By Wendy Jasson Da Costa
They're literally commanders-in-chief, women who make the country tick. Yet all of them shy away from the limelight, preferring to just "get on with it".
And, despite their high-intensity and time-consuming jobs, these women all believe that giving back to the community and country is crucial.
One of the most powerful women in the country is Dr Motlatjie Anne Letsebe.
Affectionately known as "Mama Anne", her motherly nature and insistence that she is just a "background" person belies the powerful position she holds.
Letsebe is a deputy director-general in the Presidency and head of the cabinet office.
No decision is made in government without her knowledge.
She initially joined the Presidency as the chief director for social sectors in its policy unit in 1998.
She says, like the others who started with her, she was filled with trepidation because of the gravity of the task. "You are sitting at the heart of government, you are listening and hearing all the things that government does."
However, it was Thabo Mbeki, who was deputy president at the time, who allayed their fears.
"He said: 'You are going to be able to do this work, because all of us didn't go to school for this work You'll learn and you'll get to do it."'
In 2001, she became head of the cabinet office and says its main function is supporting the cabinet in managing the business of government.
Letsebe says it's a challenging job and they all need to be good writers, have analytical skills and, most importantly, integrity.
"You need to be a certain kind of person (for this job). You need to be willing to work 24 hours if needs be, because they can call you anytime to come and help to do this or that."
Recently, she says, everyone worked until midnight to finish a particular job, "but the people that we work for (also) work like that".
Her office is also responsible for ensuring that documentation is in order, cabinet schedules are aligned with those of parliament and that projects don't fall by the wayside.
"You assist in putting together agendas you need to help cabinet monitor themselves and help them hold themselves to account."
Letsebe insists she is an activist, and will never be a politician.
And she constantly stresses the importance of integrity, saying that because they have access to highly confidential matters, they are constantly vetted and even undergo polygraph tests.
That's to ensure that nobody leaks information and documents, because "you could do a lot of damage to government".
A social worker by profession and University of Witwatersrand lecturer for 17 years, Letsebe's main passion is youth development.
This was also the basis for her PhD thesis in social work, which focused on young people in multiracial schools.
Unfortunately, she doesn't get time for much else apart from work these days, and even her exercise routine is often two brisk walks around the Union Buildings in the evening, before settling down for another extended period of work.
However, her colleagues say no story about "Mama Anne" is complete without mentioning her legendary yellow Beetle.
Very proudly, she recounts how it survived the June 16 uprising in Soweto because pupils from Meadowlands High lifted the car and moved it into the street before the compound where it was parked was set alight.
Nothing but the Beetle survived, and she still has the car.
Another key post is that held by Bongi Kunene, who heads up the private office of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Armed with a MSc in development economics from the University of London, Kunene was based in Washington for a number of years as a senior adviser to the executive director of the World Bank.
She eventually returned home to Gauteng, where she was the head of the department for economic development.
Kunene has been in Mlambo-Ngcuka's office for the past year, and says the "joy" of the position is that no day is the same.
She says the role of the office is to create "coherence and seamlessness" and act as a "go-between" for the cabinet and government.
Her job is to co-ordinate Mlambo-Ngcuka's programmes, like the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, the Joint Initiative on Priority and Scarce Skills Acquisition, the 2010 Fifa World Cup, and South African National Aids Council.
Kunene says theirs is a vibrant office because Mlambo-Ngcuka is a person "who makes things happen".
Despite her achievements, Kunene has just passed the 40-year-old mark and says it's important that young women do not settle for second-best.
She says a "sideways" career move is not a bad one and that networking is vital because often it is not just one's "cleverness", but also who you know, that can get you to your goal.
"Don't stay too long," she says, if a job does not give you what you want.
Kunene's colleague, Dorothy Motubatse-Hounkpatin, believes it is strong family and community support that helps propel women.
As an MP and the parliamentary counsellor to Mlambo-Ngcuka, her core function is to be a link between the deputy president and parliament.
Motubatse-Hounkpatin's role is to liaise with the speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces to ensure the smooth running and management of parliament.
That's because the deputy president is also responsible for ensuring "there is smooth passage of legislation from the executive, cabinet and parliament".
Motubatse-Hounkpatin says her job is to be on top of all that's happening in parliament and to keep the deputy president informed.
They also have to ensure that ministers and the deputy president are available to field questions from MPs in parliament.
Her job means that she lives between Cape Town and Pretoria, but she says an advantage of working for a woman (Mlambo-Ngcuka) is that she understands what it's like to be a mother and a wife.
Motubatse-Hounkpatin, the mother of a six-year old "laatlammetjie" called Caleb, says even Mlambo-Ngcuka makes time for her youngest, who is still at varsity, and helps him with his work.
However, all the women in the Presidency say they don't like to tell people where they work.
"They think it's glamorous and that you walk on a red carpet," says Motubatse-Hounkpatin. She says the other request is that she finds them jobs.
Her advice to women is that, no matter what their professions, they should never be afraid to enjoy their femininity and role as nurturers.
"If I come home, I should be happy to present my kids with a good meal, no matter what position I have," she says.