Employment equity: complexity in practice

1
Employment equity complexity in practice

• Kezia Lewins
• Sociology of Work Unit (SWOP)
• University of the Witwatersrand

2
Issues to be addressed

• Complexity of segmented and stratified labour
  markets
• Need for equity to be extended throughout the
  labour market
• Competing equity relationship between race-based
  and gender-based equity
• Need for general vs. specific policy

3
Transforming the apartheid workplace regime

• racial division of labour
• racial structure of power
• racial segregation of facilities
• migrant labour
• a bifurcated industrial geography (Bezuidenhout,
  2005).

4
Demographic statistics () for the top five
sectors March 2006
Industrial sector African African African Coloured Coloured Coloured Indian/Asian Indian/Asian Indian/Asian Total Black Total Black Total Black White White White
Industrial sector M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T
Wholesale retail trade 33 33 67 5 6 11 4 2 6 42 41 83 10 7 17
Community, social personal services 31 34 65 5 6 12 1 1 2 37 42 79 9 12 21
Manufacturing 40 20 60 10 6 16 4 2 6 54 28 82 12 6 18
Financial intermediation, insurance, real estate business services 33 16 49 5 5 11 2 3 5 41 24 65 17 18 35
Agriculture, hunting, forestry fishing 45 36 81 8 4 12 - - - 53 40 93 5 2 7
5
Race and gender demographics () by occupational
level according to Census 2001
Occupation African African African Coloured Coloured Coloured Indian/Asian Indian/Asian Indian/Asian Total Black Total Black Total Black White White White
Occupation M F T M F T M F T M F T M F
Legislators, senior officials managers 19.0 8.1 27.1 5.2 3.0 8.2 6.9 2.1 9.0 31.1 13.2 44.3 39.3 16.4
Professionals 20.3 15.9 36.1 3.9 3.3 7.1 4.3. 2.9. 7.2 28.5 22.0 50.5 29.0. 20.6.
Technical associate professionals 22.1 30.8. 52.9 4.6 6.4 11.1 3.0 2.3 5.3 29.7 39.6. 69.3 14.7 16.0
Clerks 21.4 24.3 45.7 5.0 10.2 15.1. 3.4 4.6 8.0. 29.8 39.1 68.9 6.3 24.8
Service workers, shop market sales workers 43.7 21.0 64.6 5.6 5.0 10.6 3.4 1.6 5.0 52.6 27.6 80.2 12.1 7.7
Skilled agricultural fishery workers 51.8 19.7 71.5 8.3. 3.0 11.3 0.5 0.1 0.6 60.6 22.7 83.4 14.0 2.6
Craft related trades workers 59.2 10.4 69.5 10.8 2.7 13.5 2.8 0.7 3.5 72.8. 13.7 86.5 12.4 1.1
Plant machine operators assemblers 72.1 7.8 79.8. 8.0 3.5 11.6 2.8 1.2 3.9 82.8 12.5 95.3. 4.2 0.5
Elementary occupation 35.4 46.5 81.9 7.6 7.6. 15.2 0.5 0.3 0.8 43.5 54.4 98.0 1.3 0.8
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Glass ceilings and stone floors per race, gender
and occupational category
Occupation African African African Coloured Coloured Coloured Indian / Asian Indian / Asian Indian / Asian Total Black Total Black Total Black White White White Total Total
Occupation M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F
Legislators, senior officials managers X X X X X X X
Professionals X X X X X X X
Technical associate professionals X X X X X X X X X X
Clerks X X X X X X X X X X
Service workers, shop market sales workers X X X X X X X X X X X
Skilled agricultural fishery workers X X X X X X X X
Craft related trades workers X X X X X X X X
Plant machine operators assemblers X X X X X X X X X
Elementary occupation X X X X X X X X X X X X
Figure shows all workers at/above threshold of
economic activity for race and/or gender
category Key X Workers below a glass ceiling X
Workers above a stone floor X Workers spread
throughout labour hierarchy X Exceptions to major
trend X Irregular labour pattern with clustering
of workers at the middle
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Demographic change amongst top management
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Demographic change amongst senior management
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Demographic change amongst professionally
qualified
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Comparison of race, gender and occupational level
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Comparison of race, gender and occupational level
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Case study higher educationRace
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Case study higher educationGender and age
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Case study higher educationRace and gender by
institution
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Summary of case study

• Most important determinant continues to be
  historic institutional type
• Are provincial patterns
• Interesting questions raised about the
  relationship between race and gender-based equity

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Conclusion

• See equity as a part of the wider labour strategy
• Take cognisance of labour markets
• Find ways to reduce competing equities
• Facilitate substantive change
• Need strong linkages to education and training