Gender diversity at board level severely lacking in SA
- Jigsaw PR
- Aug 19
- 5 min read
Although increased representation of women on company boards is linked to positive bottom-line impacts, business is failing to capitalise on the strategic advantages offered by women directors with the achievement of gender parity likely to take more than a century.
The United Nations estimates that, at the current rate of progress, it will take another 140 years[i] for women to hold managerial positions equal to men, even though research has found that firms with greater gender diversity outperform the share prices of those with fewer women in the workforce and leadership positions.[ii]
Less than one in five[iii] directors of JSE-listed companies in South Africa are women (19.1%), a figure remaining fairly static over the past 5 years and lagging behind the global average of 23.3%, while some countries have achieved female board representation of up to 45%.[iv]
Prof Anita Bosch, Research Chair in Women at Work at Stellenbosch Business School and editor of the 2025 Women’s Report, described South Africa’s progress as “in a word, glacial”, and recommended that a target of 30% female representation on boards be set as a “reasonable and feasible short-term” measure.
“Women make up 51% of the South African population, and 46% of the economically active population, and more women than men attain a tertiary qualification.[v] And yet, they are far from equally represented at highest level of business decision-making.
“This is despite mounting evidence globally that women’s participation on boards contributes to better decision-making, improved corporate governance, enhanced company performance and reputational advantages.
“Creating a world where women on boards are valued with the same enthusiasm and opportunity as their male counterparts is not only the ethically right thing to do but makes solid business sense in terms of performance and gaining competitive advantage – yet business is not listening to sense in this regard,” she said.
This year’s 15th edition of the Women’s Report, released annually in Women’s Month, focuses on the reasons for lack of growth in women’s representation on boards, the quotas vs targets debate, and emerging concerns of “femwashing” and “over-boarding” of a select few women – practices to do more with polishing a company’s reputation and reporting compliance than effective representation.
Prof Bosch said global studies and research in various countries, across diverse sectors, had positively linked increased women’s representation on boards with significant improvements in various aspects of business.
“Gender-balanced boards engage in more transparent financial reporting and monitor management more diligently, leading to the company enjoying an enhanced reputation as a good corporate citizen.”
“Women tend towards a more collaborative leadership style, and seem less prone to group think, supporting open communication, willing to ask controversial questions and listen to diverse opinions. This constructive approach cultivates innovation and creativity which enhances informed decision-making, improved risk management, and sound environmental, social, and governance practices.”
“Women, who are responsible for the largest share of consumer spending, also may have superior insights into products, and are usually more attentive to customers’ needs,” she said.
Research by global financial services firm Morgan Stanley,[vi] covering 1 875 listed companies, found that share prices of more gender-diverse companies outperformed others by 7.1% in Europe, 3% in Japan, and 2% in the USA. Sector data showed that share prices in consumer discretionary companies showed the greatest outperformance at the global level (13.8%), followed by healthcare (9.0%), financials (8.3%), real-estate investment trusts (8.2%), utilities (4.5%), and industrials (1.8%).
South Africa is a signatory to the 2008 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development in 2008, which targets 50% women in decision-making positions in both the private and public sector.
However, there is no legislated mandate for gender diversity on boards in South Africa, although the King IV Code on corporate governance does encourage companies to strive to achieve parity and report on progress in their annual reports. JSE listing requirements, referring to the King IV principles, state that boards should set race and gender targets for board membership, but do not stipulate a figure.
Prof Bosch said the lack of organic growth in women’s representation on boards had prompted some countries to introduce mandatory quotas while others set voluntary targets, with varying results in both cases.
Norway and France, among the first to introduce quotas (in 2005 and 2010, respectively), are nearing gender parity in the boardroom, she said, while a recent worldwide study found that five of the six countries with the highest percentage of women on boards have mandatory quota legislation: 33% in Belgium and the Netherlands and 40% in France, Norway, and Italy.[vii]
In the UK, which does not have mandatory quotas but targets supported by the government, women hold of 43.4% of FTSE100 companies’ board seats and 30.5% of board seats in the 50 largest companies, already exceeding the 40% target set by the FTSE Women Leaders Review to be achieved by the end of 2025. [viii]
Australia subscribes to voluntary targets and disclosure, along with “severe naming-and-shaming practices”, and women’s representation on boards has more than doubled since 2014, from 15% to 34%. [ix]
“While quotas and targets are seemingly bearing some fruit in diversifying boards, it is unclear whether there is a recipe or process to follow. Deloitte Global research[x] reported that five of the top seven countries globally for the percentage of women as board chairs do not have quotas for women’s board representation,” Prof Bosch said.
She warned that fixed quotas may be “aggressive and polarising”.
“This approach can come with undesirable unintended consequences, such as a significantly increased risk of femwashing and over-boarding, compared to the more flexible and context-aware approach of targets. These outcomes do women more harm than good — both the women already in board positions and those who harbour the aspiration.”
“I still consider a target, rather than a quota, of 30% as both reasonable and feasible in the short term, with 40% as the stretch target,” she said.
Note to editors:
The Women’s Report, now in its 15th edition, offers accessible, evidence-based insights into the working lives and experiences of women in Africa, to inform HR practitioners, line managers and academics on topical issues facing women at work.
The 2025 Women’s Report, focused on women’s representation on boards, can be downloaded at https://www.womensreport.africa/wr2025/
The Report is sponsored by Stellenbosch Business School and distributed in association with the South African Board for People Practices.
REFERENCES
Bosch, A. (2025). Gender parity on boards — Save the date: somewhere in 2165. In A. Bosch (Ed.), Women’s Report 2025: Women on boards. www.womensreport.africa
[i] United Nations, Department of Economic Affairs. (2023). Gender equality can’t wait — we must achieve it now for current and future generations. https://www.un.org/en/desa/we-must-achieve-it-now-current-and-future-generations
[ii] Morgan Stanley. (March 7, 2023). Gender diversity keeps paying dividends. https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/gender-diversity-investment-framework
[iii] Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa (BWASA). (2017). BWASA South African women in leadership census. https://www.bbrief.co.za/content/uploads/2020/03/2017-Women-in-Leadership-Census.pdf
[iv] Deloitte Global. (2023). Women in the boardroom, eighth edition. A Deloitte Global report on gender diversity on boards and women in leadership. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/leadership/women-in-the-boardroom.html
[v] Stats SA. 2024. Census 2022: A profile of education enrolment, attainment and progression in South Africa. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-01-81/Report-03-01-812022.pdf
[vi] Morgan Stanley. (March 7, 2023).
[vii] Deloitte Global. (2023).
[viii] Gov.UK. (2025, February 25). Press release. UK businesses lead the way with record numbers of female leaders. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-businesses-lead-the-way-with-record-numbers-of-female-leaders
[ix] Deloitte Global. (2023).
[x] Deloitte Global. (2023).
