Thulas Nxesi, the minister of labour, has lamented the number of white males employed in the upper reaches of many companies.
He was speaking at a virtual launch of the latest report of the Commission for Employment Equity.
According to the report, white males dominated top and senior management positions in companies, with this demographic accounting for 51.6% and 34.7% of these positions respectively.
According to BusinessLive, Nxesi said at the launch: ‘This report is a wake-up call to [the] government. It’s evident that self-regulation by employers to achieve the objectives of this [employment equity] act has not worked. More aggressive strategies are required to reach its intended purpose, including reviewing the legislation.’
An amendment to the Employment Equity Act, which will allow Nxesi to set racial targets by sector, is currently before the National Assembly.
Nxesi said it was time to finalise the amendment and make it law to help ‘build an all-inclusive South Africa’.
The chair of the Commission for Employment Equity, Tabea Kabinde, also lamented at the launch that self-regulation had not worked and said the amendment would be a game changer.
Despite further strengthening of race-based laws, employment equity and more black economic empowerment (BEE) are not favoured by most South Africans. According to polling done by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) only 3.3% of South Africans (and 4.2% of black South Africans) want more affirmative action and BEE in employment.
Despite this, it is likely that the government will continue to implement race-based laws, with all that means for an economy which is already hobbled by too much regulation.
Image: Thulas Nxesi (GCIS), https://www.flickr.com/photos/governmentza/50297976531/