This week on Womanity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Sarah Babb, she is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, and co-founder and MD of Stimm. Dr. Babb’s passion for leading change through complexity began during South Africa’s democratic transition, where her involvement in student politics ignited a passion for justice, equality, and systemic change. Drawing on over 25 years of experience across academia, business, and social impact, she reflects on how women continue to navigate leadership in a world that grows ever more complex.

Despite representing 50% of the population and 46% of its workforce, too few women are occupying top positions in business. Statistics from a 2023 report of the top 40 JSE listed companies shows that only 10% of CEOs were women, only 25% of executive roles and 35% of board positions are held by women. Dr Babb unpacks the persistent gender gaps that hold women back from executive positions, ranging from entrenched stereotypes of “male” leadership to unpaid care work, to the confidence shaking effects of imposter syndrome. Yet she highlights how women’s natural strengths like empathy, collaboration, and human connection are increasingly vital in workplaces driven by AI, digital transformation, and global disruption.

The conversation also illuminates a lesser-discussed gender dimension: neurodivergence in women. Dr. Babb explains how girls and women are often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to masking behaviours and diagnostic biases, delaying recognition of conditions such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia. Whilst these conditions can challenge affected individuals because they deviate from mainstream expectations, neurodiverse individuals bring unique strengths, sometimes in creativity, deep problem-solving, innovation, and resilience, which can enrich teams and organizations.

From her own late ADHD diagnosis to the inspiration of her mother and grandmother, trailblazing women who carved new paths in restrictive times, Dr. Babb’s story is deeply personal and profoundly motivating. She calls on women to continually reinvent themselves, support one another in breaking glass ceilings, and claim their space in building workplaces and societies that are both digitally advanced and humanity-centred.

Her closing message to women and girls everywhere is one of determination and hope: “Don’t give up. Keep stepping into the new version of your shiniest, noblest self; because there’s always more.”

Tune in for more…