The IT sector continues to be one of the most underrepresented industries, with only 23% of tech jobs held by women in South Africa, according to Women in Tech ZA.
Bophelo Makhetha, Emerging Technologies Product Manager at MultiChoice Group, believes the industry could do with more inclusiveness, “because diversity – of any kind – is very beneficial to combating bias”.
For Makhetha, a career in STEM was an obvious choice, as she thoroughly enjoyed mathematics when she was at school. Born and raised in the Free State, Makhetha studied towards a BSc in Computer Science at the University of the Witwatersrand - and is now using artificial intelligence (AI) to increase access to the plethora of content available at the video entertainment company.
“At MultiChoice, we are currently using artificial intelligence in a variety of ways; one of which is creating subtitles. This enables us to localise content faster and at a larger scale in order to offer our clients more entertainment options to choose from.
“Through AI, we can also improve accessibility for clients with disabilities to ensure we offer inclusive services,” adds Makhetha.
Artificial intelligence is a wide-ranging branch of computer science centred on building smart machines that are capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence – think of the development of self-driving cars or the growing use of smart assistants such as Siri and Alexa.
AI is being used in every industry imaginable, and innovative companies like MultiChoice are using AI software to create significant business opportunities and societal value. For Makhetha, this includes getting to work on cases that impact the average person in the street.
“There’s a certain appeal to working on exclusive apps and solutions, but doing work that impacts a majority of people across class demographics, is really satisfying. It makes it so much easier to explain what you do to almost anyone, and there is a level of satisfaction that comes from explaining to people, anyone, of any education level, how you have or can possibly make their lives easier.”
After completing her qualification at Wits, Makhetha started her career at MultiChoice’s graduation programme, which she describes as a “gruelling yet eye-opening” experience.
“We were given the opportunity to work at Tata Elxsi in India for five years - and that opened my eyes to a different level of work ethic and a different set of work pressures. I learned so much in that time and I truly believe my career would not be where it is had it not been for that opportunity.”
Makhetha wanted to focus on software engineering and left MultiChoice. She then worked for South Africa’s big banks and did consulting work.
“The opportunity to return to MultiChoice came at just the right time, when I was looking for a new challenge. Not only did I get to learn and apply new skills, but I got to use more of what I learned in my qualification than I ever did before.”
While Makhetha finds her career stimulating and rewarding in many ways, she is cognisant of the challenges faced by women in the space.
“During lockdown in 2020, while working from home, I realised that I was being as vocal in sharing ideas during calls as I was when in the office, because I always worried that my three-year-old son would interrupt. I’m thankful that I have a supportive boss who leads by example – when we would have calls, he would have his children in the background and that allowed me the freedom to be more comfortable about my situation.”
For women to thrive, Makhetha encourages them to take their careers into their own hands. “A lot of the time we don’t ask for what we want. For example, it is just as important that when you are in an interview, you ask the company about their culture and what support they can offer you. There is no point getting what seems to be a great job, only to be burdened with burnout or mental anxiety throughout your career.”