the percentages on its yearly overview of female directors and executive managers in representative companies and organisations in South Africa. In a press release BWA
President, Kunyalala Maphisa was concerned that the underrepresentation and the slow pace at which women were being incorporated into the corporate space at senior level and other market forces will not change quickly. According to her the increase of employment of women in top executive positions has been minimal and does not represent the large pool of highly competent women who can take up these positions. She is concerned that there are still companies that have a 0% representation of women directors and executive managers. An analysis of the number
of top performing companies representing those with 25% or more of director positions and 25% or more of executive management positions held by women, decreased from 41 in 2010 to 37 in 2011. This decrease can be attributed to the inclusion, as of the previous year, of subsidiaries which provided for a larger pool of directors and executive managers. A direct comparison of men versus women in the top positions of the workforce depicts a harsh reality. Women are clearly in the minority amongst their male counterparts. Females hold only 4.4% of CEO/MD positions, 5.3% of Chairperson positions,15.8% of all Directorships and 21.6% of Executive management positions. An improved picture is
painted from Government data. The 2011 reporting period shows an increase in the women workforce, including those in the SANDF, from 55.8% of the previous year to the current 56.3%, whereas men decreased from 44.2% to 43.7%. Encouraging news is that
comparative figures show that South Africa continues to fare better than its international counterparts in terms of women holding Director and Executive manager positions. Additionally, South Africa has an advantage above the rest of Africa in terms of its socio- economic development and its gender equality requirements as laid down in the county’s Constitution. South Africa has one of the highest proportions of female researchers in the world. The 2008-09 R&D survey conducted by the government shows that women comprise 39.7% of total researchers, compared to 33.4% in Norway and only 3.0% in Japan. Argentina leads the way with 51.5% female researchers.
Women Leadership in Africa Pilot Study In the 2011 April and May issues of Management Today Da Vinci Institute in conjunction with Frontier Advisory, reports on the Women Leadership in Africa Pilot Study initiated by the International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWSA) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. The crucial aim of this innovative research project concerning women leadership development in Africa is to understand and disclose what leadership signifies to women in African countries. The importance of this project lies in the fact that the drivers
of the pilot project anticipate a sustainable system which will be able to monitor African women leadership on an annual basis. They followed a different methodological approach to that of BWASA’s census, which resulted in different findings being reported. It used a wider basis examining the role of women leaders across the continent and within five countries consecutively. The countries chosen were Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda with different national histories and independence dates, varied population numbers and diverse economies, but with one common factor that links them all: English as an official language. The authors of the report
note that Africa is often grouped as a single entity. One of the purposes of this study is then also to serve as comparative tool and depict successes and failures of each country investigated. A survey was used to collect evidence consisting of a questionnaire containing nine modestly formulated questions to ensure full understanding by the participants. The questionnaires were distributed by email. Most of the contacts were in-house contacts of Frontier Advisory and some contacts drawn from a database of inter alia the Da Vinci Institute in these countries. The results will be used among other things for policy planning but ultimately for developing the women leadership force and contributing to the development of gender equity across the African country. Some of the findings of
August 2011 | Management Today 49
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