A study by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has laid bare the plight faced by women in corporate South Africa – with females constituting less than 4% of CEOs of companies listed on the JSE.
PwC said in its report that following the resignation of Maria Ramos as Absa CEO last year, there was no woman occupying the position of CEO in the Top 40 listed companies on the local bourse.
“If one looks at the composition of top leadership at JSE-listed companies, the statistics paint a dim picture … it is encouraging to see that Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa has recently been appointed as CEO of Naspers. Overall, out of the total number of listed companies on the JSE at the cut-off date, only 3.35% of CEOs were female,” reads the report.
Mahanyele-Dabengwa was appointed to the global Naspers management team as CEO of its South African operations in July last year, reporting directly to Bob van Dijk, group CEO of Naspers. The PwC further found that there were also “significant” disparities in levels of remuneration between female and male executives.
“The largest pay gap between men and women is among small-cap companies [which also has the largest pool of executive directors], followed by large-cap companies and lastly medium-cap companies.” Colleen Larsen, chief executive of Business Engage, said business leaders have the power to close the gender gap and unlock human potential, creating an environment in which everyone can thrive and advance.
“Locally, the majority of boards now consider gender diversity as a core to their businesses, however, JSE-listed companies are not prepared to effect such change without a nudge from the JSE,” explained Larsen. “It is now more important than ever to move the country forward by evolving leadership roles and bringing women on board.”
The PwC study also found that black African, coloured and Indian/Asian representation at CEO level remains very low at a combined 11% of the JSE Top 100 of the JSE. At executive director levels this is somewhat better, with a combined 28% representation in the JSE Top 100.
Leila Ebrahimi, director at PwC, said matters such as environmental concerns and pay inequality have been pushed to the forefront by COVID-19. “Faced with one of the most brutal economic recessions in history, companies are being asked to take the lead in some of society’s most complex and challenging issues,” said Ebrahimi.
