Article Search

 'Where do all the black people work?'
    October 22 2009 at 09:27AM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

In a survey of employment equity in the Western Cape commissioned by the Employment Promotion Programme, researchers Dr Sabie Surtee and Professor Martin Hall found that contrary to claims that whites are the losers in post-apartheid South Africa, white people are still being appointed and promoted at rates which suggest "positive discrimination" in their favour. The following are quotes of respondents in the survey.

It was a commonly-held view that being black meant having to work harder and perform to a higher standard:

"I just feel when you get the job as a black person, male or female, you are put under so much pressure to over-perform so that you can take away the perceptions that people have about you already. It's like you are judged on your work before you even do it." (retail sector)
Continues Below ↓





"The minute a black person is employed and the person is an EE candidate there is a perception that they are employed because they are black and not necessarily because they can do the job. And I hate it, actually! I mean I went to university, I studied, I did everything I needed to do to make sure I can do my job and I know I can do my job at the best of my abilities and when people see me they say, 'She got the job because she is black', and I hate it." (retail sector)

"As a black professional you are not supposed to make a mistake. You are supposed to be 110% perfect. In the event a mistake happens, every good that you have done is forgotten. You just become useless. You are incompetent. The expectation is that you must fail and when you don't fail, you must then be perfect. You must be superhuman..." (financial services sector)

"If you are black it is even more challenging because, firstly, you have to prove that you are competent - that you can do it. It doesn't matter whether you have a PhD from Harvard...if you don't deliver in terms of the quality and the quantity in the position, then that may affect your credibility... especially after making a couple of mistakes, staff tend to ignore you and consult with your senior or another white consultant." (financial services sector)

In addition to these general perceptions about institutional climate and working conditions, interviewees in this study were asked about experiences that they felt were specific to the Western Cape.


Continues...


Email StoryPrint Story
BOOKMARK THIS STORY
Social bookmarking allows users to save and categorise a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. This is different to using your own browser bookmarks which are available using the menus within your web browser.

Use the links below to share this article on the social bookmarking site of your choice.

Read more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia - Social Bookmarking

muti
Showing page 1 of 15 comment pages, 141 total comments
15 Weeks ago TeeJay wrote :
Who CARES where black [white - or idifferent] people work. I thought with the "New South Africa" we were moving away from the "colour thing?

Why does it have to KEEP ON being being brought up?
15 Weeks ago The disciple wrote :

The time has come to seek and find the truth that Jesus came to bear living witness to during His time on Earth. We need to pray for a new attitude towards people, no matter who or what they are; an attitude of being willing to show unconditional love; expecting nothing in return. Not one of us can say we have any valid excuse to say that we did not know that this is the way we are to live. God, out of unconditional love, went all the way to show the world how to live and treat our fellow-men. Nobody can deny this. There is simply no other way. Any way, other than God's way will lead to destruction. Jesus, who was born from the Nation of Judah, - the Jews, is using a Jewish way of asking us to follow Him on the path of success. What he is saying to us all is simply this, "Be reasonable, - do it my way, because this is the only way that will provide any guarantee of success." I have proven this to be 100% true. Freely I received , freely I give it to you!!!
Beat the devil; go for it!!! Time is very short!!!
15 Weeks ago Living in Cpt wrote :
@TY
You are so narrow minded. San/Khois are actually african... as for the white people.. they came here to get slaves and had sex with the San/Khois to make colored people. So go back to your history classes. And remember, South African history doesn't start in 1652.
I stay in Cpt and i really know how it feels to be treated like "Blacks cant do enough". I'm at a point whereby its either i leave Cpt or i push forward and try to change the minds of these people.
15 Weeks ago Sifiso Sonjica wrote :
This debate will not be resolved because everyone want to protect his or her race. May I suggest that we hear more of South African Whites who are not racist? it about time they also make more noisy just as the racist ones. Mandela have preached reconcilation the fustration I have as Black person it appears as if it is only us who must reconcile. I personal have white friends who have aknowlegde how bad and racist are some of their friends. To deny the existence of race problems in SA cannot be solution.
15 Weeks ago Norma wrote :
I can relate to this article. Im a capetonian coloured and I experience discrimination every time I go to shopping malls. Especially malls in the norther surburbs of cape town.I have a 100% black look (the hair, the dress, the features). whites and coloureds get the shock of their lives if i open my mouth and speak in a pure afrikaans accent. many times i make them aware of their rude, impolite behaviour when i assumed i am black. other times it's just so tiring to respond. at times Im so glad if a white person join in a queue behind me, then i can be assured of effecient service. It's so SAD what black capetonians have to endure!!!
15 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Most of these cooments are so true. Cape Town is century's behind. I went to Cape Town to run the Two Oceans Marathon and I was shocked by the racial discrimination apparant there. I felt like I have travelled back in time, Johannesburg has progressed and you don't feel racial discrimination like in Cape Town.
15 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
I am black, living in Cape Town. The most racsim I get is from fellow black people.
15 Weeks ago Ty wrote :
If you don't like it in the Cape, you can always leave, history has shown, that the black people were not the first ones here, it was the San and Khoi, then the whites, and coloureds, and Tebza, you are just as racist, you judge yourself first. You want something drastic, careful, it might just happen, because numbers means nothing, as God said in his word
15 Weeks ago Paul wrote :
James you have the right idea! It is time that South Africans (all) catch a wake up. Stop striking and messing around. We are in for tough times. High food prices and food shortages are next! We cant afford dead wood any longer. We need professional and capable people in places that CAN DO THE JOB, and not just employ because there skin is dark in colour! This reverse racism action will be the downfall of this wonderful country, and our children will read of the blithering idiots that brought this country to it's knees!
15 Weeks ago Capetony in Josi wrote :
It's interesting how so many of the comments reflect the observer and not the facts. As an ex Capetonian now in Jhb, I can confirm that CT is far more cliquey and "old money" than Jhb. More Rolls Royces (old money car) than Jhb, which has more BMWs (yuppie, new money car). It has nothing to do with race.

As for the complaint that blacks have to prove themselves: Yes, it is the other side of the coin to AA. Get used to it, or vote against AA. It is not just a white thing - the first time I heard a black dismissed as being "just an affirmative" was from another (qualified) black person.