Information is Power | Make Smart Career Moves Based on Data

Information is Power:  Make Smart Career Moves Based on Data | Join us on July 8 at 8 am (PST) for our TARATALK with Alutha Moshani, an IT executive at Sanlam, one of South Africa’s leading insurance firms. Alutha will share her story of how she became one of the senior Black women in IT at the Cape Town office. Hint: It’s a story of perseverance, passion—and purpose.

When Alutha Moshani discovered what careers were open to her in information systems, she switched out of psychology and enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce Information Systems program at Cape Town University. “I thought, ‘Wow, this sounds interesting. It’s way better than listening to people’s problems all day!” says Alutha with a laugh. “Plus, there were so many career opportunities, which was important to me because I wanted to find work so I could be independent but also help out my mother and younger sister.” Alutha grew up in her grandparents’ house with her mother, sister, three aunts and their children. “It had two bedrooms, a lounge, a kitchen and a toilet that was outside,” recalls Alutha. Later the house was expanded when her mother, who was working as a nursing aid, took out a housing subsidy available to government workers. “My mom is absolutely phenomenal. Twenty years ago, in South Africa, you didn’t have to study nursing; you just started working. My mom mostly worked as a cleaner until she returned to get her nursing diploma in her 50s. She always impressed upon us the importance of getting an education so we could be independent.” In our TARATALK, Alutha will share with Gotara founder and CEO D. Sangeeta,  her journey from her first role as a business analyst at Accenture to her position today at Sanlam. Along the way, she’s always advocated for Black women in her organizations, providing mentoring, coaching—and when needed, creating a space where they could share a good laugh or cry. She’ll share how she strategically learned to navigate rooms where she was often the only Black woman—and at times—the only one who didn’t speak Afrikaans fluently. “I must say it’s not easy—especially in South Africa, where we’ve had many, many years of racial segregation. It was only in the mid-nineties that we started seeing democracy in South Africa. I used my difference to my advantage, and it encouraged and motivated me to be better.”