Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane is a black female success story in modern South Africa. From humble apartheid-era beginnings in Peddie in the Ciskei, she now heads up one of the leading coal export terminals in the world and influences the upper strata of corporate South Africa. But stories like hers are all too rare, even in an age of increasing female empowerment. Passionate about women (and youth) development in Africa, she wants to hasten the change and see more women thrive.

In Finding The Woman Within, Siwisa-Damasane recounts the struggles of her upbringing and the lessons she has learnt in her path to the top, from the challenges of completing her schooling after becoming a teenaged mother to managing corporate dynamics when she’s the only woman in the room.

The book offers simple lessons for transformational leadership from a woman in a man’s world covering, among other topics, the importance of personal responsibility, inclusive leadership, employee engagement, positive management of corporate politics, work-life balance and continuous learning.