Women in Leadership.July 2014

Women In LeadershipJuly 2014

www.womeninbusiness.org.za 1

Topics to be discussed:• How well represented are Women in our Workforce?

• World Economic impact on Women.

• Barriers for Women.

• How does South Africa compare to other countries?

• Proportionate representation of women leaders.

• Women leadership positions.

• Current challenges and initiatives.

• What does all this mean for South Africa?

• What can women do and what should be done?

• Where to from here?

• Conclusion



How well represented are

women in our workforce:

• The South African government

introduced a number of

initiatives as well as legislation to

specifically support women post

Apartheid.

• However, gender and race

discrimination is still an issue. Women’s Report 2011

4






• As women worldwide are being

exposed to better educational

opportunities, the role of women in

the workplace is also changing

dramatically, resulting in more women

participating in the workplace.

• Unfortunately, high unemployment

rates are evident for women, and will

persist. Women’s Report 2011

Table 2: Statistics on women in the South African workplace

2011

% increase

from

2010-2011

Unemployed women 2 237 000 3,2%

Total number of women working 16 642 000 1,3%







Table 1: Demographics of women in South Africa (OEDC, 2010; Stats SA, 2010)

Item Number

Total Population 47 850 700

Female population 50.90%

Women’s life expectancy 52 to 55.2 years

Fertility rate (average births per female) 2.7 children

Female literacy 87%

Women in parliament 33%


• Decline in revenue and profits for big companies

• Decline in share prices, investments

• Slow down in industrial production and manufacturing

• Decline in real income

• Insolvency and dissolution of small businesses

• Job Losses, Retrenchments

• Price increase, interest rate increase, inflation

• A slump in consumer spending (housing, furniture, cars,

clothing)

• Inability to service debt, and therefore, more debt

• Cut down on nice to have’s

• Poverty

• Survival mode

• We are still suffering the effects of the recession… www.womeninbusiness.org.za 9

World Economic impact on Women

World Economic impact on Women

• A global survey reported South Africa’s

unemployment rate is the highest when compared

to developed and semi-developed countries such as

the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia, New

Zealand, Canada, and Poland.

• Interestingly, this global survey indicated that female

employment was less affected than male

employment during the global economic downturn.



How does South Africa

compare to other countries?

Barriers for women

• Personal beliefs on gender

– The barriers faced by women relate to: prejudice,

stereotyping, cultural beliefs, and religious orders.

Maintain women submissiveness.

– Further research is required to determine whether

there are personal beliefs that may be located within

cultural groupings that encourage prejudice in the

treatment of women in the workplace.



• Race and genderManagerial leadership development programmes need to bear in mind that the race and gender dynamics in South Africa extend beyond blacks and whites, and need to be more inclusive of all diverse groups.


Barriers for women


• Social revolution, cultural prejudices, and

gender bias

• Due to Apartheid and international isolation,

the gender-based social revolution that took

place in the west during the same timeframe

escaped South Africa.


Barriers for women


• Furthermore, cultural prejudices

resulted in discrimination against

women by members of their own

culture.

Barriers for women

• Organisational structure

• Aside from barriers relating to race and gender

bias, there is a strong indication that the glass

ceiling (an unofficially acknowledged barrier to

advancement affecting women and members of

minorities) does exist in South Africa.

• Limited support structures and networking

opportunities hinder women’s career

advancement.


Barriers for women


• A low salary average

• advancement of female

employees in the form of

out-dated company policies

regarding programmes such

as part-time and flexi-time

work options, job-sharing,

and telecommuting.

• Women’s efforts to grow,

develop, and empower

themselves through

academic and career

development.

Barriers for women

Proportionate representation of women

leaders?

• Women believe they have the skills needed to be an entrepreneur.

• Incongruity exists in that women form the majority of the work force in education, yet they are underrepresented in its management.

• Another example, is that there is not a significant number of professional women in the corporate communication environment occupying senior strategic roles, despite the fact that they possess the necessary abilities and skills.



• Government legislation and policies

– In government and the public sector, women

reaching top-level positions is still uncommon.

– Despite women having the personal belief,

professional skills, abilities, and experience

necessary to be effective, women leaders are still

held back.


Proportionate representation of women

leaders


• The Local Government: Municipal Structures

Act (1998, 11. (3)) specifies that, as far as

councillors elected by proportional

representation from party lists, "Every party

must seek to ensure that fifty per cent of the

candidates on the party list are women and

that women and men candidates are evenly

distributed through the list".


Proportionate representation of

women leaders


• Women constitute one-half of the workforce. Women are no

longer are content to occupy staff positions that don‘t lead to

important line experience – they want careers, not jobs.

• Women constitute a major part of most consumer markets,

and it is growing as more and more women assume

responsibility for consumer purchasing in the home and car

markets.

• Women’s presence changes the conversation, number and

type of substantive issues which are considered is broadened.


Women Leadership Positions


• In a Harvard Business Review article, Adler

presented his findings, showing that companies with the highest percentages of female executives

delivered earnings far in excess of the median for other large firms

in their industries.

• The increased participation of women in the

workforce generally and their advancement to

positions of influence is a strategy that promotes

long-term viability.




• One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is

linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening

in all domains and at all levels of society.

• Women are no longer content to provide efficient labour

or to be consumers

• We have entered the age of “Womenomics, the

economy as thought out and practiced by a woman.” Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Financial Times, 10.03.2006





On average, women and men possess a

number of different innate skills. And

current trends suggest that many

sectors of the twenty-first-century

economic community are going to need

the natural talents of women.Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World‖


Women as an economic force

• Women contributed more to the expansion of the

world economy than new technology or the emerging

markets of China and India.

• Dividends for wider community: women re-invest

more than 90% of their income

• Women generally control resources of the household

• Women are the single biggest and least

acknowledged- force for economic growth on the

planet.



Current challenges and

initiatives• Now more than ever in South Africa,

legislated opportunities favour women in

industry.

• We can predict, that there will be an

increase in the number of successful women

if career management strategies,

mentorship, personal ownership and control

are in place.

• Furthermore, self-directed learning (where

the individual takes the initiative and

responsibility in educating themselves) leads

to job satisfaction

• Mentorship is key in creating a supportive

infrastructure to further women in their careers.

• Both organisations and individuals are

accountable for putting effective strategies in

place to promote the empowerment of women,

thereby positively influencing the productivity

of the labour market.


Current challenges and initiatives

What does all this mean for

South Africa• It is in everyone‘s best interest to bring qualified

women into leadership positions, especially now

when fresh perspectives are needed.

• We can no longer afford to set gender boundaries

around leadership.

• The power is in the purse strings: until women are

equitably represented in leadership in the private,

economic sector, they will be marginalised in every

other arena.

• What‘s good for women is good for men, business

and the global economy‖ • Ilene H Lang, President and CEO, Catalyst


• We are in a “war” for talent.

• The war will intensify.

• There is a severe shortage of effective leaders at all

levels.

• Women are under-represented in our leadership

ranks at or near the top.

• Women‘s strengths match the New Economy‘s

leadership needs.


What does all this mean for

South Africa


What can women do and what

should be done?• A nation‘s competitiveness depends significantly on whether

and how it educates and utilises its female talent.

• To maximise its competitiveness and development potential,

each country should strive for gender equality i.e. to give

women the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities as

men.

• In the current global financial and economic crisis, it is more

vital than ever that women‘s economic participation does not

shrink, but is in fact seen as an opportunity to make headway. Laura D Tyson



What can women do and

what should be done?

Concerted efforts should be made to identify

high potential women.

They should be coached for participation at

board level, i.e. expose them to the company's

business, bring them within the ranks by

appointing them to subsidiary boards. Abe Thebyane

• Include the transformation objectives as part of the

CEOs performance mandate and link a significant

portion of their performance bonus to the

achievement of these objectives. Women on Board research.



should be done?


• Companies could fast track the development of

women, through the ranks, to make sure they obtain

hard core, relevant business experience at a senior

management level and understand what makes

business tick, prior to being appointed to a board. Women on Board research.



should be done?

Where to from here?

• What are WE, as women, doing to uplift

other women, to empower them, to prepare

them for leadership positions?

• What are WE teaching our young girls?

• What are WE doing in our communities?

• What are WE doing in our work

environments?

• What are WE doing to protect our girl

children? How are we preparing them to be

LEADERS, right NOW?


Conclusion


“So often, it takes only one woman to make a

difference.

If you empower that woman with information, and

training, or a microloan, she can lift up her entire family

and contribute to the success of her community.

Multiply that one woman’s impact by a hundred or a

thousand, and perhaps a million lives can change.” Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State


I have 3 challenges for you!!!

• It ALL STARTS WITH YOU!!!

• What happens after this conference?

• What legacy are you going to leave behind one day?

• What is your personal mantra?

My personal mantra:

Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative women don’t make history!women don’t make history!women don’t make history!women don’t make history!



Thank you

• Questions

• Discussion

Alison Engelbrecht

CEO Women In Business

[email protected]

0829722675


Sources• http://wisat.org/home/new-gender-

benchmarking-study-south-africa-ranks-low-on-

women-participating-in-sti/

• The South African Board for People Practices

(SABPP) Women’s Report 2011

• BWA South African Women in Leadership Positions

Census 2011

• Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of

Women and How They Are Changing the World

• Financial Times
