Ms Happy Masondo (BA, LLB, LLM (Wits) LLM (Duke)) is a senior corporate lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, with specialist skills in public interest law, constitutional law, renewable energy projects, information technology (IT), corporate governance, regulatory advisory services and public-private partnerships.
Ms Masondo has advised a wide range of clients, including private and public companies, state-owned entities, energy companies, financial institutions, construction and engineering firms, listed organisations, telecommunications companies, and information and technology firms.
In her final year of studies of her Bachelor of Laws, Ms Masondo was awarded the Morris Zimmerman Scholarship, which not only paid for her final year but also earned her a period of two years as an articled clerk at the Legal Resources Centre (Johannesburg), where Ms Masondo began her legal career as a candidate attorney.
After qualifying as an attorney in 1996, Ms Masondo became a research assistant to Justice Arthur Chaskalson, the then President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and later became the Assistant Legal Advisor to President Nelson Mandela during his last 18 months in the Office of the Presidency.
With broad and varied experience across numerous sectors, Ms Masondo is held in great esteem in the legal and business arenas in South Africa and further afield.
In the legal arena as a woman: Happy Masondo shares her view from the top
1. Are women-led businesses treated with the same respect and opportunities as their male-led counterparts?
It depends on the industry and the type of leadership role they are in. As a lawyer, I am aware of a handful of women-led and women-owned law firms that are accorded significant respect and opportunities similar to those accorded their male counterparts. As a non-executive director, in my experience there are fewer women sitting on Boards of Directors (BoDs). I am the only female board member at PSP.
2. As a business leader, do you think your earnings match, exceed or are lower than those of men in the same or similar positions in your industry?
As a non-executive director sitting on various BoDs, I have absolutely been accorded the respect I have earned. As a partner and director in the former law firm, I certainly earned what I worked for because the earning structure was such that we all “ate what we killed”, so to speak, so if you didn’t kill then you simply didn’t eat.
3. Are you given the same opportunities in business as men are, whether that be positions in leadership; training initiatives; ability to earn bonuses? Please state why you believe you are/are not given the same opportunities.
Both in the legal profession as a partner and director in law firm, I earned according to what I brought into the law firm. Similarly, as a non-executive director, I earn the same fees as those of my male counterparts.
4. In your opinion, has government and the business sector made lasting changes to women’s positions in business in the last 5 – 10 years? Please give examples or reasons where possible.
I am not sure I understand this question. However, to the extent that the question means that over time have changes to women’s positions brought women to a 50/50 position to their male counterparts in government and business, the answer is a resounding NO. Women are yet to achieve equality and/or equity in respect of their male counterparts in government and business.
5. What inspirational quote inspires you as a woman in business?
“It always seems impossible until it is done.”
President Nelson Mandela
