SOUTH AFRICA: Building a Pipeline for Talent

Sandra Burmeister, CEO of the Landelahni Recruitment Group, spoke to Margaret Harris about women on the boards of SA companies

How well are women doing in terms of representation on boards?

South Africa may be progressing faster than other countries, but the actual number of women directors and executives remains small, and the rate of change is minuscule. Overall, global indicators do not reflect well in terms of gender equity.

A census on women in leadership, by the Businesswomen's Association, shows that between 2008 and 2009 there was an increase (from 14.6% to 16.6%) in the number of female directors of JSE-listed companies. South Africa is now ahead of the US Fortune 500, which has 15.2% female directors, and the Canada FP500, which has 13%.

How well have black South African women fared?

South Africa's legislative framework in regard to black economic empowerment and the advancement of women has had a significant impact in influencing corporates to be more gender and equity sensitive. However, a lot of work remains to be done ... Unfortunately, the number of women chairmen of JSE boards has actually decreased over the past year from 4.6% to 4.1%, representing a mere 13 women. The good news is that companies with no female directors dropped from 33.4% to 21.5% in one year. This compares with the Fortune 500 where companies with no female directors decreased slightly to 12.3%, with the FTSE 100 lagging at 25%.

Do certain companies stand out in terms of women in leadership roles?

According to the 2010 census, Airports Company South Africa, Spescom, MiX Telematics Africa, Datacentrix Holdings and Alexkor are the companies with the highest proportion of women directors.

What are they doing right?

They have an unequivocal commitment to increasing the number of women in leadership positions.

They are committed to developing women who may not necessarily have years of experience. Instead they focus on developing talent - whether formally or informally. They look at quality entry-level candidates for board membership and executive management.

How do companies ensure there are women who are ready to take on board positions?

Women who are CEOs and COOs provide the pipeline for board positions, and those women make up approximately a quarter of the workforce, according to the Department of Labour employment equity report. There is a pipeline of women in senior management roles who could be groomed to take on board roles.

Most important is the pipeline. Those are the women already functioning at executive level and who understand the strategic and commercial components of running a company.

In addition, companies are doing a host of things to support board succession. They are increasing the number of board positions so as to increase the competence of young women.

They are ... seeking women with a broader range of skills and experience in different industry sectors. They are sourcing women who don't necessarily sit on other company boards, but have had board experience with NGOs and charities.

What do women bring to leadership roles that men do not?

This is, first and foremost, a diversity issue. There is irrefutable evidence that diversity in a team strengthens the team and increases corporate performance. The UK FTSE 100 companies with diverse leadership teams have a better financial performance.

More specifically, women bring emotional intelligence and balance to a team. They tend to be team-orientated rather than individually achievement oriented, and this can result in exceptional team performance to the benefit of the entire organisation.