PhD student in Industrial, Organisational and Labour Studies in the School of Social Sciences Ms Nchafatso Pitso recently made the 2022 Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans List.
‘I am both thrilled and honoured to be recognised for such a prestigious award under the Law and Justice category especially since my PhD research at UKZN looks at the issue through the lenses of corruption and the shadow state, and examines the efficacy of the Zondo commission,’ said Pitso.
She was part of the exciting hybrid event – an awards ceremony held at the iconic Market Theatre in Johannesburg alongside a virtual livestream via the 200 Young South Africans website.
Mail & Guardian editor-in-chief Mr Ron Derby said, ‘In this year’s instalment, we looked at innovators and creators of viable and non-conventional solutions through convergence with technology, who are helping to create an equitable future where every person has access to resources and opportunities that provide professional and economic parity, enabling them to live prosperous and fulfilling lives.’
Pitso’s academic career also includes an honours degree in sociology from Nelson Mandela University and a master’s in industrial sociology from the University of Johannesburg. She was the youngest managing director at 20 Elevation Construction and Landscaping, a construction, waste management and logistics company. She worked there from 2019 to 2020.
She believes that ‘it is critical to not let fear prevent you from taking the steps needed to achieve your goals. Listen to your heart, no matter how scary it seems.’
As an Industrial Sociologist she focuses on the Sociology of work, examining the direction and implications of trends in the technological change, globalisation, labour markets, work organisations, managerial practices and employment relations to the extent to which these trends are intimately related to changing patterns of inequality in modern societies and to changing experiences of individuals. She looks at ways in which workers challenge, resist and make their own contributions to the patterning of work and shaping of work institutions.
