The following stories from South Africa are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."
STORY BY JOYCE CHIFAMBA
Working in the HVAC industry was the best choice I ever made. Training in Zimbabwe was hard, but I managed to sail through. I had trainers who were so patient; I appreciate all their effort. I was taught to do all my jobs alone so that I didn’t have to depend on someone.
My husband’s brother was the person who encouraged me to do refrigeration and air-conditioning. I just liked the way he was working and his lifestyle, and so I just had to do it.
My challenge was getting a job when I moved to South Africa. I had no experience because immediately after my training 
my husband didn’t want me to work. I had to stay at home for a year. By the time I moved to South Africa I didn’t have the confidence, but I had to work for my family because my husband was out of work as well. Besides, in South Africa the HVAC industry is white and male dominated. So, it was also a challenge for me to get a job. There was a time I decided to buy tools so that I could do the small jobs that I could find and that was my breakthrough. I met my first employer. It didn’t last for other reasons, but anyway now I’m working for a bigger company. I’m at one of their sites which is a government complex. I maintain their chillers, air cons, heat pumps and refrigeration units. I also do their fans and air handling unit.
My challenge here when I started was my assistance. I work with four men who are all older than me. In South Africa it’s not easy for a black man to submit to a woman, let alone a foreigner. We had to sit and talk on many occasions. Some people advised me to ask for another team from my boss, but I believe in giving people second chances and now we are working just fine.
When I repair something that a man couldn’t, I feel so proud of myself. I also enjoy when a man is holding a ladder for me while I’m doing the job. I like it even more when people notice.
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STORY BY ILANA M. KOEGELENBERG
I landed in the RAC industry by pure chance. After a two-year stint as an agricultural journalist, I was eager to move to the big city and answered a job advert for a “senior journalist» in Johannesburg.
At that point I had never given much thought to the RAC industry – my education was purely journalism-based. The company (Interact Media) was looking for a senior journalist, and at that point I didn’t even know which magazines I would work on. I was given Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Africa (RACA) Journal and Cold Link Africa – titles I had never even heard of previously. I was 24.
I started on a Wednesday, and the publisher informed me that by the Monday I had to submit two project site visit articles and a 2,500-word feature on compressors! Needless to say, I was in way over my head. I knew about trade and technical publications, but the sector was new to me. But I made it work.
It was incredibly tough at first. Being female and under 30 really put me at a disadvantage. Initially I came up against many stubborn engineers and consultants who challenged every question I asked with, “What do you even know? You’re not an engineer.” I still get that today, but now I can hold my own and I’m no longer as intimidated as I was when I started.
It was supposed to be a temporary job but the industry sucked me in. I worked my way up to assistant editor and 
eventually editor, taking on the responsibility of both magazines, complete with their accompanying online platforms and social media accounts. RACA Journal is a monthly 120-page printed magazine – so it really is no small task to put this together single-handedly. I have a few contributor writers I manage, but, other than that, the whole magazine falls in my lap.
I spend my life running around the industry, attending events and climbing up ladders to check out chiller plant rooms. I travel a lot to the international shows like Chillventa and recently came back from Mostra Convegno in Milan. In between I work long hours and most weekends to make sure the South African industry (and beyond) stays up to date with the latest and greatest in HVAC&R news. (I don’t think I’ve taken a lunch break since 2013.)
Starting with no background at all, I’ve grown myself and my knowledge to a point where I’ve been to presentations at events on the state of the industry, and even the official local associations send international queries my way to answer instead. I never pass up an opportunity to learn and better my knowledge, asking as many questions as it takes for me to get the real story.
It’s still difficult being female in such a male-dominated industry. I either have to defend myself and my position, justifying why I’m even there – or I have to fend off inappropriate advances during events when some guys have had too much to drink. Most meetings I have with first-time clients/readers always start off with me first having to prove myself and my knowledge before they are willing to entertain my questions.
But I’m passionate about the industry and what I do. I’ve worked hard to elevate the publications and the South African RAC industry. I don’t stand back for anyone, no matter their age, education, or gender – I will fight for my titles, always. I pride myself on not merely reporting on the industry but being part of it. I sit on the policy-making committees for the refrigerant phase-down regulations, and I’m very involved in promoting WorldSkills and education in general. We’re not just a publishing house; we create communities.
You have to understand... I grew up in a very small town called Clanwilliam in the rural area of the Western Cape. I couldn’t speak proper English until I went to university (I was raised and educated Afrikaans-speaking), and I was 19 the first time I even got on a plane or saw Johannesburg. Everything has been a very steep learning curve, but I was incredibly ambitious and determined to get to the top.
I’ve fallen in love with the RAC world since. Even if my friends find it incredibly boring when I point out HVAC equipment to them when we go to movies and nobody appreciates my lame jokes about “cool” things, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m that girl who drives around with a hard hat in her car boot and spends more time in plant rooms than at her desk – but it’s so exciting!
I’m currently involved in organizing the local FRIGAIR Expo (our own mini version of the trade shows) and putting together the three conferences: three ASHRAE workshops, the first shecco ATMOSphere Africa event, and the SAIRAC association free-to-attend seminars. It’s all about educating and uplifting the industry in Africa and the excitement is truly contagious. On an international level, I have regular contact with my peers and have especially close ties with the ASHRAE Journal, JARN and the IIR.
All the people I studied with are working as news journalists on other, more well-known, consumer publications. But I’m happy with my choice. Why be one of a hundred journalists covering a story when I can be THE ONE?
It may not be the most glamorous career path, but it definitely is super interesting! Now if anything even remotely RAC-related happens in South Africa, I’m the one they call.
