Cirebelle celebrates the power of internal promotion

Cirebelle is actively committed to advancing women within the business. As an operation requiring work of quite a substantial physical nature, within a previously male dominated manufacturing environment, it is duly significant that the company currently boasts a total female staff complement of 54%.

Motivated by the desire to make a real difference in communities and South Africa as a whole, many of its female employees join through internship offers, or are mentored into higher-level positions and sent on training or skills development programmes, to help them to achieve their full potential.

From equity to opportunity

Jacqueline Mashankane is a living example of this commitment and Cirebelle’s emphasis on ‘equity to opportunity’. Mashankane joined Cirebelle in February as a sieve operator and was recently appointed to acting assistant supervisor. From Snake Park in Dobsonville, 25-year-old Mashankane decided to apply for the position after it was posted internally.

“I just told myself that the job was mine. I believe I’ve worked hard and did my best to know all the departments, even those outside of my own department. I’ve always made sure to go up to people and listen. I believed I could be a leader and I was one at school, so I knew I could do this,” says Mashankane.

Cirebelle has also partnered with and hired three previously disadvantaged and unemployed youths from the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.

A closer look at the company

Cirebelle is part of the Letsema Group. This means that a portion of profit from all the companies within the group goes towards supporting the activities of the Letsema Foundation. Both companies have a philanthropic company culture, expansive by nature and always seeking to make broader differences.

South African based, Cirebelle was founded in 2001 as a manufacturer of wax-based raw materials for the personal care industry. Cirebelle is innovation driven, offering high-performance solutions and specialist services. At the core of Cirebelle’s values is the belief that industry can be leveraged to positively impact social change. Cirebelle is a Level 1 B-BBEE organisation, aiming to act as a catalyst for social transformation, economic upliftment and sustainable development.

To celebrate Women’s Day, Cirebelle will be running a ‘women’s week campaign’ on Linkedin, acknowledging the real women in the business and presenting each of them with a token of appreciation.