While global progress on gender equality in business leadership has stalled, South Africa is moving in the opposite direction – but although the country has largely solved representation, there’s a new gap emerging: influence.
The latest SNG Grant Thornton Women in Business 2026 report shows that 47,3% of senior management roles in South Africa are now held by women – far ahead of the global average of 32,9% – but which has declined slightly this year. It is a striking divergence, indicating that equal gender representation in South Africa is becoming structural. More notably, not a single South African business surveyed reported an all-male senior management team, a milestone achieved by only a handful of economies worldwide.
But beneath these headline gains, the data points to a more complex shift: the challenge is no longer getting women into leadership, it is ensuring they shape it.
Says Agnes Dire, board chairperson and director at SNG Grant Thornton: “The next challenge is ensuring that representation translates into executive authority and influence in roles that shape capital allocation and strategic direction.”
From catching up to pulling ahead
While global female leadership representation has dipped, and Africa has seen declines in some areas, South Africa holds fast in approaching representational parity. This positions the country among the leading markets globally for gender-balanced leadership.
The distribution of roles reinforces this strength: In South Africa, women hold 56,8% of CFO roles, 55,7% of HR leadership roles, 39,8% of COO roles and 33% of CIO roles – an encouraging trend especially from a technology point of view as women are increasingly influencing a world that is becoming more digital. In effect, women are embedded across financial, operational, and increasingly strategic leadership functions.
A system, not just compliance
There are clear signals in the data that South African businesses are embedding gender equality as a system: 82,1% of local firms are maintaining or introducing gender equality initiatives; 77,6% say they regularly review their DE&I strategies, which is higher than both global and African benchmarks; and more than half follow structured annual review processes.
This level of governance is important. It suggests that gender diversity is being actively managed, measured and refined, not left to organic change.
“Reviews allow organisations to assess how effective their initiatives are and to identify opportunities to have greater impact,” says Dire. “This level of maturity sets South Africa apart, but the data also reveals clear imbalances.”
Where the gaps still lie
Women are strongly represented in roles such as CFO and HR, positions that shape financial discipline and talent strategy, but remain less represented in areas like technology and, critically, top executive pathways. This creates a subtle but important divide: while representation is broad, influence is uneven.
“The next challenge is ensuring that representation translates into executive authority and influence in roles that shape capital allocation and strategic direction,” says Dire.
The business case is not theoretical
Perhaps the most decisive shift in this year’s data is that gender diversity is being reframed from a social or ethical issue to a performance lever.
South African firms report outcomes that are both measurable and above global benchmarks: 28,8% report improved financial performance linked to gender diversity; 22,5% report more inclusive work environments; and 26,3% report increased progression of women into leadership roles.
Global data shows a similar impact.
As a result of putting gender equality strategies in place, 22,1% of firms say their businesses are more innovative, 19,5% say teams within the business make better decisions, and 18,8% say their financial performance has improved.
This aligns with the SNG Grant Thornton Women in Business 2026 report’s central conclusion: Gender equality is not a symbolic commitment. It is a business discipline linked directly to performance. In other words, inclusion is compounding into economic value.
A new signal for investors and talent
Another shift emerging from the data is external pressure. Gender diversity is increasingly being assessed not just internally, but by investors, regulators, and potential employees.
The report notes that despite many large organisations retreating from diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in 2024/25, mid-market leaders remain committed: 92,7% have DE&I initiatives in place, and three-quarters continue to prioritise gender equality. This is reshaping talent flows.
Mid-market businesses are winning talent from larger organisations. Among female senior hires who joined within the past six months, 43,5% came from companies with more than 500 employees – above the long-term average of 38,4%.
Clearly, visibility matters. When women see leaders who look like them, they believe advancement is possible. When future talent sees gender equality embedded in strategy, they choose to join and stay.
The research shows around two-thirds of recent female senior appointments were internal. Businesses that roll back gender equality initiatives risk losing these leaders and weakening their pipeline.
A different kind of leadership advantage
Emerging from the 2026 data is not just a story of progress, but one of competitive advantage.
Markets that embed gender diversity into leadership systems are not just more inclusive. They are more resilient, better at decision-making, more attractive to talent and capital, and more likely to grow.
Strong corporate governance frameworks, employment equity policy, and sustained institutional focus on leadership diversity have created a reinforcing system in South Africa which have put the country ahead in terms of gender equality. But this lead is not guaranteed. If the past decade was about visibility, the next will be about power.
The report captures this shift.
“While South Africa has achieved structural representation in leadership, sustaining this progress requires a deliberate shift toward executive influence, sector leadership and measurable commercial impact,” says Dire.