Zinzi Mgolodela - A Legacy of Legacies | Inspirng Women

How Zinzi Mgolodela Is Bringing Soul To Business at Woolies

By Fiona Wakelin & Koketso Mamabolo

For Zinzi Mgolodela, business has never been only about numbers. On her LinkedIn profile is a statement which reflects her purpose. She is “on a mission to bring soul to the world of business”, and she brings an understanding of the role of business in society as Director of Corporate Social Justice at Woolworths South Africa.

It was while studying for a business degree at the University of the Western Cape - an institution which gave her valuable insight into the impact of the country’s challenges - that her outward looking business philosophy was formed.

“And that was it. That made sense for me. And over time, I think my whole career has been focused on driving socio-economic issues in business and making them make business sense,” explains Zinzi.

Moreover, she has been defining business as a social enterprise. “And I think we’ve seen how people really want to connect with brands that have a ‘soul’. And I think my work does that.” Her role as Director of Corporate Social Justice at Woolies is a fairly new one, which she is still refining. “But it feels like an organic evolution for Woolies,” says Zinzi.

She explains that Woolworths has a very clear vision of being one of the most responsible retailers, having its foundations rooted around people and values. This makes a corporate social justice unit a natural progression.

“And it’s an exciting space because it really dials up the ‘S’ of our ESG commitments,” says Zinzi, referring to the company’s ESG strategy called the ‘Good Business Journey’ which the corporate social justice unit gives more impetus in terms of the ‘social’ aspect.

It’s about embedding human rights and ethical practices into the ethos of how business is done. “So my role is therefore to facilitate that for the business, define the strategy, facilitate it, and make sure that it spins across all our spheres of influence.”

Leaving No One Behind

The evolution into IJI was pivoted by a pilgrimage experience at The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town by the leaders of the business in attempt to deepen the conviction to transformation and crafting a collective vision.

One of the significant outcomes of the reflections at the Castle was a labour force wage commitment premised on the belief that a “minimum wage is not a living wage and a living wage is not a just wage.”

Through the reflections came the vision and mission for their corporate social justice programme. Even the IJI logo itself tells a story of three unequal letters (representing people) striving for equality, shaded in different tones to represent diversity. The Inclusive Justice Institute was set up as a separate entity to enable the work of inclusive justice within the business.

The Institute has two NPCs: one which runs Woolies’ community impact programmes and another focused on SMME development. The work of these NPCs is about fostering economic inclusion. “We reflected on how best to do this work with credibility, with good governance and also creating a space where this work could really, truly thrive almost outside, away from the business and commercial operations. And that’s the reason we set up the Institute.”

Through the Inclusive Justice Initiative, Woolworths is providing a platform for employees to “make a meaningful impact and rethink their roles through the lengths of humanity, which is quite exciting,” explains Zinzi. From the supplier base, to the workplace, to the stores, Zinzi says they have an opportunity to show up in a way that acknowledges that they are cognisant of injustices. This will also require a shift in thinking about what they are offering customers, how they can acknowledge the diversity in their customer base, and how they even use their buying power to foster economic inclusion in their supplier base.

A Commitment To Justice

What they’re doing might seem abstract, and some question whether Social Justice has a place in business becasue giving meaning to this type of work is a challenge, but this is a challenge she and the leadership of the organisation are prepared to tackle, admits Zinzi.

In doing this work, we’re tracking customer sentiment, particularly certain groups or sectors in our customer base that didn’t feel - according to research and focus groups - a sense of belonging with our brand.” And we're starting to see the positive impact on customer sentiment"

And in all of this authenticity is key. It is about real socio-economic impact which pushes the business forward in a sustainable way and contributes to a more sustainable economy. The company’s Inclusive Justice committee tests that authenticity, ensuring integrity is maintained in all endeavours.

This requires difficult conversations and knowing how to have them and ultimately grow on the other side. “It’s quite complex, it’s quite emotional. It’s deeply human,” she says, further explaining how no matter the extent that the process is done within an institutional framework it always becomes very human and “messy” and the growth which comes from this is borne out of conviction.

She refers to the work as a “legacy of legacies. “It acknowledges that we as an organisation, we’re going to leave a legacy, but as we do that, it gives everyone who works at Woolies an opportunity to leave a legacy. We’ve got beautiful individual stories.”

“I get calls from people being excited about doing something and having to think differently about their work in the context of inclusivity, ensuring there is no marginalisation and ensuring there’s equity and a sense of belonging. So those for me are the ‘aha’ moments and people get a lot of fulfilment. And I think when I’ve had a story like that, I go home really excited and really fulfilled.”

They unpack access and belonging in a deeper way, says Zinzi.

“What does access mean? Access is beyond making spaces and seeks to use language, tone and acknowledgment of difference as some of the other ways of inviting people and creating a sense of belonging.

And it’s not just in the workplace. Zinzi highlights how consciousness on power dynamics is important in this work. For example, an interaction between a big corporate like Woolworths and a SMME or an NGO requires consideration of what is inherent authority that the business has. They continuously reflect on the unconscious bias and stereotypes that emanate in different interactions.

“We are a microcosm of the world as such need to be able to deal with issues of marginalisation, discrimination and inequality. In fact, we’ve enabled through this work, leadership and people at Woolies to have difficult conversations.”