Leading managed service provider Cyberlogic says its recent sponsorship of the CEO of the Year category at the Woman of Stature Awards 2026 was about more than brand visibility.
Chief Sales Officer, Lorraine Deane, says increasing female representation in leadership is critical for both business performance and broader economic growth. Companies with more women in leadership consistently outperform their peers, with research from McKinsey & Company showing that gender-diverse executive teams are more likely to deliver above-average profitability.
“Diversity at the top is no longer a social argument; it’s a commercial one. Companies that fail to reflect this are leaving performance on the table,” says Deane.
While South Africa performs relatively well compared to global peers in terms of female board representation, it continues to lag at CEO level. According to the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa, only between 7% and 10% of CEOs are women, compared to 20% to 25% representation at board chair level. Deane says this gap highlights the need for more deliberate action.
“At Cyberlogic, we work closely with business leaders every day, and we see first-hand how strong, values-driven leadership shapes resilient organisations. Supporting the CEO of the Year category was our way of backing women who lead with purpose, mentor others and create opportunities for growth beyond themselves,” she says.
Despite a strong pipeline of qualified women at both education and early-career levels, representation drops sharply at executive level. Women remain more concentrated in support and specialist roles such as HR and finance, rather than in CEO-track positions. While board diversity is improving, executive diversity is progressing more slowly, with intersectional inequality continuing to play a significant role in South Africa.
Deane notes that Cyberlogic, together with its holding company HyperClear Technology, employs over 200 people, of which 26% are women, and 20% of those women hold senior leadership roles.
“One of our key objectives is to ensure women are given the opportunities they need to grow into leadership roles. We also need them to recognise the fact that they can aim for CEO-level roles. But improving the appointment of female CEOs isn’t about a single initiative, it requires fixing the entire leadership pipeline, selection processes and organisational incentives. The data shows that most companies don’t have a talent shortage; they have a progression and bias problem,” she says.
She adds that structured CEO succession pipelines are a critical starting point. These formal, board-owned programmes should identify and develop female CEO candidates two to five years in advance.
Deliberately placing women into profit-and-loss roles is another powerful way to accelerate leadership development. “These roles are a primary pathway to CEO. This can be achieved through rotational assignments in revenue-generating divisions, stretch roles with commercial accountability, and increased exposure to investors, boards and strategic decision-making. Too many women remain concentrated in support functions, while CEOs are typically selected from operational or revenue roles,” says Deane.
Women also influence a substantial share of consumer spending decisions, making female leadership a strategic advantage in understanding markets – particularly in sectors such as retail, banking, healthcare and property.
“Leadership that reflects the customer base is better positioned to anticipate needs, design relevant products and build lasting loyalty,” she says.
Ultimately, this is about more than developing women, it’s about redesigning the systems that select CEOs.”
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