Members of the Businesswomen’s Association (BWA) have resolved to stand united in the face of the raging debate around the exclusion of white women from employment equity legislation. This comes on the heels of a debate sparked by Employment Equity Commission Chairperson Jimmy Manyi, who released a statement saying that the group was over represented according to top executive level targets and called for a revision to the current Employment Equity legislation. 

Participants at a BWA workshop held at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Johannesburg this week reached a unanimous agreement that it was premature to divide women along racial lines before first addressing issues of gender inequalities. The women, who hailed from all racial backgrounds, remained resolute on focusing on the development and empowerment of all women regardless of race and agreed that they would not entertain policies that seek to divide women as a group. The workshop was facilitated by renowned trainer Dr Renate Volpe from HIRS.

In her contribution to the discussion, former BWA President, Dr. Namane Magau alluded to the fact that there was a problem in terms of women in general lagging behind in the workplace and the problem would not be resolved until it is acknowledged and analysed.

“The numbers are telling us that women, as far as their role in decision-making and leadership in corporations is concerned, are still far from reaching the levels of representivity that we would like to see happening. As women, let us look at this problem honestly and sincerely. We should not allow the problem to divide us, but neither should we be simplistic in our approach. We cannot just powder the cracks and say the problem does not exist. We still need to bridge the gap between the upward mobility of black women so that they do not lag behind their white counterparts,” said Dr.  Magau.

Dr. Magau urged all women to earn their stripes and promote integrity by demonstrating that they understand what empowerment is. She said it was also essential for white women in senior positions to play an active role in promoting and developing black women in order to achieve true empowerment. Another participant emphasized the need for women to gain critical mass in senior positions in order promote more women to high ranking positions in the workplace.

In her introduction, BWA President, Basetsana Kumalo also highlighted the fact that women as an entire group are disadvantaged and if, according to the results of the BWA Women in Corporate Leadership Census, female representation of senior executives is only 2.5% (8 out of 318), then the group was still too small a category to make race a defining factor.   Basetsana quoted Dr Mamphele Ramphele who advises women not to shoot themselves in the foot by allowing race to be a dividing factor amongst them.

Other issues raised at the workshop included the fact that whilst it is understood that black and white women come from different backgrounds and face different challenges, they still needed each other in order to overcome the bigger problem of gender inequality in the workplace. In addition, there was a call for all women already in business to engage in activities that will allow the transfer of skills to young and upcoming businesswomen.

BWA CEO, Angie Makwetla said the workshop was structured to give stakeholders the opportunity to present their opinions on the debate as well as to empower women to have a say on issues that affect them.

“As the BWA, we felt that firstly, it was important that the voices of the women whom we represent are heard, and secondly, we believe that when faced with a contentious issue that seeks to divide women of all races, it is imperative for us to encourage constructive debate and to remain focused on finding solutions rather than fighting each other.
“We invited numerous stakeholders to join us at the workshop and to open up in the presence of their peers. We were very pleased with the outcome of the workshop as it demonstrated that women are now beyond issues of race, and are more attuned to the needs of all women as a gender,” said Makwetla.

The workshop, which was a follow up to a BWA Roundtable discussion held in October with Employment Equity Commission Chairperson, Jimmy Manyi, was attended by representatives from various organisations including the South African Women in Dialogue, National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc), the Department of Trade & Industry, as well as members of the BWA.