As South Africa marks another Women’s Month, the spotlight again falls on gender equality — and the long, uneven road still ahead. The boardrooms and C-suites of JSE-listed companies remain male-dominated. The rhetoric around transformation is familiar, but how much real progress has been made?
The rise of women in leadership has produced powerful examples of resilience and success, but structural inequalities continue. Progress is uneven, frequently hampered by deep-rooted institutional and cultural biases. A closer look is needed at the systems, expectations and pressures that still define the paths to power for women in South African business.
The 2024 South Africa Spencer Stuart Board Index, a definitive barometer of corporate governance trends among the 50 largest companies on the JSE by market capitalisation, offers a nuanced snapshot of the corporate gender landscape.
Women occupy 37% of board director positions, a modest but consistent increase from 35% in 2023. But there is a stark disparity between nonexecutive and executive roles. Lisa Mariano, a consultant at Spencer Stuart and co-author of the report, highlights that women are much more likely to be appointed as nonexecutive directors than to executive positions.
“Anecdotal evidence supports the notion that more women reach the C-suite through support functions, rather than general management and profit-and-loss leadership roles,” says Mariano. “Women need to move into line management roles to ensure that they build the experience required to head executive teams.”
It’s what leadership analysts call the “broken rung”. It’s at the critical leap from middle to senior management where women so often falter — not for lack of talent, but for lack of opportunity.
The gap is more pronounced when you examine the most powerful positions. While women’s representation on boards has nudged upwards, the percentage of women executive directors remains stubbornly low. In the JSE top 50, women executive directors make up only 19%, against 39% of nonexecutive directors. And only 6% of CEOs are women — admittedly, an improvement from 4% in 2023.
Even among new appointments, the pace of change is concerning. While women accounted for 40% of new board appointments in 2024, it was 52% in 2023. This slowdown, coupled with women’s generally shorter tenures on boards (with women nonexecutive directors averaging 5.5 years vs 6.7 years for men), signals challenges in retention and pipeline development.
According to Clicks Group CEO Bertina Engelbrecht, “it’s a story of demonstrable progress, offset by stubborn blind spots. In large entities, gender transformation continues to be the exception, particularly at executive and senior management levels.” She cites the Commission for Employment Equity annual report 2024, which indicates that women occupy just 26.9% of top management positions.
Global comparisons offer only partial comfort. South Africa ranks relatively well in terms of overall board representation, yet continues to lag when it comes to women executives. Ireland leads with 65% of women among newly appointed directors. In 2022 the Hong Kong Stock Exchange introduced a rule that single-gender boards would no longer be allowed after 2024.
The statistics tell only part of the story. The path to the executive suite for women in South Africa is riddled with systemic and cultural barriers that extend far beyond mere numbers. These include deeply rooted patriarchal norms, unconscious biases, and persistent work-life balance issues that collectively impede women’s career progression. For black women, these disadvantages are often compounded by legacy discrimination, making their ascent even more challenging.
One of the most persistent challenges for women is entering and navigating leadership spaces that have traditionally lacked diversity, says Vuyo Lee, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the JSE. “As a young black woman, the path to leadership often meant being the first, a position that carries both the weight of representation and the responsibility to succeed so as to pave the way for others.”
She says one of the biggest cultural and structural barriers that keep women out of executive pipelines is the persistence of narrow leadership archetypes, often shaped by legacy systems that “were not designed with women, especially black women, in mind”.
Women now make up 60% of the JSE board and 75% of its executive committee, including CEO Leila Fourie. “[This is] a reflection of our deep commitment to transformation and our long-standing role as a leader in building a more inclusive and representative corporate landscape,” says Lee.
“Institutional patriarchy isn’t just a glass ceiling, it’s concrete,” says Shirley Maltz, executive chair at Weaver Fintech and a corporate veteran. The impact of these embedded biases is felt acutely in boardrooms and meeting rooms across the country. “I’ve been mistaken for the secretary in meetings,” recalls Maltz. “People would hand me their tea orders, and I’d serve them, then introduce myself as the chair.”
Jeanette Marais, CEO of Momentum Group, says the most difficult part of her journey is confronting the ideas men have about how women should behave. “In the early days, I was asked to pour the tea or take the notes in meetings. Other times, they would advise me — kindly, condescendingly — to tone it down, to be less demanding, less ‘unreasonable’.” What was praised as ambition in male colleagues was framed as aggression in her.
Marais was the first woman CEO of a large listed life insurance and asset management company. “It’s two years later, and it’s still the case, I’m still the only one! It’s not OK that in 2025, that’s still the case. There are enough women to choose from, but somehow they haven’t cracked that ceiling.”
Spar COO Megan Pydigadu recalls that, working in finance and engineering, both historically male domains, she struggled to speak up early in her career. “It could feel intimidating to challenge thinking in rooms where I was one of very few women, and young as well,” she says. She had to learn to “debate openly, interrogate, and trust that what I bring to the table truly matters”.
Women leaders across all races are often held to different standards, according to Lee. “There is an unspoken expectation to constantly prove your credibility, to be twice as prepared and to navigate leadership with both strength and grace, often under more scrutiny than our male counterparts.”
Engelbrecht points to “narrow talent pipelines” in male-dominated industries, with deep-rooted unconscious bias and legacy power dynamics that influence decision-making and placement. There is a failure to adequately support women who have caregiver responsibilities, and a lack of meaningful mentorship.
Ann Mackeurtan, a trailblazer who was the first woman admitted to the JSE trading floor in the 1970s, recounts the profound challenges of navigating a male-dominated world. Though she had inherited her father’s stockbroking business, she had to plead her case before a 12-person committee — a process made even more daunting while managing a young baby. “My first time walking on the floor, as the first woman member, was hugely overwhelming in a room of men, yet a moment I will never forget.”
While South Africa’s capital markets have made real progress on women’s transformation, especially compared to when she started out, Mackeurtan still feels the pace of transformation is too slow. “Pay gaps remain. However, they are narrowing. Capital markets are moving in the right direction, but true equality will require ongoing commitment, accountability and cultural change.”
Remarkably, South Africa ranks 18th on the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, above countries such as Switzerland (20th), the Netherlands (28th), and the US (43rd).
Though this is a relatively good global standing, there should be no gap at all, says Mark Bussin, founder and lead director of 21st Century. “Any difference is unacceptable.”
There is an average 15%-18% gender pay gap in South Africa across all levels. However, says Bussin, “this is not in the design of any pay systems. When people recruit, they tend to have unconscious bias.” This refers to the subtle, often unintended attitudes or stereotypes that influence recruiters’ decisions about hiring, promotions and compensation, resulting in women being undervalued or paid less than their male counterparts for equivalent work.
Bussin says it will take some time, but boards are implementing strategies to address this. Executives are now expected to report on gender or race pay gaps, and having to show previous payslips when applying to a new job should be banned. “It is very difficult to teach people not to have unconscious biases, so boards should implement practical solutions to combat any disparities.”
The emotional toll of this journey is also significant. Felicia Msiza, CEO of construction company Raubex, describes the “emotional rollercoaster” of rising to the top. “This journey comes with both exhilarating highs and challenging lows. There are moments of triumph. But there are also setbacks, crises and moments of self-doubt. Navigating this emotional terrain takes resilience, adaptability and a strong support system to stay grounded and maintain perspective.”
Organisational culture is often the biggest barrier, says Msiza. “Too many important decisions still happen informally, in settings where women are not present or included — such as private social events or certain networks. Historically, men have done well at building relationships outside the boardroom. When women are excluded from those circles, they are left out of key conversations and opportunities. This limits their ability to influence outcomes as equal contributors.”
These challenges are often amplified for women leaders who, as many interviewees attest, are frequently held to different, often stricter, standards. This extends to leadership styles, emotional expression and even guilt, particularly around motherhood. “I don’t see male CEOs agonising about missing a school concert,” says Maltz. “But women still hold themselves to that account. We carry the guilt.”
While the corporate world grapples with conscious and unconscious biases, and the statistics paint a picture of slow progress, the view from the recruiting frontline offers another critical dimension: the availability of seasoned women for the very top jobs.
According to Andrew Woodburn, MD of leading executive search firm Amrop Woodburn Mann, the core issue at senior level in listed companies is fundamentally one of supply.
“My read is, unfortunately, we are supply-constrained,” says Woodburn, referring to executives typically above 40 years old. He says there simply aren’t enough women who have accumulated the depth of experience and the necessary leadership acumen required for CEO, CFO or board roles. “We don't have enough women yet with all the correct qualifications, experience, track record, knowledge and leadership capacity.”
Woodburn emphasises that rising to the pinnacle of corporate power demands a long and often challenging journey that inevitably includes successes and failures. “You need a long career, ups and downs, results and no results, to go and sit on a board later or be the CEO or CFO.”
He cites Mary Vilakazi, CEO of FirstRand, as a prime example of a leader who embodies the necessary trajectory. “She’s had a long career. She’s delivered the results.” He acknowledges that while such women seize opportunities and rise to the highest echelons through merit, those who are qualified are highly sought after by companies. “But we don’t have 20 Mary Vilakazis available to the economy to put in those roles.”
This perspective highlights a bottleneck in the gender transformation pipeline. Historical imbalances still mean that the pool of women with decades of high-level profit-and-loss responsibility and diverse industry exposure remains small.
Shareholders increasingly want diversity, including women of colour, but their fundamental demand is unwavering: leaders who can “deliver the results”. This puts immense pressure on executive search firms to find candidates who meet the diversity mandate as well as the stringent performance expectations.
The experiences of South Africa’s women executives provide invaluable qualitative insights — a powerful counterpoint to the quantitative data.
Jackie van Niekerk, CEO of Attacq, speaks of the inherent challenges of breaking into a traditionally male-dominated industry. “The property sector has traditionally been male-dominated, and early in my career, I often had to prove my credibility.” Her strategy for overcoming this was to build deep expertise, stay rooted in purpose, and learning to lead from a place of authenticity. She also credits supportive mentors, including her husband, for challenging and championing her.
Mentorship, many agree, is key. Pydigadu says: “We rise by lifting others. I’m a firm believer in supporting other women and helping them rise in the organisations I’ve worked in, as well as ensuring they are seen and heard and receive sponsorship.” She advocates for deliberate intervention, such as quotas, ESG measures and shareholder efforts to ensure companies adopt diversity policies.
Marais’s advice to women aiming for the C-suite is to “be who you are, that’s all you have to give. Don’t ever sacrifice your magic because other people want to put you in a mould. Your superpower is your authentic magic that you bring to the table, and if it makes other people uncomfortable, so be it.”
Mackeurtan says: “True equality is an ongoing commitment to accountability and culture.” Her advice to women aspiring to leadership is to “prioritise a work and wellbeing balance. The financial sector can be incredibly demanding, and it’s essential to set boundaries to ensure a work and personal life balance.”
Despite the obstacles, there is consensus among leaders and experts on the strategies needed. The core message is clear: genuine transformation is not a passive process. It requires intentional leadership, transparent processes and data-driven strategies.
Van Niekerk suggests mandating performance-linked gender equity targets for all JSE-listed companies. “When leadership development is intentional and measurable, change becomes inevitable. Without clear data and accountability, transformation risks becoming a side project instead of a core business objective.”
Mariano stresses the importance of “creative human capital management” to address the “broken rung” directly, advocating for proactive development of women in critical operational roles.
Engelbrecht emphasises that much of the progress achieved has been driven by legislative frameworks such as the Employment Equity Act and BBBEE Codes of Good Practice, as well as heightened scrutiny from ESG requirements for listed companies.
To keep diversity ratios and compliance up, companies are eager to hire women, especially black women, according to Helen Wilson, founder of Helen Wilson Recruitment. “There are no obstacles for them to be recruited. All my clients prefer to hire women, and black women are top of their list.” Companies have been shifting their approach to recruitment for a while, says Wilson, and they strive to reach their set diversity targets.
However, Engelbrecht laments that for “too many organisations, gender transformation remains a compliance exercise rather than a strategic or cultural imperative.”
The argument for gender transformation in executive leadership extends far beyond social justice. It is a strategic imperative with tangible economic benefits. A growing body of empirical evidence, including research from organisations such as the US-based National Girls Collaborative Project, demonstrates a positive correlation between higher women’s representation in senior management and on boards, and improved corporate performance.
This includes enhanced financial returns, stronger ESG performance, greater innovation and superior decision-making quality. Diverse boards bring a wider range of perspectives, experiences and skills, leading to more robust discussions and better risk management. Different viewpoints challenge groupthink, fostering more creative problem-solving and ultimately driving better financial outcomes.
In a competitive global landscape, companies that embrace diversity are better positioned to understand diverse customer bases, adapt to changing market conditions, and foster an inclusive culture that attracts and retains top talent. The business case is no longer debatable; it is a fundamental pillar of modern corporate success.
“Transformation is happening,” says Van Niekerk, “and companies that have been deliberate about making transformation part of their strategy and investing in it are starting to reap the benefits. Companies that create environments where women aren’t just surviving the system but actively shaping it are already making strides.”
South Africa has no shortage of high-profile women who have held influential roles in the public and private sectors. Many of them helped crack the executive glass ceiling long before transformation was a buzzword.
Maria Ramos held top positions at the National Treasury, Transnet and Absa, becoming one of the most prominent figures in South African finance and policy. Wendy Lucas-Bull served in leadership roles in FirstRand’s retail banking operations, including FNB, and later as chair of Absa Group, while Elisabeth Bradley, through her family’s stake in Toyota South Africa, became one of the first women to serve on multiple JSE-listed boards. These leaders helped pave the way for a new generation of executives who are now actively pushing for more inclusive leadership structures.
Because Women’s Month encourages reflection and renewed commitment, the corporate landscape must recognise that empowering women in leadership is not merely a social obligation but a strategic imperative.
The true measure of transformation will be when women in executive leadership are no longer the exception. With continued intentionality and purpose, the vision of true gender parity at the apex of South African business can, and must, become a reality.