From the stage to the boardroom: South African women make slow transition

Authors:
Jen Snowball

Professor of Economics, Rhodes University 

Amy Shelver

Researcher for the South African Cultural Observatory, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

A close examination reveals that representation of women in corporate boardrooms in South Africa still leaves much to be desired.
This is particularly so in the creative and cultural industries. Here, women leaders are rare, and thus their experiences and perspectives –- and those of the women down the ladder –- are scarcely represented.
The structural challenges women face were evident in the first-ever National Mapping Study of the creative and cultural industries released in 2014. A sample of 2,500 firms were interviewed about their ownership and employee demographics, among other things.

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Class and race shape how young South Africans access the job market

Getting hired in South Africa can be a serious challenge given the country’s unemployment rate of 26.6% and a trend towards declining employment in the formal non-agricultural sector.
There are many possible routes job seekers can take as they seek to enter the workforce. Some are clearly marked out, facilitating a smooth transition. Others are not very clearly marked and are fraught with difficulty, leading to uncertainty and often significant personal hardship.

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