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South Africa's labor market continues to reflect pronounced racial, gender and disability disparities, with top management and senior management positions dominated by white and Indian males, the government's annual report on employment equity shows.
It says the “high representation of foreign nationals across all occupational levels in the economy, particularly in the public universities, remains a concern and must be monitored vigilantly”.
Trends observed from designated employers' employment equity reports indicate the labor market structure remains hierarchical in terms of “race, gender and then disability”.
“The upper two decision-making occupational levels (top management and senior management) remain racialised and gendered with the white and Indian population groups, with males being dominant at these levels,” says the 26th Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) report, “Bridging the equity gap through diversity and inclusion”.
“Notably, most designated groups, in particular, black women and persons with disabilities continue to be predominantly concentrated within the lower- to middle-management occupational levels of the workforce. Though there has been an encouraging increase in the representation of women in lower- to middle-management occupational levels, this upward movement has not yet translated into substantial gains at senior management and top management occupational levels.”
The report is based on analysis of employment equity (EE) data in the reports submitted by designated employers — those that employ 50 and more employees in the 2025 employment equity reporting cycle.
This is as a recent report by the Solidarity Research Institute, in collaboration with the Free Market Foundationestimated annual compliance costs with broad-based BEE at R149bn-R290bn, equivalent to 2%-4% of the country's GDP of R7.3-trillion.
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, which allows the labor minister to set strict, sector-specific numerical racial targets, has drawn sharp criticism, with some businesses and opposition parties condemning it as unconstitutional.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, however, has defended the legislation as a vital constitutional tool to correct systemic inequalities.
business group Sakeliga has called on its more than 12,000 members to defy the act, which came into effect on January 1 2025, dismissing it as irrational, harmful and unconstitutional, and calling for it to be scrapped.
The cee report says the “persistently low representation” of persons with disabilities remaining slightly above 1% across all occupational levels of all economic sectors for decades remains a big concern.
“An ambitious five-year sector target across all 18 economic sectors by the CEE was set, urging employers to prioritize and adopt assertive strategies when developing and implementing their employment equity plans. Additionally, the high representation of foreign nationals across all occupational levels in the economy, particularly in the public universities, remains a concern and must be monitored vigilantly,” the report states.
This is as the anti-migration group March and March held demonstrations nationwide on Tuesday, calling on those who live in South Africa illegally to leave the country.
Antimigration activists Ngizwe Mchunu, Nkosikhona “Phakelumthakathi” Ndabandaba and March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese routinely accuse foreigners of taking South Africans' jobs and having to compete with them over access to scant basic services such as healthcare and education.
“In a country grappling with high unemployment rates, it is essential for South Africa to thoroughly review the legislative framework governing labor migration and take appropriate action where necessary.”
The CEE notes that since the promulgation of the amended EE legislation and its regulations, “several legal challenges have been instituted against the minister of employment & labour, the director-general of the department and the CEE”.
“These matters largely concern the constitutional validity, lawfulness and practical implementation of the amended employment equity framework and its sector-specific numerical targets,” the report states.
“The outcomes of these cases will play a pivotal role in shaping the future interpretation and application of the EE legislation, defining the extent of ministerial authority and influencing the trajectory of transformation in the South African labor market.
“Considering the pending court judgments on EE cases, the CEE urges all employers to continue implementing the Employment Equity Act as amended to promote equity in their respective workplaces and create a diversified and inclusive workplace free from unfair treatment and discrimination.”
The CEE uses the Economically Active Population (EAP) as produced by Stats SA as a benchmark to assist employers in the analysis of their workforce to determine the degree of under- or over-representation of the designated groups and nondesignated groups in the workforce. The EAP includes persons 15-64 years old who are either employed or unemployed but seeking employment.
In terms of EAP, per the report's review, the African population group for both genders accounts for 81.3%; the colored population group for both genders is 8.6%; the white population group totals 7.7%; and the Indian population group 2.4%.
At top management level, the white population representation is 57.1%, about seven times its EAP, while the Indian population representation is 12.2%, more than five times its EAP. In contrast, the African population representation at 21.1% is about four times below its EAP, and the colored population representation at 6.4% is slightly below its EAP at this occupational level. Foreign national representation stands at 3.1% at this occupational level.
The 26th CEE annual report covers the period April 1 2025 to March 31 2026. During 2025/26, 5,090 reports were submitted covering 6,896,041 employees. The most reports were received from the manufacturing sector, followed by the wholesale and retail trade; the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; and the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.
“The CEE will continue to strive for diversity and inclusivity for all those persons previously disadvantaged in the workplace irrespective of the outcome of the litigation,” said outgoing CEE chair Nicole Deokiram.
Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said the labor federation “remains deeply frustrated by the snail's pace of transformation in South Africa's labor market 32 years into democracy”.
“The market is still racialised and genderised, and very little progress has been made to accommodate people with disabilities into the workplace,” Sabela added.
“This year's report exposes the various attempts to do away with employment equity legislation as disingenuous and misguided, as the figures clearly show that much more needs to be done to ensure we rectify the injustices of the past.”
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