Gender representation on JSE Boards improving, but…

Gender representation on the boards of JSE-listed companies is improving, but a lot must still be done.

The report, now in its sixth year, is based on research conducted by Business Engage in association with the Institute of Directors SA and 30% Club South Africa and sponsored by Nedbank and the global management consultancy Kearney.

It monitors adherence to the requirement that all JSE-listed companies have a gender policy and that these companies must report to their stakeholders on the policy and follow the associated trends. The findings are based on the published Integrated Annual Reports during the 2022 calendar year.

“I am confident that there is a real difference. So far, 37 companies reached gender parity on their boards, with another 33 not too far behind. This is setting the standards,” says Colleen Larsen, CE of Business Engage.

The 2022 edition of the report also reflected on progress made over the previous five years, and the authors believe that the JSE listing requirement had a positive and sustainable effect on the appointment of women to the boards and committees of JSE-listed companies. The various iterations of the King Codes also played a role in creating a conducive environment for appointing more women.

“The time has now come to consider what the next five years should look like in South Africa. The UK first had the Lord Davies Commission, which lasted for five years, superseded by the Hampton-Alexander Review, which again lasted for five years.

“Towards the end, Sir Philip Hampton argued that he doubted a similar five-year structure would be appropriate. This proved to be the case and the UK now has the FTSE Women Leaders. This is still a ‘review,’ but has moved on from being a commission.”

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Time to look at what comes next for gender representation

Larsen says she believes that after five years of this kind of reporting, it is becoming very difficult for organisations to say anything meaningful that has not been said many times already.

“Maybe it is now time to turn our attention to where and how changes are made at the upper echelons of corporate structures. We are all aware that changes are gradual and incremental, and it is sometimes difficult to see that they are happening at all. We can forget what the environment was like not so long ago as we get caught up in life as we currently perceive it.”

Zanele Mngadi, chief legal counsel at Nedbank, says in a fast-transforming society, board diversity is important to remain relevant and sustainable. “Studies show that diversity matters as companies that embrace gender, race and ethnic diversity achieve better financial performance. As an organisation, the Nedbank Group strives for a diverse and transformed board that closely reflects the demographics of South Africa.”

Jo-Ann Pohl, senior advisor at Kearney, says we must champion gender diversity, particularly within upper management and leadership roles, in our pursuit of meritocracy. “We must build on what we have done and be deliberate about what we do next, as success in corporate leadership and boards hinges on embracing the principle of true inclusion and equality.

“Achieving gender equality transcends mere statistics; it is about creating tangible empowerment opportunities based on individual capabilities and actions, rather than gender.”

The report was compiled from information publicly available in the form of integrated annual reports for the reporting period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. The research included 247 JSE-listed companies, with 69 not specifically reporting on gender at the board level.

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Key findings in the report on gender representation

The survey information showed that at least 44 of these companies already achieved their targets in terms of gender policy and did not mention it, while 37 already achieved gender parity or better, and another 33 are close to achieving parity and needed to appoint just one female to the board in place of a male to achieve parity.

These figures are a significant increase from the previous year, but 27 companies still had no female board members, an increase from the previous year.

“Change is happening, even if still incrementally. A report published by Deloitte a few years ago stated that companies take generally around five years to comply with any new legislation. We are now past that five-year point and the companies that were going to make a meaningful change would have done so by now.“

Earlier this year, Norway’s government reached an agreement with the business lobby and unions to force large and medium-sized companies to phase in 40% female representation on their boards within five years.

Larsen says the plan, believed to be the first of its kind globally, will initially cover about 8 000 companies next year and expand to include about 20 000 companies with more than 30 employees by 2028.

“Is this the example we should be following as our next step? We have to ask tough and important questions as we consider what to do next to achieve better gender representation for JSE-listed boards.”