Female twins in the motoring industry prospering in a man’s world
Meet the twins, working at Ford, who are taking the motoring industry by storm…
Winnie Ntuli and Queen Mokhonoana (34) are sisters that both work at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant. In 2004 they were both hired as the first female CO2 welders for the chassis line in the Assembly Plant’s body shop.
Winnie and Queen have worked at Ford ever since then, though some things have changed. Queen currently works for the Materials Planning & Logistics (MP&L) department as an internal auditor and Winnie is a team leader in the Advanced Quality Assurance (AQA) department, ensuring team members adhere to Ford’s vehicle quality standards.
We caught up with the Ntuli twins to find out more about their journey in the motoring industry…
When did you first decide that you wanted to work in the motoring industry and what drew you to it?
When we attended career guidance counselling in high school we realized that most of the women were not into engineering and this was when we decided to be different. We grew up in an interesting environment with a family of sisters and when things broke, we had to fix them ourselves. Winnie was usually the fixer.
After graduating from high school we attended Soshanguve Technical College where we got the opportunity to take part in a learnership programme at August Läpple South Africa – currently known as MA Automotive Rosslyn. It was during this programme that we learnt about the motoring industry and where we decided we wanted to acquire more skills – especially in welding (TIG, co2, Spot welding and brazing) so that we could become a part of it. We started developing a passion for the industry.
What have been some of the challenges that you’ve faced as women in the motoring industry?
As the first two ladies to do co2 welding in the Body Shop chassis line at Ford South Africa’s Silverton Assembly plant, it was a challenge as the environment was not that welcoming at first. There was a general assumption that ladies cannot weld, but we ignored those sentiments and did our best to prove that we could do the job as well as anyone.
Please tell us what an average day at work entails.
Queen – My daily activities consist of a few meetings in the morning before conducting planned internal audits for Ford Motoring Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA). Every day I have to ensure that compliance standards are adhered to and that work procedures are in place, reviewed, and updated.
Winnie – As a team leader at the Assembly Quality Assurance (AQA) my day includes a start-up check every morning, tracking absenteeism, line balancing, and ensuring that all team members adhere to safety standards. It is my responsibility to make sure that inspections on all vehicles are complete so that we can deliver quality vehicles to our customers. I also compile reports and prepare documents for shift handover meetings.
It must be lovely that you’re both able to be in the same industry and work together as sisters. Does it make a difference to your workday to have each other?
Yes it does, it is wonderful to work together in the same company because we get to see each other every day. We get to share ideas (we believe that when an idea comes to mind it means God wants you to act on it otherwise he would not give you the idea) and assist each other each day. We are able to support each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Another thing is that we are very social and sympathetic, so we get along well with our colleagues – even though some still find it difficult to tell us apart. We feel so blessed and honoured to work for Ford because we have good relationships with our colleagues and we feel loved. We both like the same things, and we even invite each other to our departmental meetings. We are members of the Ford choir, peer educators, support charity work, and, generally, we just love being twins.
We love that you’ve started your own non-profit organisation to help women and children in disadvantaged areas, please tell us how the idea came about and how our readers can get involved?
Winnie attended a meeting at a school in Soshanguve and discovered that the bathrooms were not user friendly and the hygiene was a concern, so she met with a friend who was an ambassador for the ‘Pad a Girl’ campaign. They shared some ideas and decided to make an appointment to visit the school, buy and distribute sanitary towels to the young girls, and teach them about menstrual hygiene.
We formed a group and registered a non-profit organisation called The Nomhle Foundation, in honour of Winnie’s deceased baby daughter – Nomhle who was born with Down Syndrome. The foundation is meant to advance and better community lives and standards, and educate families on subjects they feel uncomfortable discussing with their girl children. There are other projects that we are looking into going forward – buying school uniforms for children from disadvantaged families, buying food parcels for the families, and visiting families and homes with children born with Down syndrome.
What would your advice be to other women who want to work in the motoring industry but are perhaps put off or intimidated by it being a ‘man’s world’?
Things have changed; some professions that have been traditionally male are changing right in front of us. Many women don’t believe in what is called “a man’s world” hence we see a lot of them in construction, farming, motor industries and others.
Our advice to women who want to work in the motoring industry is never to feel intimidated. Working in the motoring industry is exciting, inspiring, and rewarding.
You have the potential and ability to do and excel in an equal world. Working in the motoring industry is exciting, fun, inspiring – you get to understand things from a male perspective and it feels so good to know that there are things women can do so well – like holding a welding gun, so the industry needs more females.
Also read: Advice for women wanting to be in the motoring industry