http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A407150
IT SEEMS that some people harbour a near-religious belief that affirmative action is the root of all their ills. With them, this is an article of faith, irrespective of the evidence.
In fact, the data show that outside the public service, there has been almost no progress towards greater representivity in the workplace. That would require not only affirmative action programmes, but stronger employment growth and more equitable education.
Even a cursory overview of the data demonstrates how little has actually changed in this country. Various studies suggest that racial inequalities declined after 1994. But we are still very, very far from equity.
To start with, the high unemployment rate for black graduates proves that whites still enjoy considerable privilege in the hiring process. According to the September 2005 Labour Force Survey, among Africans with a university degree aged under 30, the unemployment rate ran at one in seven. In contrast, virtually no white graduates were unemployed.
Naturally, overall unemployment was far higher than for graduates — but it still showed a bias by race and gender. If we count as unemployed only those actively seeking work, the unemployment rate in September 2005 ran at 37% for African women, and just 4% for white men.
Major disparities also emerged around incomes, even if we control for education. The median income of African women with a university degree was the same as the median income of white men with only matric. The median monthly income for Africans in 2005 was R1000, for coloureds and Asians R1500, and for whites R4500.
More narrowly, progress towards representivity in senior management remains agonisingly slow. In 1995, white men made up 59% of all senior managers and professionals. Ten years later, they were still 52%. African participation in this top group had risen from 29% to 33%; hardly an earth-shattering improvement. Whites made up just under two-thirds of senior managers and professionals in private companies, and 40% in the public sector.
Contrary to urban legend, the data show that the average education of African managers was virtually identical to that of whites. Indeed, the average African woman in senior management had rather more formal education than managers from any other group. That in itself points to the fact that African women still need to outperform the competition in order to get ahead.
And open racism has hardly disappeared from the workplace. In 2005, a Congress of South African Trade Unions survey found that one African worker in seven faced open racial abuse on the job.
Affirmative action is necessary for a more inclusive economy. But by itself it cannot do all that much.
The relevant legislation actually seeks employment equity, rather than affirmative action alone. It aims to end discrimination and support greater representivity primarily by:
‖Requiring that only job-related characteristics count in hiring and promotion, and asking employers to choose people from historically discriminated group if two candidates have equal competencies; and
‖Encouraging employers to provide opportunities for all workers to get a promotion. In the past lower-level African workers, in particular, had virtually no realistic hope of advancement. That in itself represents a deterrent to productivity and constructive working relations.
But achieving these aims is extraordinarily difficult when employment grows very slowly, as it did in the 1990s. In these conditions, representivity improves only as vacancies emerge.
A further challenge is the continued failure to end the class divisions in education, which in SA largely parallel the racial divide. Today, well-off families of any race can get a world-class education in the public system. But the cost is too high for most poor families, and support through bursaries and fee waivers remains inadequate. Affirmative action policies cannot, by themselves, overcome the resulting differentials in qualifications. We risk entrenching inequalities based on access to education rather than racist laws.
Finally, the Employment Equity Act had virtually no enforcement mechanisms. Government has ensured eligible employers file employment equity plans, but lacks capacity to evaluate them. The broad-based black economic empowerment codes go some way towards remedying this problem by setting cross-cutting targets and linking them to government procurement.
Ultimately, sustainable growth in SA must be more inclusive and equitable. That, in turn, requires continued commitment to affirmative action. But it can succeed only if linked to much more far-reaching measures to restructure education and create employment opportunities.
IT SEEMS that some people harbour a near-religious belief that affirmative action is the root of all their ills. With them, this is an article of faith, irrespective of the evidence.
In fact, the data show that outside the public service, there has been almost no progress towards greater representivity in the workplace. That would require not only affirmative action programmes, but stronger employment growth and more equitable education.
Even a cursory overview of the data demonstrates how little has actually changed in this country. Various studies suggest that racial inequalities declined after 1994. But we are still very, very far from equity.
To start with, the high unemployment rate for black graduates proves that whites still enjoy considerable privilege in the hiring process. According to the September 2005 Labour Force Survey, among Africans with a university degree aged under 30, the unemployment rate ran at one in seven. In contrast, virtually no white graduates were unemployed.
Naturally, overall unemployment was far higher than for graduates — but it still showed a bias by race and gender. If we count as unemployed only those actively seeking work, the unemployment rate in September 2005 ran at 37% for African women, and just 4% for white men.
Major disparities also emerged around incomes, even if we control for education. The median income of African women with a university degree was the same as the median income of white men with only matric. The median monthly income for Africans in 2005 was R1000, for coloureds and Asians R1500, and for whites R4500.
More narrowly, progress towards representivity in senior management remains agonisingly slow. In 1995, white men made up 59% of all senior managers and professionals. Ten years later, they were still 52%. African participation in this top group had risen from 29% to 33%; hardly an earth-shattering improvement. Whites made up just under two-thirds of senior managers and professionals in private companies, and 40% in the public sector.
Contrary to urban legend, the data show that the average education of African managers was virtually identical to that of whites. Indeed, the average African woman in senior management had rather more formal education than managers from any other group. That in itself points to the fact that African women still need to outperform the competition in order to get ahead.
And open racism has hardly disappeared from the workplace. In 2005, a Congress of South African Trade Unions survey found that one African worker in seven faced open racial abuse on the job.
Affirmative action is necessary for a more inclusive economy. But by itself it cannot do all that much.
The relevant legislation actually seeks employment equity, rather than affirmative action alone. It aims to end discrimination and support greater representivity primarily by:
‖Requiring that only job-related characteristics count in hiring and promotion, and asking employers to choose people from historically discriminated group if two candidates have equal competencies; and
‖Encouraging employers to provide opportunities for all workers to get a promotion. In the past lower-level African workers, in particular, had virtually no realistic hope of advancement. That in itself represents a deterrent to productivity and constructive working relations.
But achieving these aims is extraordinarily difficult when employment grows very slowly, as it did in the 1990s. In these conditions, representivity improves only as vacancies emerge.
A further challenge is the continued failure to end the class divisions in education, which in SA largely parallel the racial divide. Today, well-off families of any race can get a world-class education in the public system. But the cost is too high for most poor families, and support through bursaries and fee waivers remains inadequate. Affirmative action policies cannot, by themselves, overcome the resulting differentials in qualifications. We risk entrenching inequalities based on access to education rather than racist laws.
Finally, the Employment Equity Act had virtually no enforcement mechanisms. Government has ensured eligible employers file employment equity plans, but lacks capacity to evaluate them. The broad-based black economic empowerment codes go some way towards remedying this problem by setting cross-cutting targets and linking them to government procurement.
Ultimately, sustainable growth in SA must be more inclusive and equitable. That, in turn, requires continued commitment to affirmative action. But it can succeed only if linked to much more far-reaching measures to restructure education and create employment opportunities.
It's all a conspiracy.
