Elizabeth Nerwande

"In the end, however, I realised that we are not meant to compete with our male counterparts but complement each other. The workplace does not need more women trying to be men, it just needs more women. It is undeniable that women generally bring a humane feel to work, a feeling which cannot be underestimated in ensuring psychosocial well-being in the workplace and a value that has an immeasurable impact on long-term sustainability"

"Ms Liz" as she is popularly known takes mentoring other women seriously."I am a living testimony of Lizs mentorship - you cannot be around her and remain the same."

"Ms Nerwande, for instance, demonstrated her dynamism by ascending to the top echelons of both the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe(CoMZ) and Mimosa Mining Company – where she is the Head of Corporate Affairs – despite the fact that she didn’t have the technical background when she switched to mining a few years ago, she had learnt quite a lot about the extractive sector while consulting for some of the country’s leading mining houses. She has since transformed herself into an expert of note in mining matters. “The Iron Lady of mining”, has also passionately worked towards the economic prosperity of all Zimbabweans, regardless of their gender, while also uplifting women who are still burdened by the disproportionate costs of mining, through various corporate social responsibility initiatives."

"A fact is that in mining, men have been the most dominant. But when it comes to competence from both sides (male and female), there must be a de-emphasis on gender and an increased weighting on competence. It must be understood that in some cases what men can do women can also do. Fortunately, in my career within the mining industry, I have also been given the honour to lead the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, as president, an honour that was given to me as a woman for the first time"

"It’s not about women, it’s about the industry that accepts women as co-part of the industry. The focus must be on understanding that women can do it too in the industry. De-emphasise competency either way. We must move away from strait jacketing women and say simply because we are women therefore our competence must be put to us to say somehow your gender defines your competency. No, we are humans. So, competence must be understood by both sets of gender"

"I believe there is a need for a deliberate policy to ensure that there is a greater representation of women in mining but that must not be at the expense of competence which also means that even men within the mining sector must come to an understanding that women too are equally good. For instance, at Mimosa, we now have female geologists, female metallurgists, and female surveyors. So sometimes it’s about how you move out from stereotypes. It is important to have essential guiding principles. In all one does, stay diligent, stay accountable and alert to your surroundings. Opportunity favours the prepared mind. Your future is hidden in your daily routine"