Source: BDLive
THE government is contemplating tough laws to enforce gender transformation compliance in the private and public sectors, which could be implemented as early as 2015.

Under the new legislation, government departments and companies will be required to fill a minimum of 50% of all senior and top management positions with women.

In addition, the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill, which will soon be presented in Parliament, will allow the state to fine and/or imprison executive heads who contravene the act.

Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) deputy chairwoman Thoko Mpumlwana said last week that business had forced the government's hand in this matter as it had not taken gender transformation seriously.

Speaking at public hearings on gender transformation in the workplace, at Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein, Ms Mpumlwana criticised company executives who claimed they were "unable" to find women with the appropriate skills.

"One of the things we have heard concerning the lack of female gender representation in the workspace is that there is a scarce skills pool to choose from. But companies should be looking to find ways, with government and other organisations, to address this issue.

"What we want to say is everyone in the private and public sectors must take gender seriously now. Don't wait for the law to force you into compliance," Ms Mpumlwana said.

In the CGE's 2011 National Employment Equity Report, it noted that in the private sector women seldom held more than 12% of senior and top management positions. Coherent policies for addressing gender transformation and disability could also not be identified.

The CGE recommended to Parliament that the state should refuse to fund or have business dealings with any company or department that failed to address transformation. It also recommended that 50/50 representation of women on the boards of private entities be included as a requirement for companies to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Ahead of the curve

One company that is said to be ahead of the curve and the bill is Shanduka Holdings. Human capital director Yvonne Themba said the company had a 58% female representation, with most of the central leadership positions held by women. Shanduka's CEO is Phuti Mahanyele.

"Shanduka deliberately seeks out young black women professionals and we monitor and fast-track their development. Since the company's inception, more than 70% of young graduates in Shanduka's internship programmes have been women.

"More than half of university graduates are women yet only 44% are employed in corporate South Africa. We start off being capable in university and clearly we should be leaders, but only 19% of us are top managers and only 9% of top managers are black women, why is that?" she asked.

Ms Themba said there was also a risk that women's empowerment would be overshadowed by the broader black empowerment imperatives.

"The challenge is to understand the ways in which the disempowerment of women is related to the disempowerment of black people and the features that are specific to women. Women's empowerment is a critical part of black economic empowerment, but it's not inevitable," she said.

Sam Deuchar, CEO at executive placement agency Rebmormax, said corporate South Africa had a way of edging out women, and there was a chance that legislating gender transformation could make women a target.

"There's a possibility that companies might discriminate against women even more if they are forced to be flexible to cater to women's other responsibilities. Currently what we find is that companies say they are looking for women to fill positions in their companies, but that intent is not followed by action.

"It's hard for women to return to the corporate world after a leave of absence for, let's say, children. What we find is that these women then go back to university and receive doctorates and MBAs and decide to find alternatives to the corporate environment that will allow them the flexibility they need and that's usually found in entrepreneurship.

"There isn't a dearth of skills in South Africa, we just haven't tapped into the potential of women and once we do, we will easily fill all our skills gaps," she said.

A World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report for 2013 noted that South African women earned up to 33% less than their male counterparts for the same work. The current international pay gap average is 13%.

Sikhonzile Ndlovu of Gender Links said having gender policies in place would help address issues such as the pay gap, as well as helping to create environments in which women and men could achieve their full potential.

"In media, specifically, employment equity is not where it should be because women are under-represented as media employees. Most media houses in South Africa don't have gender policies and as such do not take into account the dual roles that women play in society.

"The Gender Equality Bill will significantly change the working space in South Africa. It provides a framework for creating an enabling working environment for both women and men. It will also provide a framework for monitoring progress on achieving gender equality," she said.

• South Africa