Joahnnesburg - The growth of South African women in business was still being stifled by gender bias, despite numerous initiatives advocating the role of women in the economy and society.
This year’s Grant Thornton annual women in business international report showed that only 27 percent of women held business leadership roles in the country.
The figure is a slight increase, of one percentage point, on the 26 percent recorded in 2004.
Both business associations and the government have expressed concern about the lack of representivity on executive boards of large listed companies.
“The percentage of women in senior management roles in South Africa is inadequate. The gender bias is subtle at the beginning of a career, but it causes a clear separation of career paths between men and women.
“South Africa has a fine tradition of strong women in business, as well as women political leaders, but there still is much room for improvement,” said Lee-Anne Bac, director of advisory services at Grant Thornton.
The picture painted by Bac is supported by Business Unity SA’s executive director for social and transformation policy, Vanessa Phala.
The organisation has, together with the Black Business Council, established a training programme that seeks to empower women with skills needed for high-level business appointments.
However, the business environment required a lot more than just formal skills. Women would have to push past deeply entrenched patriarchal systems in order to sit on boards and occupy executive posts which are dominated by men.
“The extent to which you build and sustain your network will determine the level of your influence and recognition.
“We were informed that people don’t apply for board appointments – they are simply referred by people they’ve interacted with or recommended by people they know or have worked with,” Phala said.
The journey of women towards success in the business world has not been rosy.
Young women who walk in the footsteps of the women who in 1956 marched to the Union Buildings for equality believe that even in business there are lessons to be learnt from that generation.
Businesswoman and engineer Dimakatso Matshoga, who runs her own engineering consulting firm, Atafala Consulting, said that although there were differences between the struggles women faced today compared with in the past, her generation still had its own key battles to fight.
“In my opinion, in 1956 women jointly fought for more corporate inclusion, and I believe that today’s woman is faced with a battle for self-inclusion.”
She said there were conditions in business which had made it hard for new women entrants to flourish.
Labour Bureau