Research from Grant Thornton and PwC shows that women represent only 20% to 29% of senior management in South Africa, even though they are half the population.
Lindiwe Sebesho, president of the South African Reward Association (SARA) and master reward specialist, says societal perceptions continue to hold women back from taking up more seats at the boardroom table.
“These beliefs may be subconscious, but many people are still of the opinion that men are natural leaders and some even believe that women aren’t biologically wired to be as good as men at certain subjects. All these perceptions have been proven wrong,” says Sebesho.
A study published in the peer-reviewed journal “Science of Learning” showed that girls do just as well as boys in elementary- and middle school math tests.
College-educated women now make up the workplace majority at 50,2%, but across the globe, countries have had to adopt mandatory quotas to increase the representation and participation of women on boards.
“In many countries, companies are required to report on the pay disparities between men and women. While South Africa is yet to adopt mandatory disclosure policies in line with the much-anticipated outcome of the Companies Act Amendment Bill, a lot of work is still required for faster progress towards addressing gender diversity and pay equity at senior management level,” says Sebesho.
She says companies who aren’t focused on transforming will lag in terms of innovation, profit and sustainability. “A 2018 McKinsey report showed that diversity and inclusion are concepts that correlate to a company’s value and sustainable profitability, with growth in sales and earnings at diverse firms outperforming less diverse firms.
There’s a reason why the diversity training industry is aD$8-billlion-per-year market – as having diverse teams pays off.”
Requests for self-assessments are pervasive throughout one’s career from school and job applications to performance reviews, but women often fare lower at this when compared to men.
A study found a large gender gap in self-promotion – with men rating their performance 33% higher than equally performing women.
“As women, we are conditioned to not draw too much attention to ourselves by downplaying our contribution and achievements,” Sebesho says. “We wrongly assume that our efforts at work will always be recognised and rewarded in a fair and equitable manner and that our hard work is enough. These assumptions contribute to why we’re often overlooked for leadership positions or even shy away from taking on strategic roles.
“Having said this though, the recent female CEO appointments at companies like Deloitte is encouraging.”
She concludes by advising women to be more assertive at the office, provide more favorable assessments of their contribution, performance results and potential future ability, and to master the art of networking and putting up their hands for opportunities.