The Black Management Forum (BMF) is set to hold a ‘women in leadership’ dialogue which intends to bring transformation for women to occupy senior positions in public and private sectors.
The event will take place on Wednesday at the Queens Casino and Hotel at 6pm.
The engagement is based on the BMF’s gender equity catalyst programme which aims to address the white minority and patriarchy issue to accommodate women in leadership roles.
The dialogue will provide possible solutions on how the transformation can be brought forward.
Chris Hani BMF chairman Mabuti Mpafa said in 2000 the forum had established a Basotho Hat formula which requires companies to comply with bringing in 40% senior managers, 30% senior executive directors, 40% non-executive directors and 50% junior managers who were black people.
Mpafa said: “This was for private companies to comply with and advance the employment equity transformation. However the targets have not been met since 2000. The country should have moved a long way with the transformation by now.
“The private sector is not interested in the transformation narrative nor in allowing blacks and women to get into critical senior positions. This was confirmed in the 2018 commission for employment equity annual report which stated that 67% of white people occupy top management positions.”
He said the report had indicated that there were 56% of senior executive management positions were filled by whites, while Africans were at 22%.
Although BMF appreciated the government’s efforts to ensure that women and the black majority were employed in senior positions, Mpafa believed a hefty enforcement for private companies to comply with the transformation act, would speed up the process.
“The government must promulgate section 53 of the employment equity act, which deals with state contracts. The employment equity act must ensure that the employers who are non-compliant should not be awarded tenders by government,” he said.
He said a separate solution would be needed for private companies which did not depend on being awarded contracts by government to run their businesses.