Representation in Organisational Leadership within a South African Context

Representation in Organisational Leadership within a South African Context

South Africa is infamous for its history of Apartheid. After the election of the National Parties (NP) to power in 1948, new laws divided Africans into four ethnic groups: whites, indigenous people, people of colour, and Asians (Baldwin-Ragaven et al., 1999). The white category was reserved for Caucasian (European) peoples, Native referred to persons of African descent, while the Asian category included people of Asian and Asian continent and mixed ethnic background and was classified by skin colour (Watson, 2007). Under Apartheid, residential areas, education, occupations, medical care, and public services were separated, non-whites in some areas were offered inferior services, the political representation of non-white candidates was banned until the 1970s, and blacks were stripped of South African citizenship (Beck, 2000). These categories are still used by South Africans for self-recognition, and organizations still use them for statistical and employment justice surveys, with the National Statistical Authority using them in the National Census of Statistics of South Africa (Statistics South Africa, 2012).

Affirmative action has been used in both the private and public sectors in an attempt to correct past injustices, at least in the area of employment. Affirmative action is often mentioned in the Wagner Act in 1935 (Bacchi, 1996) in the United States. The concept is in the modern context referring to diverse practices in which organizations take positive steps towards a more inclusive, fair, and equitable employment situation. It involves ensuring equal employment opportunities for all people with the same capacity to compete for a job (Rossouw, 1994), and it involves eliminating reverse discrimination in South Africa to give groups more opportunities previously denied them (Gamson & Modigliani, 1994). These ideals have crystallized in South African legislation such as the Employment Equity (EE) Act and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), which are regularly amended (Gov. Gaz., 2013; Werksmans, 2014).

The EE Act deals with the promotion of equality in the workplace, the elimination of unfair discrimination, and the creation of a representative workforce. The BBBEE Act, in turn, is designed to address the changing ethnic composition of South Africa’s workforce and the impact of corporate ownership by addressing the problem of women in the economy and creating more opportunities in rural communities.

Despite the official removal of Apartheid in 1994 and the introduction of affirmative action strategies in the public sector, no major changes appear to have taken place in the public sector, and they remain so to this day (Commission for Employment Equity, 2021; Scott et al., 1998; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2003). It is important to examine the reasons for the slow progress of the South African private sector in ensuring equal opportunities and representation in the workplace, including in management positions. Pilot studies and opinion polls suggest that research is needed on the experience and perception of publicly administered affirmative action (Scott et al., 1998; Vermeulen & Coetzee, 2006). Capital regulation in the private sector seems to continue to have limitations, lagging behind the objectives of equality and inclusion relative to the public sector.

In terms of theorizing organizational leadership, South Africa offers a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into the social context that influences leadership social construction. Better representation of women in leadership positions is nowhere to be found in South Africa. Half of the South African labour force are women (Statistics South Africa, 2020) (Statistics South Africa, 2012b). Of top management roles in the South African private sector, however, only 24% of positions are held by women (Commission for Employment Equity, 2021). Predictably, race representation at the executive level is reflected in statistics on gender representation. The most recent Labour Force Report by Statistics South Africa is characterised by severe racial underrepresentation in key leadership roles (Statistics South Africa, 2020). Specifically, while White people make up 7% of the economically active population, management positions occupied by whites currently stand at 64% (Commission for Employment Equity, 2021).

The under-representation of women and people of colour in organizational management seems to be a cross-border phenomenon. South Africa has a unique historical heritage in terms of race relations and discrimination (Connolly & White, 2006). Moreover, various statistics emphasize the uniqueness of South Africa’s context and its history of a statistical minority of whites oppressed by a statistical majority of blacks, blacks, and Asians – a trend that seems to have been repeated in the 20 years since the fall of Apartheid (Solis & Galvin, 2011). South Afri