DIVERSITY UNLOCKS POTENTIAL
THE latest employment equity report once again elicited gasps and shocks from South Africa given the slow pace of transformation in the country in terms of black people occupying executive and managerial positions in the private sector and the under representation of women both in the public and private sectors.
The government made strong calls that it would not tolerate such and would amend legislation to not do business with companies that did not meet transformation targets.
This is unlikely to happen in at least the short term – take for example the big four banks – the monopoly that they own over the financial services industry means that even if they remain untransformed, government would still need to bank with them.
The private sector lamented the poor state of the economy – which is also an irrelevant excuse – even during economic boom years, transformation remained slow. So most likely next year, this report will look very much similar and we will be shocked all over again.
The benefits of having a diverse workforce have been well documented and proven by numerous research studies.
A diverse workforce often leads to a company finding solutions that never existed previously and unlocking the creative potential of employees working collaboratively in groups. Diversity opens new markets and has the potential to increase financial performance. Where women are placed in leadership opportunities, companies perform
The benefits of having a diverse workforce have been well documented and proven by numerous research studies
better. When women are given inclusion, society as a whole thrives.
But perhaps when we speak of transformation we have missed a critical piece on whether we are building inclusive work spaces. In my first official job, I remember being clearly told that English was the business language and that no other languages would be allowed during business hours.
This was all fine, until it became clear that Afrikaans was regularly used and that even the business leadership would use Afrikaans in business work. Talk about a disconnect between values and what happens on the ground.
What has happened to us all learning at least one indigenous African language? Is this not the true meaning of diversity?
Research suggests that our attempts at harnessing the power of our diversity is not working. We do lots of fluffy things like celebrating each other’s heritage during Heritage Day or conducting the infamous diversity workshop. But these are not sustainable attempts at change.
Only through having critical and painful conversations in the workplace about our past, about how privilege has manifested itself over centuries of colonialism and by understanding the challenges that black people, young people and women face can we truly reach for diversity and inclusion. Equally it is important to understand white rage that manifests itself in acts like displays of the old apartheid flag.
It is hard to understand why 25 years into democracy we are still not taking diversity and inclusion in the workplace seriously.
Leadership of companies need to understand the benefits that this holds not only for their own company’s performance and success in South Africa but also the benefits for the country. Change is only going to come if there is a true and sustainable commitment such that diversity and inclusion becomes a value to corporate South Africa.