In recognition of her years of tireless work towards promoting inclusivity and diversity in business, Pretoria-based businesswoman and entrepreneur Mariam Cassim CA(SA) has been selected as one of six finalists from nearly 900 entrants in the Inclusive Leader Award category at the upcoming Gender Mainstreaming Awards.

Now in its tenth year, the prestigious awards ceremony aims to celebrate the many achievements of SA’s most influential and inspiring women, while the Inclusive Leader title is given to those who have championed and empowered other women in business throughout their careers.

Cassim was chosen for her meaningful impact on the South African business landscape, having launched one of the country’s most successful sweets businesses, while creating a platform for other women to succeed and thrive within their careers.

As co-founder and Financial Director of Richester Foods, Cassim drove her company’s growth from a small start-up into one of South Africa’s largest sweets producers within the space of just 17 years.

Cassim and her partner began the company by mixing the sweets’ ingredients by hand in buckets. Today, under her guidance, the company employs more than 650 employees, operates out of 11,000m2 manufacturing facilities, and has its sweets on the shelves of wholesalers, Cash ‘n Carry’s, and informal stores nationwide.

“I have always set extremely high expectations for myself, which is one of the reasons that Richester Foods is the success that it is today,” she says. 

“I fully believe that women already have all the talent they need to succeed in business – they simply need the opportunity to learn and prove themselves, which is why Richester has always emphasised giving our staff the guidance and career options they need to grow as leaders.”

Pioneering inclusive business practices

Notably, Richester’s top eight managerial team are all people of colour, half of whom are also women.

The three other leading women in this team all began their careers at Richester Foods as entry-level clerks. Cassim hand-selected each for personal mentorship towards fulfilling their leadership potential, and today, each runs her own department or business unit within the group of companies. One is even the only female leader of a packaging company in the entire country.

Following the success of her personal mentorship programme, Cassim then instituted a company-wide, female-focussed mentorship programme four years ago which partners new employees with experienced staff with the aim of nurturing and raising more women through the company ranks.

Under her helm, Richester Foods also emphasises self-development, making company-subsidised educational courses part of employees’ performance measurements. Likewise, Richester Foods has implemented a holistic approach to staff well-being, providing monthly sessions for employees to meet with a personal career guidance coach and an emotional intelligence coach.

Finally, Cassim stands firm in her belief that women are as capable as any man, making hiring decisions purely based on merit rather than gender, and ensuring gender pay parity at every level of the company.

And as a direct result of Cassim’s positive influence on her employees, staff turnover at Richester Foods remains less than 1%.

“I’m truly humbled by the nomination, and to be in the company of the many other inspiring women and award finalists,” says Cassim.

“I would also like to encourage all other business leaders to be a part of driving meaningful change in their organisations by creating the necessary pathways for women to succeed – I believe that they would be amazed by the results.”

Cassim will be celebrating the immense power and dedication of women in business with her fellow finalists at the Gender Mainstreaming Awards ceremony at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on 06 October 2022.