Where are the women bosses?
According to the South African Women in Corporate Leadership Census 2004, commissioned by the Businesswomen's Association (BWA) and sponsored by Nedbank, women make up 52% of the adult population in South Africa, but they only make up 41% of the working South African population, constitute only 14,7% of all executive managers and only 7,1% seats on boards of directors in the country are held by women.
The Census 2004 was the first of its kind in South Africa and measured the representation of women on the board of directors and at an executive management level with all JSE-listed companies, as well as South Africa's 17 state-owned enterprises.
Soon to be released, the Census 2005 will not only compare the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 figures, but has been expanded to include the status of women directors (i.e. executive [CEOs and Chairs], non-executive), and the race of women directors. The Census 2005 also asks: Where are the 14.7% of South African woman executive managers concentrated and which listed companies are following through on gender equality?
