Despite Women’s Month being celebrated across the nation, gender disparities within South African workplaces persist. To illustrate, women earn 20.1% less than men on an hourly basis and 32.5% less monthly. Additionally, a mere 42% of women hold senior management roles and only 39% are in CEO positions. While strides toward equality have been made, women still face substantial barriers to economic advancement and career progression. Sandra Botha, Lead / Global HR Auditor at the Top Employers Institute, stresses that addressing this disparity is crucial for promoting gender equality and economic growth in South Africa.
Referring to the Gender Pay Gap and Labour Market Inequalities in South Africa report, she explains that the imbalance arises from various factors, including women working fewer hours than men, disproportionate responsibilities for unpaid care work, and discriminatory practices in the labour market. “Essentially, the gender pay gap is a symptom of a broader system of inequality that undervalues women and their contributions to the economy.”
The report reveals that horizontal segregation across sectors and occupations also drives pay inequalities. Women and men tend to be concentrated in different jobs and industries, a phenomenon known as occupational and sectoral segregation. The Duncan Segregation Index measures this imbalance. A score of 0 indicates perfect gender balance, while higher scores signify greater segregation. South Africa has a score of 0.35 for occupational and 0.3 for sectoral segregation, revealing a considerable gender gap in the labour market. “This uneven distribution limits women’s access to higher-paying roles and career advancement opportunities,” notes Botha.
“Moreover, women are consistently paid less than men across most sectors and occupations,” she adds. “Despite equal qualifications and experience, women are often undervalued and underpaid. In the construction industry, for instance, women earn an appalling 85.6% less.”
Botha points out that while factors like occupational segregation, education, experience and even marital status can influence these pay differentials, a large component remains unexplained. “This includes disparities in bargaining power, social networks, and outright discrimination.”
“Gendered cultural norms and societal expectations create additional barriers for women in South African organisations,” she continues. “These norms influence hiring practices, promotion opportunities, and overall treatment of women in the workplace. They deeply impact women’s career progression and earnings, reinforcing the gender gap.”
Below, Botha outlines eight strategies adopted by some of South Africa’s Top Employers for addressing these complex issues:
- Actively hire, retain, and advance women to leadership positions. With the aim of a gender-equal workforce by 2030, MTN has embarked on a conscious, incentive-driven hiring drive with targets set for the placement of women.
- Address biases in recruitment, performance evaluations, and promotion decisions. Unilever employs a metric known as the Gender Appointment Ratio (GAR) which provides senior leaders with a five-year overview of their appointment decisions, thereby increasing awareness of hiring biases and encouraging equitable decision-making.
- Raise awareness about unconscious bias through training sessions to promote a culture of inclusivity. This training is now mandatory for all Accenture employees. The company’s talent recruitment team also applies technology to eliminate bias in their search for future employees.
- Implement transparent and fair compensation policies to eliminate gender pay gaps. Unilever has developed a Framework for Fair Compensation which ensures fair, liveable, market-based, non-discriminatory, performance-focused, and transparent compensation for all employees.
- Offer remote work options, flexible hours, and parental leave policies to help women balance work and caregiving responsibilities. BMW Group South Africa supports employees with flexible work arrangements including remote work, flexitime, sabbaticals, part-time options, and job sharing to accommodate their personal and professional needs.
- Invest in training and development opportunities for women focused on leadership skills, negotiation techniques, and career advancement. MTN has developed an exclusive leadership programme for women called Rising Leaders dedicated to fast-tracking women’s growth journeys.
- Offer mentorship programmes to empower women with the skills and knowledge to further their careers and overcome workplace obstacles. Vodacom’s Mentorship for Leaders programme pairs female participants with leaders within the organisation to aid their professional and personal development.
- Develop policies that support work-life balance, such as childcare assistance and wellness programmes for the benefit of all employees. Cipla South Africa provides a confidential counselling service to help its staff and their family members cope with stress, and also offers a daycare facility across its locations.
“Studies have shown that a more equitable workforce is more profitable, productive and innovative. But the broader implications of achieving gender equality in the workplace extend far beyond individual companies. By fostering a more equitable workplace, we can boost economic growth, reduce poverty and create a more equitable and just society where everyone can thrive,” she concludes.
