Untangling discrimination in the private sector workplace in South Africa: Paving the way for Black African women progression to managerial positions
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229121990569 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Untangling discrimination
in the private sector
workplace in South Africa:
Paving the way for Black
African women progression
to managerial positions
Motlhatlego Dennis Matotoka
1
and Kolawole Olusola Odeku
2
Abstract
Black African women in South Africa are poorly represented at managerial levels in the
South African private sector since the advent of democracy. Their exclusion at these
occupational levels persists despite the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA)
requiring that the private sector must ensure that all occupational levels are equitably
represented and reflects the demographics of South Africa. The South African private
sector demonstrates its lack of commitment to proliferating black African women into
managerial positions by deliberately engaging in race-based recruitment and failing to
develop and promote suitably qualified women into managerial positions. As such, the
private sector is failing to create upward mobility for black African women to break the
glass ceiling. The EEA requires the private sector to apply affirmative action measures in
order to achieve equity in the workplace. It is submitted that since 1998, the private
sector has been provided with an opportunity to set it own targets in order to achieve
equity. However, 22 years later, black African women are still excluded in key managerial
positions. However, the EEA does not specifically impose penalties if the private sector
fails to achieve the set targets.This approach has failed to increase the representation of
1
University of Limpopo, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa
2
Faculty of Management and Law, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa
Corresponding author:
Kolawole Olusola Odeku, Faculty of Management and Law, University of Limpopo, Polokwane,
Limpopo 0727, South Africa.
Email: kooacademics@gmail.com
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
2021, Vol. 21(1) 47–71
ªThe Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/1358229121990569
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black women in managerial positions. However, the EEA does not specifically impose
penalties if the private sector fails to achieve the set targets. Whilst this approach seeks
to afford the private sector importunity to set its own target, this approach has failed to
increase the representation of black women in managerial positions. Employing black
African women in managerial levels enhances their skills and increases their prospects to
promotions and assuming further leadership roles in the private sector. This paper seeks
to show that the progression of black African women requires South Africa to adopt a
quota system without flexibility that will result in the private sector being compelled to
appoint suitably qualified black African women in managerial levels.
Keywords
Black African women, private sector, equity, equality, front, quota, transformation
and managerial positions
Introduction
Since the advent of democracy, South Africa has been divided along the lines of race,
gender and class. This has led to the exclusion and oppression of Black African women
in the workplace and within the society in general. According to the 2016/2017 Com-
mission for Employment Equity (CEE) yearly report, there is reluctance and disinclina-
tion by the private sector in South Africa to redress the historical imbalances by
perpetuating the white male dominance at managerial levels and excluding Black
African women at these levels (CEE, 2016/2017, p. 87). Statistics South Africa (SSA)
2018 reported that 46 682 900 (80%) of the South African population are Black South
African (22 786 200 males and 23 896 700 females), 5 074 300 (8.8%) are coloured
population (2 459 500 males and 2 614 800 females),1 448 300 (2.5%) are of Indian
descent (740 200 males and 708 100 females) and 4 520 100 (7.8%) are white South
Africans (2 194 200 males and 2 325 900 females). Evidently, Black African women are
the most populous, but notwithstanding this, they are greatly underrepresented at man-
agerial positions in the South African private sector. This paper purposively focuses on
the exclusion of Black African women in managerial positions.
In 2018, the South African High Court in the case of Chowan v Associated Motor
Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others (Ch owan’s case) delivered a scathing judgment that
unearthed that the Accounting Officer of Associated Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd (AMH)
had infringed the dignity of Ms Chowan by expressing that ‘she is a female, employment
equity, technically competent, they would like to keep her but if she wants to go she must
go, others have left this management and done better outside the company’ (Chowan’s
case, paragraph 22). In this case, Ms Chowan was reassured that she will be appointed to
the Chief Financial officer position subsequent to her 1 year of appointment as a Group
Financial Manager at the company. However this reassurance did not materialise 3 years
later, notwithstanding her wealth of working experience and possession of qualifications
required for the Chief Financial Officer position. Instead, Ms Chowan was overlooked
48 International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 21(1)
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