Seventy years after South African women first marched for their rights, gender equality in the workplace is still a work in progress and the numbers below show how far there is to go.
Women’s Day in South Africa
On 9 August 1956, 20 000 women marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the extension of “Pass Laws”¹ to women. They handed over a petition signed by 100 000 people. The march might be considered a success, but the law passed anyway. That is why South Africa marks Women’s Day on 9 August and Women’s Month through August, while much of the world commemorates International Women’s Day on 8 March.
Seventy years on, unfortunately, women remain extremely vulnerable: to gender-based violence, sexual harassment and assault, lower pay and higher levels of unemployment, and to the duty of care for female-headed households while trying to hold on to those low-paying jobs. There is research that shows that female-headed households earn 40% less than homes where a man is present and earning.
Gender Inequality in the Workplace
Research undertaken by “Just Share” on women in the top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange shows that:
– only 3 of those companies have a woman CEO
– 27% of executives in these companies are women
– women hold 32% of board seats.
Gender inequality is found at all levels of the workplace. Stellenbosch University published research here showing that the median pay gap in South Africa between men and women for doing the same job is between 23%-35%.
This should not be the case. A strong legal framework exists to ensure equality, safety and fair treatment for women at work. This framework is rooted in the Constitution and can be found in various pieces of labour legislation including the Employment Equity Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Labour Relations Act, and the 2022 Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace.
It cannot be right that this is the lived experience of half of the country’s population. The roots of this inequality lie deep in our history and society. It will only change when all sectors of society assume responsibility for rooting out discrimination, harassment and exploitation (see the wage gap above) of women.
An Opportunity to Reflect on Workplace Gender Equality
For companies, Women’s Month presents an opportunity to reflect on what they can do to combat gender discrimination, while recognising that fixing it is a year-round commitment. This is not just a moral imperative: Improving the experience at work for half the workforce has to be good for both morale and productivity; having women leaders who feel confident that their strategic and management contributions are valued entirely on merit will unlock more diverse insights and greater energy in the whole company. See an interesting analysis of this by SNG Grant Thornton.
Thornhill Associates has the toolbox to help companies reflect, and then work continuously to improve the experience of women in your company.
No doubt, in compliance with the law, most companies have policies that prohibit discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying; and that promote gender equality in management and pay. That’s a good start.
The next step is to discover if women employees believe you are living up to those policies. Do you know if you would get the same answer from women and men to the question: “What does it feel like to work for this company?”
The only way to find out is to ask. And you will get the clearest picture if you test all aspects of your employees’ experience.
Using an Employee Engagement Survey to measure Gender Equality
Thornhill’s engagement and climate surveys offer an ideal instrument for asking this question, and being able to analyse the response in great detail. The survey covers all aspects of the employees’ experience at work, asking specifically whether employees feel safe and respected, and whether the workplace is free from bullying and harassment. These are the key indicators of the extent to which sexual harassment and gender discrimination are experienced at work.
The survey also explores how employees feel about remuneration and opportunities for advancement, and whether employees feel heard and supported in their career development. Respondents are also offered the opportunity to explain their responses and to raise issues that they feel are not covered in the questionnaire. The report breaks down the responses by categories that you select. This means you can assess women’s overall experience of the workplace as well as focusing specifically on issues of harassment and overt discrimination.
It is pleasing to note that in two such surveys recently conducted for companies, there was no significant difference in responses by gender. In presenting these results, we were pleased to be able to highlight this and encourage the companies to keep these issues top of mind.
Thornhill’s Leading Women 360° Feedback Questionnaire
Earlier, we quoted the low representation of women in the senior leadership positions in South Africa’s top companies. This is not a gap caused by women’s inability to lead. It is rooted in the social and business culture, and needs to be addressed by the business community as a whole.
One of Thornhill’s clients, a leading Business School, uses a 360° feedback questionnaire we developed together for their Leading Women programmes. This questionnaire has been used 25 times in such programmes, with 279 participants in the past five years. You’re welcome to use this questionnaire in your organisation.
An Invitation
Thornhill has long considered issues of gender discrimination and the promotion of female leadership to be important in our work. If you would like to explore how to assess key gender issues in your company, or how to ensure that women’s leadership is sufficiently valued in your company, then please get in touch and let’s talk about it.
For more information on Thornhill’s various products and services for all levels within your organisation, please contact us at admin@thornhill.co.za.
1 The “Pass Laws” required black South Africans to carry documents proving they were entitled to live in “white areas”
outside the so-called “homelands”. This system of influx control was designed to keep only black people working in
unskilled jobs in service of the white economy able to leave the impoverished rural reserves.