A month later I feel the edge to contribute to Tsokolo's job search "predicament". Firstly, I agree with you that the "own transport" requirement does exclude a significant bulk of individuals (both indigenous African and African other). Putting a magnifying glass on the topic, you're likely to find a vast disparity of the composition of those excluded if race is used as a criterion. Therefore, I agree that putting forward a requirement such as this one does appear to be racially discriminatory.
The truth of the matter is; were we in New York or London, this requirement would not be as potent. Purely because there is public traction on the use of public transport and there is acceptable efficiency/reliability by the government/service provider. The contrary is true for SA's transport reality. Factually put by Bradley; mobility is usually inherent to the nature of most Marketing/Communication roles. This is purely a business reality that cannot be simply wished away.
Our "black" brothers and sisters from another mother, seem to be caught in the trap of affirming Tsokolo's predicament by demonstrating solidarity against their aloof white counter parts. In my view, this type of a trap spurs a sense of "I'm-a-victim-and-stuck" but what it also does is to surface issues that hinders talent (mostly black) from accessing "niche" job roles. The best way to address issues, is by asking the right relevant question and by taking them up with the right persons/institutions. Eventually, we will grow to realise that; racism is not the factor but "exclusion" by virtue of socio-economic background is the underlying challenge faced by any black skilled person in South Africa.
Our presumably "white" contributors seem to have leaned more on the defensive stance when in actual fact Portia's contribution has removed the noise from created by it. There is more to Tsokolo's statement than just the race card, and the naming a problem by attaching race is not necessarily a weak presentation when one is reflecting on his/her plight. The "white" point of view is completely different from that of the blacks. Ironically, it is like day and night. We need no scientific evidence to conclude that Greg (a 21 year old "whitey" boy) who recently graduated at VEGA is likely to be driving already (it could Mom's or Dad's car or even a birthday present when he turned 18 or when he matriculated). However, Sipho (a 21 year old darkie) graduate at VEGA is likely to be still driving his 2 series (i.e. walking) while his mom and/or dad is struggling to service the prohibitive tuition fees. This is a trump card for Greg where seeking employment is concerned and realistically speaking, Sipho will be lagging behind or will have to resort to "less meaty" roles.
Neither trying to deny this form of exclusion will not solve the problem nor reasoning a situation that is inconceivable to those who are not close to the plight will not draw closer to any solution either. Corporate leaders, recruitment agencies and anyone who is passionate about authentic talent should rather engage with the "excluded" so as to gain an understanding of the impact of such requirements and then make strides to device a way forward. I am sure that given enough priority and discourse; a workable solution is definitely attainable.
With forums such a Bizcommunity.com, we are granted a chance to elevate our perspectives as a community of professionals faced with different challanges which are within or out of our control.
