AFFIRMATIVE action and the law on employment equity has had virtually no effect in South Africa, with white men still filling nine out of ten positions in top local companies, according to a report published on Tuesday. The report by auditers Deloitte and Touche, printed in the Johannesburg-based Business Day newspaper, said white men still filled 93% of chief executive posts, compared to 95% in 1998. Of the more than 1 000 companies polled, which employ some 4 000 senior executives, only one had a woman CEO. In South Africa, senior executives’ salaries outstripped lower level posts and inflation, but lagged far behind international standards, the report said. In dollar terms, the country’s executives earned less than one fifth of the amount taken home by their counterparts in the United States, who are the world’s biggest earners. The report said the vast difference in pay is one of the biggest reasons for the brain drain — the emigration of skilled South Africans to other countries. – AFP