Motsepe Foundation hosts 2026 Race to Gender Equality

Temo Mpodi

The Motsepe Foundation has welcomed internationally known athlete Caster Semenya and reigning Miss South Africa titleholder Qhawekazi Mazaleni as ambassadors for gender equality.

The appointments mark ten years of advocacy through the Foundation’s Gender Equality, Wellness and Leadership Centre. The selected ambassadors bring influence from athletics, fashion and pageantry. Their role is to inspire reflection and action around societal bias.

2026 Race to Gender Equality

The Foundation will host the 2026 Race to Gender Equality on 15 March 2026. The public walk and run takes place in partnership with the City of Tshwane and Athletics Gauteng North.

Participants can enter:

• 5km fun run
• 10km race
• 21km race

Each distance symbolises a commitment to confront conscious and unconscious bias. Focus areas include gender-based violence, unequal care and domestic labour, equal pay, access to capital, leadership representation, education, STEM, technology bias and legal equality.

A decade of advocacy

“This ten-year milestone recognises that while progress has been made, more work remains to achieve true gender equality,” says Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Co-Founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation.

“Sport is embedded in our culture. In South Africa’s past, it helped shift perceptions around racial inequality. For gender inequality, this is the cultural momentum needed to drive lasting change for the decade ahead.”

Education support and prize purse

Entry fees from the race will be donated to the University of Pretoria. Funds will support student tuition, registration costs and the reduction of historical debt.

Winners of the 10km and 21km races will share a total prize purse of R560,000.

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