Subjective experiences of employment equity in South African organisations

Abstract

Orientation: This article explores employees’ subjective experiences of employment equity (EE) within South African organisational contexts, adding diverse and in-depth insights to the post-apartheid EE discourse.Research purpose: The purpose is to hear the voices of employees of different social-cultural, racial and gender backgrounds on the experiences of EE in contemporary South African organisations.Motivation for the study: Research suggests that South African organisations are pressurised to redress past racial inequality. Understanding employees’ subjective experiences of EE adds value to the debate and provides the reader with an in-depth contemporary image of EE in post-apartheid South African organisations.Research approach/design and method: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach, within the qualitative interpretive paradigm, yielded in-depth, rich and detailed descriptions of employees’ experiences of EE in both the private and public sectors of the South African workplace.Main findings: Findings show five themes that are associated with experiences of EE within South African organisations. This study highlights differences of experiences regarding EE plans and processes based on racial background, gender and age, as well as on historical socio-cultural and racial classifications of being a member of advantaged and disadvantaged groups. The following findings are highlighted: the insight into the experiences of EE from the perspectives of the ‘born-frees’ (the differences in experiences of different age groups of employees) and the experienced discrimination of black male and female employees regarding race and the experiences of gender-based discrimination being described by black and white male employees.Practical/managerial implications: Findings show the focus of experiences of EE, the conflicting issues and what South African organisations need to focus on in terms of human resources management (HRM) and the development of employee relations across racial and gender divides. It shows which topics need to be addressed in employee development and training programmes to manage diversity constructively and effectively.Contribution/value-add: The findings can be used by human resources managers to: (1) monitor the progress towards EE competently and vigorously, (2) create awareness and communication within individuals, organisations and society regarding EE, (3) create best practices in order to benefit from EE (members of all racial, gender, cultural groups), (4) create a discourse on humanistic and reflexive HRM, and(5) implement consulting, training and development programmes in organisations that are strategically, sustainably and long-term orientated.

Untangling discrimination in the private sector workplace in South Africa: Paving the way for Black African women progression to managerial positions

“…Braveman et al (2002) defined equity as social justice or fairness and asserts that it is an ethical concept grounded in principles of distributive justice. Oosthuizen et al (2019) defined employment equity as ‘the employment of individuals in a fair and non-biased manner, thus to promote equal opportunity by eliminating discrimination in all employment policies and practices’. The aspirations of the EEA is to redress injustices of the past by implementing affirmative action measures to ensure that black African women are equitably represented in all occupational levels.…”

At the edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Employees’ perceptions of employment equity from a CIBART perspective

“…As the 'typical' linear career path ceases to exist, perceptions of the value of the new norm of a 'portfolio career' must change. For many employees, job mobility, constant retraining and rotation will become a crucial way of improving their adaptability, employability and usefulness to society (Kagermann et al, 2013) while adjusting EE policies and racial transformation in workplaces (Oosthuizen et al, 2019). Organisations are faced with an array of choices when contemplating the future of the 4IR, requiring an understanding of the future workplace options (Ind4.0, 2016).…”

“…Employees from these organisations were acquired through purposeful sampling procedures (Welman, Kruger, & Mitchell, 2012), which depended on consideration criteria, for example, race, gender, language competency (employees were required to speak English) and general availability. Three separate organisations were arranged under the 'conflict themes' heading in Table 1, 'Human resources and private sector' (Oosthuizen et al, 2019).…”

“…Racial standards still do not coordinate with the societal statistic profile (Mayer & Barnard, 2015;Surtee & Hall, 2009) and solid discourses on expansionism, politically sanctioned racial segregation and workplace post-colonialism have emerged (Masombuka, 2016). A gradual change towards EE appears in workplaces (Breetzke & Hedding, 2016); however, how to address EE in a 4IR context remains in question (Louw, 2015;Oosthuizen, Tonelli, & Mayer, 2019).…”

Career Development of Academic Staff in Faculties of Dentistry by Means of Mentorship Programs: Protocol for a Scoping Review

“…Mentoring was first developed in the United States of America in the 1970s within large corporations to support junior staff [1] but has now extended to other contexts, including the university-based education platforms of health professionals [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Over the years, the reforms in the education of health professionals have contributed to the doubling of life expectancy during the 20th century [4].…”