Mabuyane Mabuza, affectionately known as Mabs, has painstakingly carved out a career for herself in a predominantly male-dominated industry – the automotive space.
It was no accident that Mabs ended up in the motoring sector. It was her destiny. Her dad started out as a bus driver and then later became a businessman in the taxi and trucking industries. He was, and remains, her biggest role model and hero. And the two share personality and character traits.
“Papa and I have always shared a strong and unbreakable bond. I admired his work ethic and drive. I always felt that I was more my father’s child than I was my mum’s, and it was natural for me to gravitate towards things he was passionate about.”
She attributes her success to her supportive, tight-knit family that nurtured her big dreams as a little girl growing up in Mamelodi, in Tshwane. As the oldest of seven siblings, she had to grow up fast and assist her parents with looking after her brothers and sisters.
Her foray into journalism was as a news reporter starting out at Pretoria News, followed by Citizen and then the Sowetan newspapers.
“Becoming a journalist meant that I could affect change, especially for my community as well as have the power to hold those in positions of power in government, business, and anywhere else, accountable for their actions”.
However, she was not satisfied and decided to follow her heart and branch into motoring journalism.
“The best career decision I ever made was swopping hardcore, news journalism and going into motoring journalism. Nothing could have prepared me for the cold harsh realities of an environment that was neither welcoming, supportive or appreciative of having a black woman in its lily-white midst.”
However, her career as a motoring journalist did not come easy, and had it not been for her steely determination, she would have quit earlier on.
“In the early days, I struggled to get even the most basic models, whereas junior white student journalists were always quickly placed in vehicles. I had two strikes against me – being black and female.
For many years, she was often the only female journalist at motoring launches and learned to deal with the reality of being the wrong colour and the wrong sex.
“I had worked hard and felt I had earned my stripes, but some within the industry still held reservations, just because one was a black woman”.
However, I was resilient and ever so determined to push back against a tide. Their resistance pushed me to work even harder than I had ever done in my life. I was not going anywhere.
Hard work and determination paid off. She became the youngest and first black female editor of a national motoring publication, Sowetan Motoring.
Mabs fought on and is proud to unlock the door of the motoring industry for other black women who come after her.
“I came in and I had to fight for my place and after me, I’ve seen quite a few black women entering the industry and that is a personal achievement.”
“I entered journalism with the desire to affect change in leaders of corporates and our government. I didn’t realize that I could affect change by inspiring those around me”.
Her longevity in the industry has seen her break boundaries. She effortlessly transitioned from print journalism to broadcasting, sharing empowering motoring content on national radio stations including Motsweding, Lesedi FM, and Metro FM, where she empowered listeners to know their rights and make the right motoring decisions. These days, she can be heard at Kaya959, where she is a resident motoring specialist, and continues with the thread of empowerment.
However, she always had her heart on starting a platform where she would speak directly to women and give them the kind of advice, she wished she had before she bought her very first car. And that marked the beginning of Xploreza – a travel, motoring, and lifestyle media that puts mobility at its heart.
As a way of ploughing back and uplifting others, she spends her time answering questions from women and individuals who seek information that will equip them to make better decisions on anything relating to motoring and mobility. That desire to formalise her approach resulted in an agony-type feature for motoring enthusiasts aptly named ‘Ask Mabs’, and no topic is too big for her. She brings her industry expertise and for questions she is unable to answer herself, she relies on the assistance of industry partners.
If you have a question, send an email to [email protected]
