A divide of expectations

The latest ITWeb Salary Survey reveals the same old pale male bias in remuneration and sheer numbers of bums filling seats.

ITWeb Brainstorm`s April issue offers an excellent analysis of the sorry state of black empowerment in the IT industry. The main thrust of our sister publication`s findings is how far apart we are - in understanding the issue, in agreement on how far we`ve come, how we integrate a crazily fragmented set of expectations and how we go beyond blame into action.

To resolve all these issues will entail possibly our biggest business challenge yet, as a community that has rightly been slated - but with no serious consequences to speak of - for its failure to make amends.

It will involve a change of heart on all sides, most obviously on the part of big business, but also by black graduates, government and an increasingly vociferous body of black economic empowerment commentators.

And if we can`t play nicely, it may have to be solved from the top down, a scenario that barely permits imagining about, evoking as it does images of steel-capped toes and fat cats.

At the highest level, CEOs are deeply, even combatively, divided on progress made on this most vital of industry issues. While white business voices deep dissatisfaction with the lack of appreciation their efforts have elicited (eg, CS Holdings CEO Annette van der Laan and Dimension Data`s Derek Wilcocks), a bevy of black commentators say the exact opposite.

Arivia.kom CEO Zeth Malele says that even if we double our current rate of transformation, it would take us 15 years to get where we want to be.

It is easy to get despondent about the situation. It`s also tempting to say that one can scarcely expect people in those respective positions to say any different, without any regard even for their specific experiences or efforts. But that would be precisely what we don`t need - an acceptance of imagined differences when we should shoulder this burden together.

It will involve a change of heart on all sides, most obviously on the part of big business, but also by black graduates, government and an increasingly vociferous body of black economic empowerment commentators.

Carel Alberts, technology editor, ITWeb

Let`s assume (one hopes we can) that we all aspire to the same goal. It`s not a lofty one, just redressing imbalances. It`s also not a simple one, but it is an important one. What is called for is this shift in attitude I mentioned earlier. Forget about the cynical job-hoppers and the perceived failure of government to provide the correct incentives and penalties, legally and procurement-wise. And forget about the lack of skills.

We must set about this momentous job, each take our part and stagger it over a reasonable amount of years, weighing up the workload and the weight of expectation. And we must do so in spite of what, if you look at it coldly, are really small problems when viewed against the imperative of change.

Also, we must do so with urgency, while taking cognisance of business climate and financial principles of quid pro quo and profit (before ownership passes) and sustainability (skills before partnering in high-end integration).

Simply put, a lack of skills, the problem of retaining skills, government taking a back seat and a failure to recognise efforts all mean nothing. There are only two important things here - the need for change and to balance that out with business fundamentals.

One man who does say rather different things from what one might have expected is Nceba Mazamisa, MD of Sizamile - which markets to government for Cape remanufacturer toptronics. His crusading view favours business: profit predates equity, a huge salary and a comfortable personal set-up. Simple. But he cannot find parastatal and government contracts as easily as one might expect, he says.

Where do you stand on this? Is ownership all there is in empowerment? Or is that too convenient? Must one weigh it up against issues of sustainable business?

I would, like Mazamisa, go the way of business. Business, like the urgent need for change, is a non-negotiable, in my view.

To say otherwise is criminally irresponsible. And to say these goals are tough to marry is to misunderstand our will to succeed. We`ve changed before. And it was awesome.

But no one ever thought it would be easy. Everyone`s got homework here. Here`s what the respective players may consider doing:

Government must come forward from its procurement-only focus and bring out a charter that provides a clear set of requirements, in plain language. Business must stop whingeing about lack of skills and train and retain them, employing contract lawyers - how else? And if they`ve done a lot already, then they should pat themselves on the back and market their joyful ascendancy to the ranks of the responsible, and then do more.