Despite significant progress for women in the workforce, major South African financial institutions such as Absa, Nedbank and Sanlam, have come under fire from an activist organisation for what it has declared are low numbers of women in senior leadership positions.
Activist organisation Just Share has raised several concerns about these companies’ commitment to gender equality.
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A noticeable lack
Just Share’s recent review of these companies highlighted several key issues. One of the main concerns is the noticeable lack of women in top leadership positions. “This is compounded by a lack of transparent reporting on the number of women in senior roles, making it difficult to assess the true state of gender parity within these organisations,” Just Share said.
Furthermore, the organisation said that the absence of strong, CEO-backed strategic plans to address and improve gender imbalances is also a sorepoint and one of major concern.
Absa
“Absa’s CEO expressed satisfaction with the rate of transformation and the level of investment directed towards advancing women in leadership roles, despite the company’s 21% female representation at the executive committee level and 38.8% at senior management level,” Just Share said.
“At the AGM, Just Share highlighted that female representation on the executive committee has averaged only 19% over the past five years, and senior management has seen just a 3.8% increase in the same period.
“We asked what measures are being taken to address this slow progress, and to ensure tangible progress in equitable representation at the highest levels of leadership.
“The chair responded by mentioning the ‘strong representation of women, across the senior management level’ and the programmes in place to develop and advance women’s careers. He conceded, however, that the group does not yet reflect the highest levels of transformation.
“CEO Arrie Rautenbach added that female representation has become a key metric in Absa’s strategic scorecards and that, at EXCO level, women currently represent 29%, well above the 19% five-year average. He expressed satisfaction with the rate of transformation and the level of investment directed towards advancing women in leadership roles, despite the fact that Absa’s reported female representation falls significantly short of the national economically active population (EAP) of females, which is 45.5%,” the Just Share report read.
Sanlam
The activism agency also criticised Sanlam.
“Female representation on Sanlam’s executive committee is currently only 17%. Just Share inquired about the specific measures being taken to ensure more equitable representation of suitably qualified women at the highest levels of leadership.
“Additionally, Just Share asked whether the company AGM round-up: Old Mutual Limited & Sanlam Limited 2024
would disclose its Employment Equity (EE) report, which it last published in 2016, in its future annual reports.
“The CEO Hanratty did not directly respond to this question but instead pointed out that Shirley Zinn, the Chairman of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee, had previously addressed a question-related to gender imbalances across the organisation. He said that the EE plan is detailed and shared with the group Human Resources Committee quarterly, and that there are no plans to include it in the annual reports.”
Nedbank
Meanwhile, it also noted that Nedbank indicated that current gender diversity at board level (at 23%) “is low”, but would not be drawn on setting a board gender parity target.
“In Nedbank’s 2023 Governance Report, the company indicated that its “gender diversity at board level is low at 23%”, and that it would review its targets and board succession planning (its current target for black female representation is 25%).
“At the AGM, Just Share asked about Nedbank’s board gender target. We asked whether Nedbank would stretch its board gender diversity target to target gender parity at board level.
“In response, [Daniel] Mminele [an independent non-executive director] stated that a “key focus” for Nedbank is to have a board that ‘reflects the demographics of South Africa.” However, given that women currently comprise 46% of the South African economically active population, the 23% female representation on Nedbank’s board falls far short of representing the country’s demographics,” the organisations said.
Responses
Absa and Nedbank have both since responded to Technation.news regarding these reports from Just Share.
Nedbank:
Nedbank is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and the continued transformation of corporate SA. We have made good progress in improving the representation of women at all management levels and remain committed to making more progress towards the representation of women at senior management level.
Female representation at board level is currently at 29%. We are continuously reviewing our board succession planning to ensure we trend closer to internationally recommended practices and gender benchmarks set by ESG rating agencies.
Our Group Exco is made up a diverse team that comprises 46,2% female executives (from 35.3% in 2022). Female representation across all management levels is 62%.
According to Just Share (Women in leadership: Assessing gender equality in the JSE Top 40), “Nedbank is the only company close to gender parity at executive level”.
In 2020, Nedbank became a signatory to the UNWEP Principles, offering guidance to organisations on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community. The WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Nedbank participated in the UN WEP Gap Analysis survey in 2022, achieving a score of 85%. The results indicate Nedbank’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the implementation of policies and to work collaboratively in multi-stakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women.
Meanwhile, Absa said that it was actively promoting participation of women in the economy.
Absa:
As part of our broad gender ambition, we actively promote participation of women in the economy, while enabling the inclusion of all genders across our employee lifecycle, supplier value chain, and overall business value chain across all our markets.
Women make up a significant number of our staff in clusters such as Everyday Banking and Product Solutions, with percentages as high as 72.6% and 65.1%, respectively. This underscores our commitment to achieving gender diversity across all functions and ensuring that women are well-represented in critical areas that drive our business forward.
In 2023, we directed over R369 million of R608 million, or 61% of total investment, to the development of women to create a diverse talent pipeline. In 2023, 47% of our new hires at senior and middle management were women and 77% of new hires at junior management were women, reflecting our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Our focus on women in senior leadership is an important aspect of our transformation and culture journey and we continue to enhance our strategies to accelerate the rate of advancement of women in senior leadership and commercial roles.
Sanlam has not yet got back to Technation.news with a response to the allegations. But an update to this article will be included once they do.
Bleak outlook for SA
Adding to these local concerns, the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently released its Global Gender Gap 2024 report, which placed South Africa 18th out of 146 countries. This ranking is particularly concerning when compared to Namibia, a neighbouring country that achieved an impressive 8th place. The report also revealed that sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the worst regions globally for closing the gender gap.
Phryne Williams, founder of Capital Assignments, an executive search firm, stressed the urgency of the situation. She pointed out that if current trends continue, gender parity will not be achieved until 2158. “That’s five generations away,” Williams said. “We need significant changes now to ensure future generations have equal opportunities.”
Williams suggested several strategies for companies to improve gender parity. She emphasized the importance of strategic succession planning, where companies develop strong leadership pipelines with female candidates for key roles. Implementing re-entry development programs to support women returning to the workforce after a career break is another critical step, she said. “Additionally, companies need to create conditions that encourage women to stay and thrive in leadership roles, which is essential for retaining female talent.”
Companies must set clear goals and track their achievements to inspire the next generation of female leaders. Williams added, “The next-generation female talent won’t be inspired to believe in you on a 2158 timeline.”
