Kovini Moodley Founder of Boss Babes of South Africa, is a practising Chartered accountant who is passionate about driving transformative change, by breaking barriers and changing narratives through her female, digital empowerment platform that fosters inspiration for all women of SA. We chat with Kovini about women's empowerment and the important contribution women have made in our world.
GLAMOUR: Who is the most influential woman you know?
KOVINI MOODLEY: I admire Oprah. Michelle Obama and Viola Davis, are powerful, authentic women and their opinions on life, success, and challenges have shaped my journey positively. It is important to have aspirational women who align with your own value systems and utilise their voices to redefine the meaning of success.
My mum and twin sisters (who are doctors, Dr. Melisha & Dr Trisha) are my daily influential support and have been with me through the challenges of life, my biggest cheerleaders to date. They keep me grounded and are always inspiring me to be the best me.
GLAMOUR: What are some of the biggest challenges that women face today?
KOVINI MOODLEY: As the founder of Boss Babes of South Africa, a leading digital empowerment platform in South Africa, we often engage with influential SA women to redefine narratives that women face in today’s world.
Some of the leading challenges are around, workplace discrimination, pay parity, and disrespect. Women are often soft targets for less secure male counterparts and are often forced to endure various forms of trauma and abuse over prolonged periods, bearing in mind the fear of being victimised or labelled as “difficult” or “too much”.
Based on my own lived experiences, many of the above challenges resonate with me. These challenges need to be addressed through conversations and solutions to drive a sustainable future for women. We need to strive towards creating spaces where there is psychological safety, and where women are heard, seen, and valued.
Our aim at Boss Babes of South Africa is to redefine the narratives at play and forge a more equitable path for women, we do this through regular inspirational and uplifting content across our social media platforms and regular GO Live sessions with leading influential women who share their stories of hope and success with the community.
GLAMOUR: Which achievement made by feminists are you most thankful for and why?
KOVINI MOODLEY: Definitely, the awareness around pay parity, which I was unaware of until it was raised in the public domain.
Secondly, it is the right to access education, I believe that education and access to it has the power to change lives and it is important for both men and women to have access to it. It is a fundamental human right in my view.
Thirdly I believe that feminists have redefined beauty standards, I believe that they have created awareness around women living and showing up as their authentic selves (makeup or makeup-free). Living the best version of yourself is totally up to you and there is power in redefining what that looks like for you. Societal expectations should be reflected with respect to what a woman looks like, speaks like, and resonates with, there is no blueprint in life. Be the best version of yourself, always.
GLAMOUR: What are some important contributions women have made to our world that are important to you?
KOVINI MOODLEY: As an avid traveller, and globetrotter, I recall waiting on others to co-ordinate trips overseas, after watching many inspirational women take on solo travel expeditions, I was inspired to follow suit. To date I have been on many solo excursions, focusing on up close and personal animal encounters, I have drawn on my own personal strength and leveraged the knowledge of other solo female travellers to maximise my travel experiences.
Secondly in the world of marketing and advertising, there is significant representation i.e. different body shapes, relatable women, professional women, and diversity on screens which is most refreshing. The recent Barbie movie is a bold advocation of many contributions of powerful women for powerful women. It highlights many of the realistic scenarios that women face daily.
GLAMOUR: What advice would you give your 18-year-old self about achieving your goals?
KOVINI MOODLEY: Never allow anyone to dim your light, be brave in your vision for life, for often it is only a vision that you can see. Bravery allows us to leverage our unique strengths and skills, I also want to reiterate that your dreams are valid and it is OK to take up space, own your voice, and own your personal power.
GLAMOUR: What’s your message to women in business?
KOVINI MOODLEY: Being a female entrepreneur is a marathon and not a sprint, make sure that you have a strong support system and an inner circle who support your dreams and vision for your businesses. It is important to also ensure that the necessary legal, trademark, and compliance aspects have been adhered to in order to ensure that challenges around these aspects are minimised. Having an engaged mentor who can steer and guide you and who has walked a similar path is also a key success factor in running a successful business. Lastly ensure that you know your “WHY”, it will help you through the difficult days, when you clearly understand your purpose and how it is aligned to your business.
GLAMOUR: The best advice you’ve received to date and who was it from?
KOVINI MOODLEY: The best advice I received is from a friend who has since become a mentor:
Never allow the opinions of others to define who you are, only you truly know who you are, so make sure that you are the one who gets to tell your story, it is through sharing our unique stories and our lived experiences that we are able to shape the world to inspire generations beyond our own and drive transformative change in South Africa.
