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SA’s leadership landscape shows dismal results with diversity

Senior executives are still cut from the same cookie cutter with 95% of the top positions being filled by white males, nearly 60% of who are over 50, and close to 70% holding degrees in finance.

This has been revealed in a new study on top executives in South Africa, which shows a stereotypical CEO still exists despite the significant push towards greater racial and gender equity.

The Jack Hammer Executive Report, which has created a clear identi-kit of the average CEO, pulled together free-floating facts and statistics garnered from 80 top companies in South Africa.

Debbie Goodman Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer Executive Head Hunters, says the issue is not that business is loath to transform but rather that  companies do not want to appoint non-traditional CEOs who don’t fit the previously cast mould.

“It is no secret that there is some unhappiness about the slow pace of transformation and while good intentions abound, boards remain very risk averse, particularly in tough economic times.

 “Neither the decision makers, nor shareholders they are accountable to, like change. No one seems to want to shake up the status quo for fear the bottom line will be negatively impacted. Instead, corporate employment decisions revert to default positions rather than making bold new moves to change those at the helm in top corporations.”

The figures show that 15% of the Top 40 CEOs are black, 5% are female and the vast majority have a degree in finance and at least one post-graduate qualification.