Women afoot on JSE boards

Progress has been made in getting more women on the boards of JSE listed companies but there is still much room for improvement, which would enhance boards’ decision-making capabilities.

This is the finding of the report “Status of Gender on Jselisted Boards 2021”, Business Engage’s fifth annual study. It found an increase in women in executive management over the last five years.

In 2021, 18% of listed boards were chaired by women, up from 8% in 2017, and directors had increased to 24% from 7%. Of non-executive directors 34% were female, up from 23%.

C-suite progress was slow, with only 7% of women CEOS in 2021 from 3% in 2017. Women CFOS had more than doubled to 22% from 10%.

Business Engage secretary Malcom Larsen said the scarcity of women CEOS at listed companies, and on all male boards, hung over the bourse.

“We still have all-male boards ... at this time in our history.”

The report sponsored by Nedbank, Kearney and the DBSA was compiled using company annual reports for January 1 2021 to December 31 2021.

Parmi Natesan, CEO of the IODSA, said diversity in gender, race, experience or background was necessary for boards to make better decisions and view problems from new angles.

Natesan said setting gender targets had pros and cons.

“Sometimes it is the only way to move the dial. But we don’t want things rules-based, with people just ticking boxes.”

The research was conducted when there were 296 companies listed on the JSE, but 47 were omitted for various reasons. A total of 227 seats on boards for females had been declared available since 2017.

The report said of the companies in the report, 56 achieved their gender targets, 27 achieved gender parity and 20 were just one appointment away from parity.

But 17 companies had no female board members and 33 had only one.

Cheryl-jane Kujenga, former Ascendis CFO, said the willingness of boards to appoint women and the availability of women with genuine experience were at the crux of gender diversity in corporate SA.

“How would you craft the career path of a CEO? You would give them tough experiences; give them a strategic role and take them outside their comfort zone.

“If you are looking to make women available in a more meaningful way, go into your organisation and identify more women. Do not worry about whether they have children or not. That is their problem.”

Mamokete Ramathe, founder and CEO of Mamor Capital, an investment company with interests in the ICT sector, said while there was a progressive shift in shareholder activism focused on ESG issues, accountability and transparency boards were lagging on gender issues.