parent/guardian has completed an indemnity form that would be given to the coordinators of Take a Girl Child to Work Day® at their place of work.
• Ask your principal (or a teacher) to approach a company with whom they have a good relationship or one that is nearby to your school and ask that company if they would host girls from your school.

Boy learners

Cell C has developed a Take a Girl Child to Work Day® handbook that provides valuable information for boys, to help them in their career planning also helps them understand why there is a need to set aside a special day each year to help girl learners with their aspirations and future career decisions. The handbook includes a section on this year's theme of "change your world" and how it applies to boys, parents and educators.

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