Mmatsetshweu Ruby Motaung Has Won Women Authentic Leader Award

Mmatsetshweu Ruby Motaung Has Won Women Authentic Leader Award

• September 18, 2023

Mmatsetshweu Ruby Motaung, is an extraordinary woman who inspires those around her to be more and do more. She is firstly a mum, an everyday hero, a director, game-changer and role model who leads by example with courage, confidence, commitment, and integrity.

She uses her influence and position to inspire and drive change. Ruby is admired and respected for her resilience, leadership, and humility. She Stands firmly for what she believes in, regardless of the barriers.

She is affectionately known as Mam ‘Ruby by all those whose lives she has touched, impacted and is a part of.

Receiving the Women In Icon it’s a great honour and tribute to her journey of evoking transformative change in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector. I It is a great honour and privilege, for her, to stand among such distinguished women leaders of the world and receive this award.

IF RESILIENCE WAS A PERSON, IT WOULD BE MAM’RUBY. Her story is worth sharing and needs to be told…

Mam ‘Ruby is the Director for Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE). In her 26 years in education, her focus was on early childhood development with a specific focus on – curriculum development, policy development and children and youth literacy. She recently successfully initiated a collaboration of NGOs working with a university, a project that is looking at developing a Thinking Teacher through Access, Retention and Success in Higher Education towards building a quality ECD Workforce.

Mam ‘Ruby holds a Bachelor of Honours Degree in Education specialising in Whole School Evaluation and possesses a string of accolades and certificates in Coaching and Mentoring, Research Methods, Project Management, Fundraising Management   and  many more.

She worked on policy development with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) for many years. In her previous work, amongst other key critical roles, she worked very closely with the Department of Social Development – serving in the National Interdepartmental Committee (NIDC ECD), which is a structure that is working towards the implementation of the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (2015). Mam ‘Ruby serves on the ECD Intersectoral Forum, which serves as the mouthpiece of the community to DSD in policy implementation.

Her accomplishments over her many years of service include being a District, Provincial and National Trainer for which she has received certificates of acknowledgement. She supported development of  a National Reading Strategy for the National Department of Education and developed and gazetted a policy on a professional qualification in Early Childhood Education (ECD) from birth to 4 years of age. This policy marks the first time in history of ECD (Birth to 4 years) in South Africa that a formal set of professional and post-professional qualifications from Birth to 4 years has been formulated as a national policy.

She leads well in good times and in bad, setting an example of confidence, resilience and perseverance to her team.

Despite the setbacks, despite the turbulence, despite the hurdles and despite the disappointment, she is truly Resilient. The organisation is busy in preparations for their upcoming 40-year anniversary in 2024, and still going strong. She leads her team with not only passion but articulate focus on the vision.

She continues to be a ‘champion and advocate for ECD’ working relentlessly to help bring about change in the ECD sector through serving in many committees that are shaping the re-imagining of the sector.

Forming partnerships to evoke positive and transformative change in the ECD sector. The Leader who is going to change the Narratives and Retell her story…