A few weeks ago, while we were driving around town, a young family member asked me if only black people were allowed to be security guards. It was a great question, I told him, before attempting to explain how apartheid and colonialism had destroyed opportunities for millions of people and their children, and their children's children. And as a result, most South Africans have no choice but to take low-paying jobs if they can get them. As we talked about democracy and what had changed since 1994, he said: "So black people are catching up?" I knew what he meant: that opportunities were now open to everyone. But I mumbled a clumsy response as the evidence doesn't back this up. I didn't quite know how to explain to a young child that, in some respects, things haven't changed and for many people the chasm is just too wide to breach. This week, the release of the Commission for Employment Equity annual report for 2016-2017 showed once again how slow progress is in creating an equitable s...
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