#AWPOWERFIFTY: Dr Mpume Zenda
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur OR take your career in the direction you did? Is having your own business OR this role you are in something you always wanted?
I never thought I would go private and be an entrepreneur, but as I grew older and understood how I wanted us to do women’s health in a way that is meaningful to women in a way that I wanted to express myself, working in public became a bit of a restriction. For me it was always important, from the time it clicked to me that I wanted to be a gynecologist, a sexologist and obstetrician that, more than anything I wanted women who come to my space to feel safe, I wanted it to feel like going to a spa or just speaking to one of your girlfriends about sexual matters. I’ve never imagined myself as an entrepreneur but I love how it has stretched me and I’ve been able to express myself as a clinician, but also creatively in a way that is impactful to women.
Which woman has positively impacted you in your career/business? And what is the one lesson she taught you?
I would probably say there are three women who have really impacted me in a massive way. The first one I grew up with, my mother. My mom was not very easy, but I loved the way that she showed up, she is a retired midwife now. People used to just flock up to my house, to see her, ask for help, and there was always a kindness to what she did, and how she did it. Secondly, I call her my second mom, and my mentor is Prof Elna Machentosh. One of the things that stood up for me about Elna was just how I was just a young, naive clinician, and she took me under her wing. She was very affirmative in how she taught me all the things she has taught, affirming as a mentor, and one of the things that I probably learnt the most in running my business is that people want to be seen. I always say my greatest superpower is kindness and yet I’ve often felt like people don’t see it because it’s a very subtle skill. We often applaud people who are fierce, people who speak their mind, people who have climbed the ladder, and yet for me the most genuinely outstanding quality that I have learnt from Prof Macintosh, and is now my superpower is how she sees people, and her kindness. The third woman is, I've never met her in my life, but I genuinely hope and believe that maybe one day the heavens will open and our stars will align. It's Oprah Winfrey, and for me, it is less what she is currently busy doing or maybe not even doing. When you look at her life, the longevity of where she is now has not come easy, it has come through a lot of struggles. She had a very difficult life and sometimes we think we need to have it all figured out in our 20s and 30s. Yet, she really did peak in her 40s and 50s and now she's really enjoying probably the best and the fruits of all the work that she has put in. And so for me, that speaks of longevity. It speaks of there is no such a thing as success will come through, you know, shortcuts. And if you have any desire to see yourself grow, there is such an intentionality that you have to put in, in building yourself and building the foundations and building the networks and trust that in the right time, in the right season, you will have your moment as well. And if you have done all of those so-called behind the scenes, hard work, grinding, showing up and sticking to your guns about what you believe and are passionate about, there will come a time where you will have your break. Everybody gets their break. If you've put in the work, you will absolutely get that breaking point where suddenly your career feels like it's almost automated and you get opportunities that you thought you'd never get in a lifetime.
How do you define success?
When I was younger, I thought success was hitting my goals. I thought it was achieving the milestones in my career, becoming a gynae, then becoming and, you know, living in a particular place, having my own house, owning myself, having a family with, you know, a picket fence, two children and a dog. And then I realized, especially in the last two years, as I was approaching, it is being content with where I am, being okay with my best not being the same every day. Today I could be having you know the best day being productive but tomorrow I may be going through a depressive wave, I may be going through premenstrual syndrome and my best doesn't look like what it did yesterday, to be okay with myself regardless of where I find myself and whether I'm in a peak or a trial, and trusting that I'm still putting one step in front of the other and showing up, showing up as my I think what else has helped me to find success is raising my daughter. I always thought I'd raise my daughter in the perfect family with a dad, and that has not been. I'm eight years divorced, and again, it's about saying, what is in my hand? What has God placed in my hand, use that and give it back to Him and allow Him to use it, and my daughter has showed me that I'm still a great mom and I am loved as a mom regardless of whether I feel like I'm doing the best or I am, you know, sometimes you mess up, you have flaws. I think probably the guiding light for me when it comes to success is, am I being genuine, authentic? Am I putting my values that I find and believe to be important and pillars of who I am. Things like kindness, being genuine, things like how I treat people. For me, those are the things that reflect back at me in the mirror and I say, now that I'm aware of how and what and in what I can do better in, I'm gonna do my best to do better. So success for me is about, am I being true? Am I being authentic? Am I showing up as my best self, regardless of what that looks like at any given day and over and above, can I be kind to myself? Can I pat myself on the back whether I've shown up in my 20% or in my 80%
One insight for anyone interested in the industry you are working in?
I think there is supposed to be one insight for anyone interested in the industry you are working in. Being a doctor and having also pivoted into media, I always say whenever I've delivered babies and stuff. I have the most beautiful and smart babies but I always say, please don't become a doctor because it's hard. It's a lot of long years studying and sometimes you get to the other side and realize oh man it's not as pretty and glamorous as it is made out to be and sometimes people looking from outside in may think it's a very glamorous industry. So the one insight I would say is you can never be a physician if you've never been a patient. When you understand pain, when you understand vulnerability, when you have been through moments where you've had to kind of hand yourself over to the service and the help of someone else. The one hardest thing that particularly clients and patients experience across, I mean globally, is that they don't feel seen by their doctors, and if I had to advise or give insight on anybody who's interested in the industry, please make sure first and foremost that it’s something you love, it is the one reason that has allowed me not to only enjoy my work, but to show up, and still treat people the same way regardless of how I feel. Sometimes I'm tired, I don't want to go to work, but as soon as I hit the office, I'm like, ah, this is the space I love. When I see clients I am well aware because I've been in that position of being a patient that it is courageous to come in and bare yourself in front of somebody you don't even know and my space in particular because of the nature of it being about sexual health, we do exams that are quite invasive so to speak. Be respectful, love what you do and show up and absolutely be kind and see people.
What is your one key guiding principle in your work life
A friend of mine once pointed it out and it just clicked and made sense. She said to me, one of the things that is very interesting about you is that you're the same person whether you're at home, whether you're at the practice, you are the same. You wear your heart on your sleeve and for me I think that's what has been my guiding light; be you, whether people are seeing you at home, whether people are meeting you in the office. Be yourself. Be the same. Don't flip-flop and treat people a particular way because of who they are or what they do. Be you. Be true. Be authentic, and as I have mentioned, my greatest superpower is being kind. You don't know where people come from, you don't know what's happening in their lives.
What do you believe is the most impactful and immediate action your industry can take to accelerate gender equality through economic empowerment?
You know, when you look at the history of women's experience is not having, you know, accurate access or maybe not even accurate, adequate access to health care services. And very often it's the marginalized woman, it's the woman in the LGBTQIA category, whether it is the teenager, whether it is the elderly woman, we are so fixated very often to almost defining what the norm is, but it only serves a particular few. And one of the things that I believe would be really impactful when it comes to teens, for example. Can we cut out the nonsense of girls not having access to not only menstrual or sanitary products, but having safe spaces, safe toilets to be able to take care of themselves during that phase. That together with the ability for us as a society or even as an industry to talk openly about menstrual empowerment or period power, so it is. The second thing that I believe is very important in our industry is when it comes to sexual and reproductive health, we often kind of only speak about, you know, prevention, about HIV, and even in those particular spaces, women are often the ones who carry the burden of disease, be it HIV, be it cervical cancer. So, empowering women by educating them and also societally opening up conversations so that women don't constantly walk around feeling like there's something wrong with their bodies, that their bodies belong to somebody, that their bodies are a playground for somebody, that pleasure is something we give as a gift for someone else. I believe the more we can empower women to understand their bodies, love bodies and understand that they have the right and the authority of their own bodies. I think as an industry, we would have really done well because these are the things that will impact our economy, that will impact how women show up as themselves, that will impact women being confident and put their foot down about what they want and what they and not excusing some of the things we see when it comes to particularly gender-based violence, you know, it is the perpetrator that should be held accountable, not the woman who gets vilified about, what were you wearing? What were you doing at this time of the night? Who were you with? That's not the point. Can women be empowered and can men be held accountable and perhaps also taught and educated about consent must always be resounding. If it's not resounding, also taught and educated about consent must always be resounding. If it's not resounding, it's a no.
Three books that changed your life
The magic of thinking big by David Schwartz. Like from a business perspective, that was a game changer.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Amen, that book still kind of catches my heart, and it was beautiful to do it together with my daughter.
My ultimate favorite is the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, not just from a spiritual perspective, but from a self awareness perspective.
Apps you cannot live without
Audible
Social media platforms, Instagram: That's the way I connect with the world, I get to know what's happening around the world, and most importantly, for me, I get to share my passion, my love for women's health with people I may never be able to connect with at a personal level
Self care rituals that keep you grounded
Reading
I love my personal space, so spending time alone
I love exercising or keeping my body moving. I recently started learning salsa and kizomba as a way to kind of supplement because I was no longer enjoying gym, on a five day per week, regular.
Connecting with God, be it through prayer, or connecting with other believers, and spending some time reflecting.