Topco Media announces 20th edition of Top Women Leaders publication

15 Jul 2025

Standard Bank Top Women Leaders celebrates the gender empowerment journey of South Africa as seen through the lens of the publication. Since 2004, the Top Women brand has been South Africa’s leading advocate for gender empowerment, spotlighting organisations which have not only integrated this imperative within their operations, but achieved unparalleled growth because of it.

The brand has grown from strength to strength through its strategic alliances with organisations that share its passion for meaningful transformation, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, UN Women, the Commission for Gender Equality and our Platinum Partner, Standard Bank.

Topco Media announces 20th edition of Top Women Leaders publication

This milestone 20th edition will be launched at the prestigious Standard Bank Top Women Conference on 22 and 23 September at the Sandton Convention Centre.

A taste of some of the exciting content you can expect includes catch ups with our Standard Bank Top Women Leaders cover icons over the last decade. These include Leila Fourie, Group CEO at the JSE; Dr Anna Mokgokong, executive chairperson at Community Investment Holdings and chancellor of North West University; Caster Semenya, Olympic and world athletics 800m champion; Wendy Applebaum, business leader, philanthropist and chairperson of DeMorgenzon Wine Estate; and Professor Glenda Gray, chair of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) to name a few.

The editorial features cover a cornucopia of topics, looking at where we are in terms of GBVF, South Africa’s Young Global Leaders, AI, The Ripple Effect of Empathy, Top Women in Africa, Board Diversity, Sustainability and Scaling, Transformation, and The Importance of Networking.

We also celebrate the amazing women breaking barriers in typically male-dominated industries, with our 'Top Women Across The Board' section, shining a light on the women blazing the trail in the fields of tech, mining, finance, engineering and more! We also showcase the phenomenal award recipients of the Young Achiever of the Year; Entrepreneur of the Year, Business of the Year and Business Leader of the Year at the 2024 Standard Bank Top Women Awards! And last but by no means least for your edification is the index listing a selection of the top gender empowered companies in South Africa.

To find out more about the Standard Bank Top Women Leaders publication, contact Odelia Fester, Top Women Leaders project manager at az.oc.ocpot@retsef.ailedo.

DYNAMIC BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA Topco Media is one of South Africa's leading business-to-business media houses, producing high profile, relevant conferences and awards. Our conferences include Africa Tech Week, Standard Bank Top Women, Top Empowerment, Future of HR, National Business Awards and Future of Sustainability. We also produce authoritative and informative business and investment publications such as Top 500, Top Empowerment, Nelson Mandela 100 years to name a few.