As we reflect on Human Rights Month, it’s hard not to think about how far we’ve come — and how much further we still have to go — when it comes to gender equality in the workplace. South Africa has made real progress in getting more women into the workforce, but when you look at the leadership numbers, the picture is still uneven.
Right now, women hold around 45% of jobs in the formal sector — that’s encouraging. But only about 29% of executive roles are held by women, and fewer than 10% of CEOs at JSE-listed companies are female. That gap at the top is telling, and it reflects the structural barriers that women continue to face in the corporate world.
A recent analysis of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Top 40 companies shows that women now make up 36% of board positions — a small but important 1% increase from last year. But at the executive management level, it’s a different story. Female representation dropped to 23% — a 2% decline that highlights just how tough it still is for women to break into senior leadership.
In the public sector, the percentage of women in middle management has grown from 45.2% in 2019 to 46.4% in 2023. Senior management saw a similar rise — from 42.4% to 45.2% over the same period. Progress is happening, althoughIt’s slow, it’s moving in the right direction.
A study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) showed that nearly 75% of companies with gender-balanced leadership reported profit increases of between 5% and 20%. That’s not a coincidence — diverse teams drive better results.
Progress Is Happening — But We Need to Keep Pushing
The good news is that more women are stepping into leadership roles across industries — from finance and tech to energy and retail. That’s proof that when businesses create the right conditions, women thrive.
But we can’t slow down now. As businesses we need to actively create pathways for women to advance — not just at the board level but in executive and operational roles too. That means investing in training, offering flexible work models, and building cultures where women feel valued and supported.
At the end of the day, gender equality in leadership isn’t just a business advantage — it’s a human rights issue. And it starts with creating more opportunities for women to lead — not just because it’s good for business, but because it’s the right thing to do.