Blacks and females are still grossly underrepresented in upper management positions.
ITWeb conducted a snap survey to gain further details on Business Unity SA's (Busa's) recent study, which looked at the demographic and age profile of the upper management echelons of all 295 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
ITWeb randomly selected 10 JSE-listed ICT companies and looked at their management structure to gauge what the demographics are for blacks and females in this industry.
The findings were that, of 10 CEOs, 90% were male and 10% female, while 60% were white and 40% black (Africans 30%; Coloureds 10%).
Of 10 CFOs, 90% were male and 10% female, with 80% white and 20% black (Africans 10%; Indians 10%).
Of 10 chairmen, 100% were male, with 60% white and 40% black (Africans 30%; Indians 10%).
Of 44 non-executive directors, 75% were male and 25% were female, with 52.2% white and 47.7% black (Africans 100%).
In the positions of CEO, chairman and CFO, black females did not feature in any of the 10 companies.
Recommendations
Busa said in a media statement: “The objective of the survey was to identify positions that would become vacant within the next five years as a result of natural attrition, such as retirement. The survey results revealed that blacks and women continue to be grossly underrepresented in all directorships and top executive leadership positions of JSE-listed companies.”
In light of these results, Busa recommends that companies develop and implement measures to overcome this underrepresentation of blacks and women in directorship and executive leadership positions.
“One possible strategy would be for companies to identify all directors that would be retiring at least 18 months before their retirement date. Skilled and knowledgeable blacks and women who might lack the requisite board experience should be identified as 'shadow directors' (not in perpetuity) to replace retiring directors.”
Busa explains this will give the retiring directors a year to mentor “shadow directors” before they leave.
Divisions
The Busa survey found that, of 269 CEO positions, blacks occupy 9% (Africans 4%; Coloureds 3%; Indians 2%) and whites 91%, while females accounted for 3% and males 97%.
Of 219 CFO positions, blacks occupy 8% (Africans 2%; Coloureds 1%; Indians 5%) and whites 92%, while females accounted for 7% and males 93%.
Of 245 non-executive chairman positions, blacks occupy 28% (Africans 24%; Coloureds 1%; Indians 3%) and whites 72%, while females accounted for 6% and males 94%.
Of 1 664 non-executive director positions, blacks occupy 36% (Africans 29%; Coloureds 3%; Indians 5%) and whites 64%, while females account for 18% and males 82%.
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