There are two sets of statistics in this issue which, when taken together, suggest a startling disparity between South Africa and the United States in the gender equality stakes. In terms of the former, Benedicta Dube cites the results from the South African Women in Corporate Leadership Census 2004. “The study focused on listed companies and state-owned entities,” she writes. “It found that women constitute only 14.7% of all executive managers. Of the 3,125 directorship positions available, women hold only 221. Only 11 women hold chairs of boards out of a total of 364. There are only 7 female CEOs and MDs, compared to 357 males.”
Then there are Harry Herber’s stats, and he’s quoting Faith Popcorn’s numbers on the United States: “women own 53% of stocks; women-owned businesses have an annual turnover of US$2,3 trillion; women employ 18,5-million workers; some 8-million, or 33% of US firms, are owned by women.”
What gives? If the calibre of individuals in the annual “top 10 women in media” feature is anything to go by, South Africa is certainly not short of female flair. As represented by the (consciously chosen) cover shot of Gwen Gill and Unathi Nkayi, there’s a broad range of local female expertise across the demographic spectrum. Accompanying Gwen and Unathi on the inside spread are another eight equally diverse and remarkable women, each of whom has made a major contribution to the economic, political, social or cultural development of the local media industry.
So, implicitly, 2004’s top 10 women beg the following question concerning the stats above: is the United States just that much more enlightened, or are we just that much more chauvinistic? The answer is anyone’s guess – perhaps it lies somewhere between the two – but hopefully The Media‘s annual initiative, in conjunction with the rest of the events surrounding National Woman’s Day this month, will go some way towards highlighting the unconscionable inconsistency.
PS. Tim Spira is returning to South Africa from New York shortly, so the “Global Effect” column in this issue will be his last. We are in the process of securing another columnist of Tim’s calibre to keep readers informed of international media trends and intrigues. Tim’s writing will run again in The Media towards the end of the year, when he will resume analysing local media.