DUMA GQUBULE: Time for the Norway quota solution with harsh sanctions
Allowing companies to set their own targets has not worked and sector targets will fail too
In 2003, Norway became the first country to implement a law that set a 40% quota for women representation on company boards. In 2002, 4% of board members were women. The toughest sanction was the dissolution of noncompliant companies. By 2009, companies had achieved the quota, which sparked a Europe-wide debate about the policy. Now, other countries — Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Poland and Spain — have soft gender diversity laws.
In SA, a quarter of a century after the government implemented the Employment Equity Act, companies are refusing to comply. In 2023, white people (7.2% of the population) accounted for 65.1% of people in top management, according to the latest Commission for Employment Equity report. White males (3.5% of the population) accounted for 51.8% of people in top management. Black people (Africans, coloureds and Indians) comprise 92.8% of the population...
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