Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages Sees Significant Progress in Women's Roles

Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) is using Women's Month to highlight its progress in increasing women's roles across its workforce. The company, which serves parts of the Western and Northern Cape, now employs around 27% women, up from a single female among 30 senior leaders in the mid-1980s.

According to Bryn Morse, CCPB's culture and people development director, training and development opportunities have helped create pathways for women into professional, technical, and operational careers. Morse notes that traditional perceptions around jobs such as driving and logistics have also changed, with some of their best forklift operators and truck drivers being female.

One example is Larochelle Bezuidenhout, who joined CCPB in 2005 as a seasonal truck driver and became the company's first permanent female driver in 2012. Bezuidenhout says she envisioned herself as an example for other females to follow.