Managing Employment Equity: Evidence of What Works from South Africa

Sergio Fernandez, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Indiana University, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Affiliate Faculty, Indiana University, African Studies ProgramExtraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria, School of Public Management and AdministrationVisiting Professor, University of Johannesburg, Centre for Public Management and Governance

Introduction

• Employment equity refers to equitable or proportional representation of all social groups, including historically disadvantaged ones, in the workforce.

• Employment equity is a fundamental and widely cherished value.

• In a wide range of countries, including South Africa, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Israel, India, Malaysia, Fiji and Australia, policies have been promulgated to prohibit discrimination in employment (equal employment opportunity) and sanction the use of deliberate measures to redress for past wrongs suffered by historically disadvantaged groups and accelerate their advancement in public sector (affirmative action).

• Both minority and majority groups are affirmed

• In every country, use of deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of affirmed individuals is authorized by law (including quotas in Belgium, Malaysia, India, Fiji and Australia)

• Research on representative bureaucracy shows that public organizations whose demographics mirror the population can be more effective at implementing public policies and programs (see Keiser 2010, Kennedy 2014, Fernandez 2020).

• Much less is known, however, about how to promote or manage employment equity so that barriers to employment discrimination are removed, bureaucratic representation of the historically disadvantaged is increased, and the demographic composition of the public workforce comes to reflect the populace.

Research Question

What barriers (policies, practices, and/or other conditions in the workplace) impede achievement of employment equity so that the public workforce is

representative of the citizenry in terms of race, gender and disability status?

What barriers are negatively related to representation of blacks, women, and people with disabilities in the municipal workforce?

Managing Employment Equity

• Scholars have long recognized that strong institutions, administrative capacity, and effective accountability mechanisms are needed to affect desired changes formally decreed in policies.

• Experts now recognize the achievement of employment equity as a complex organizational process that must be of sound design and that requires effective management, particularly regarding the management of human resources.

• A small but growing number of studies, nearly all qualitative and based on small samples of managers and organizations, have begun to identify a range of managerial and organizational factors related to the achievement of employment equity, including Boonzaier and Boonzaier 1999; Greeff and Nel 2003; Jain et al. 2003; Thomas 2003; Thomas and Jain 2004; Selby and Sutherland 2006; Booysen 2007; Esterhuizen 2009; Horwitz and Jain 2011; Konrad et al. 2016):

• Goal setting and planning

• Staffing, including recruitment, selection, and appointment practices and policies

• Leadership commitment and employee buy-in

• Terms and conditions of employment

• Physical work environment and reasonable accommodation

• Organizational culture

• Compensation

• Training and development, including mentoring, coaching, and career planning

• Consultation

• Inducements to increase retention (reduce turnover)

• Negative stereotypes

• Resource munificence

• Monitoring and reporting

Classification of Factors Related to Employment Equity

• Attraction factors – those that create new opportunities for hiring HDP’s and increase the number of qualified applicants from HDG’s (e.g., aligning recruitment practices with EE goals, targeted advertising through outlets and that reach HDG’s, avoiding selection criteria that are extraneous to job performance and unfairly discriminate against HDG’s, setting ambitious hiring targets for HDG’s, bias against appointing HDG’s, updated job descriptions, and restructuring to create new positions or “space” for HDP’s)

• Retention factors – those affecting an organization’s ability to keep qualified employees from HDG’s (poor performance by employees from HDG’s, performance evaluation and disciplinary practices that are arbitrary and unfairly discriminate against HDG’s, job hopping by and job poaching of HDG’s, lack of useful and timely performance feedback for employees from HDG’s, perceived tokenism and lack of respect for affirmative action hires

• Attraction and retention factors – those that create new opportunities for hiring HDP’s and make the organization attractive to them, as well as enabling the organization to retain existing employees by improving their work-related attitudes toward it (e.g., reasonable pay and benefits, equal pay for HDG’s, working conditions and terms of employment that are favorable for HDP’s, organizational culture that promotes diversity, training and development opportunities, opportunities for promotion and advancement, and HIV/AIDS programs to support employees)

Attraction Factors Attraction and Retention Factors Retention Factors

Recruitment procedures Job assignments Performance and evaluation systems

Advertising positions Remuneration and benefits Transfers

Selection criteria Terms and conditions of employment Disciplinary measures

Appointments Work environment and facilities Dismissals

Job classification and grading Training and development Retention of designated groups

Promotions

Succession and experience planning

Corporate culture

Reasonable accommodation

HIV and AIDS education and prevention programs

Assigned senior managers to manage EE implementation

Budget allocation in support of employment equity goals

Time off for employment equity consultative committee to meet

Classification of Barriers Related to Employment Equity

Employment Equity in South Africa – The Policy Framework

• White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service of 1995

• Constitution of 1996

• White Paper on a New Employment Policy for the Public Service of 1997

• White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service of 1997

• White Paper on Affirmative Action in the Public Service of 1998

• White Paper on Public Service Training and Education of 1998

• Skills Development Act of 1998

• Employment Equity Act of 1998• Seeks to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination and

implementation of affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workplace.

• Requires organizations with more than 150 employees to identify barriers that adversely affect employment of members of designated groups; develop an employment equity plan, with annual objectives, numerical goals for achieving equitable representation of suitably qualified Blacks, women and people with disabilities, and affirmative action measures that will betaken; submitting the plan at required intervals to the Commission for Employment Equity; creating a timetable for achieving objectives other than numerical goals; developing procedures for monitoring and evaluating implementation of the plan; creating dispute resolution mechanisms related to the implementation of the plan; identifying those responsible for implementing the plan; and consulting with and trying to reach agreement with employees and their representatives (including unions) about the analysis, employment equity plan, and report.

• Promotion of Equity and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000

• Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003

Data and Methods

• Unit of analysis: the South African municipality (including metropolitan, local and district municipalities)

• Sample: 477 South African municipalities (2014-2016)

• Data sources:• Race, gender and disability status statistics and statistics (Department of Labour, EEA forms)• Achievement of employment equity goals (Department of Labour, EEA forms)• Barriers to employment equity (Department of Labour, EEA forms)• Workforce and finance data (municipal annual reports, MFMA Section 71 – Schedule C tables,

Nonfinancial Census of Municipalities, and 2011 Census)

• Dependent variables: percentage of municipal workforce that is black, female, or with a disability

• Independent variables: 23 self-reported barriers to achieving employment equity

• Control variables: provinces, years, types of municipalities, population, percent population black, per capita income, ANC control, total employees, vacancy rate, total revenues, surplus at end of year, cost per employee, audit result

• Statistical test – Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) (difference of means of proportions tests)

Achievement of Employment Equity Goals

Employment of Blacks, Women, and People with Disabilities

How Frequently Are Barriers to Employment Equity Encountered?

Which Barriers to Employment Equity Are Negatively Related to Achievement of Employment Equity Goals and Employment of

Blacks, Women, and People with Disabilities?

Percent Black Percent Female Percent with Disabilities

Attraction FactorsRecruitment procedures X XAdvertising positions X X XSelection criteria XAppointments X XJob classification and grading XAttraction and Retention FactorsJob assignments XRemuneration and benefits XTerms and conditions of employment X XWork environment and facilitiesTraining and development XPromotions XSuccession and experience planning XCorporate culture X XReasonable accommodationHIV and AIDS education and prevention programsAssigned senior managers to manage EE implementation

Budget allocation in support of employment equity goalsTime off for employment equity consultative committee to meetRetention FactorsPerformance and evaluation systems XTransfers X XDisciplinary measures X X XDismissals X X XRetention of designated groups

Are Managers Targeting Their Efforts on the Most Harmful Barriers to Employment Equity?

Barriers that Adversely Affect Employment of at

Least One Designated Group

Type Most Frequently Addressed

Barriers

Least Frequently Addressed

Barriers

Advertising positions Attraction X

Dismissals Retention X

Recruitment procedures Attraction X

Corporate culture Attraction and Retention X

Disciplinary measures Retention X

Selection criteria Attraction X

Appointments Attraction X

Remuneration and benefits Attraction and Retention X

Terms and conditions of employment Attraction and Retention X

Training and development Attraction and Retention X

Succession and experience planning Attraction and Retention X

Transfers Retention X

How Frequently Are Barriers to Employment Equity Addressed?

Attraction barriers average: 0.09

Attraction and retention barrier

average: 0.15

Retention barriers average: 0. 17

Conclusion

The challenge of achieving employment equity pertains to both attracting and retaining historically disadvantaged persons. Public managers must seek to remove barriers that affect both attraction and retention of employees.

However, some barriers seem to adversely affect a particular historically disadvantaged group more than others

• For representation of blacks in the municipal workforce, the challenge seems to be more about retaining current employees than attracting new ones

• For people with disabilities, the ability to attract and hire new employees appears to be the major challenge

• For employment of women, attraction and retention are equally serious challenges

Not all barriers adversely affect employment of historically disadvantaged persons. Hence, in the face of limited resources, public managers should focus their efforts to achieve employment equity on those barriers that adversely affect historically disadvantaged groups

Some fine tuning is needed as some of the most harmful barriers are among the least addressed ones. More effort should be made to address attraction barriers (those pertaining to recruitment, advertising, selection, and appointment of employees)

Barriers to Employment Equity Related to Achievement of Employment Equity Goals

Barrier Not Encountered Barrier Encountered Diff.

Attraction Factors

Recruitment procedures 0.40 0.24 -0.16**

Advertising positions 0.38 0.24 -0.14*

Selection criteria 0.38 0.25 -0.13**

Appointments 0.38 0.26 -0.12

Job classification and grading 0.36 0.34 -0.02

Attraction and Retention Factors

Remuneration and benefits 0.38 0.27 -0.11**

Terms and conditions of employment 0.36 0.24 -0.12

Work environment and facilities 0.41 0.26 -0.15***

Training and development 0.40 0.24 -0.16**

Promotions 0.36 0.29 -0.07

Succession and experience planning 0.41 0.25 -0.16**

Corporate culture 0.37 0.25 -0.12**

Reasonable accommodation 0.39 0.25 -0.14**

HIV and AIDS education and prevention programs 0.38 0.24 -0.14*

Assigned senior managers to manage EE implementation 0.37 0.22 -0.15**

Budget allocation in support of employment equity goals 0.40 0.26 -0.14**

Time off for employment equity consultative committee to meet 0.38 0.18 -0.20**

Retention Factors

Job assignments 0.37 0.23 -0.14

Performance and evaluation systems 0.37 0.30 -0.07

Transfers 0.35 0.33 -0.02

Disciplinary measures 0.37 0.25 -0.12

Dismissals 0.37 0.17 -0.20**

Retention of designated groups 0.40 0.23 -0.17***

Barriers to Employment Equity Related to Employment of Blacks, Women and People with Disabilities

Percent Black Percent Female Percent with Disabilities

Attraction Factors No Yes Diff. No Yes Diff. No Yes Diff.

(1) Recruitment procedures 0.96 0.95 -0.01* 0.37 0.36 -0.01** 0.02 0.01 -0.01**

(2) Advertising positions 0.96 0.95 -0.01** 0.37 0.36 -0.01** 0.02 0.01 -0.01**

(3) Selection criteria 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.37 0.00 0.02 0.01 -0.01**

(4) Appointments 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.37 0.36 -0.01** 0.02 0.01 -0.01**

(5) Job classification and grading 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.36 0.38 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01*

Attraction and Retention Factors

(6) Remuneration and benefits 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.37 0.37 0.00 0.02 0.01 -0.01*

(7) Terms and conditions of employment 0.96 0.95 -0.01** 0.37 0.35 -0.02* 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(9) Work environment and facilities 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.36 0.38 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.00

(10) Training and development 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.37 0.00 0.02 0.01 -0.01**

(12) Promotions 0.96 0.95 -0.01 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.01 0.04 0.03**

(14) Succession and experience planning 0.96 0.94 -0.02* 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.02 0.02 0.00

(18) Corporate culture 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.36 -0.01* 0.01 0.04 0.03*

(19) Reasonable accommodation 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.02 0.02 0.00

(20) HIV and AIDS education and prevention programs 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.35 -0.02 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(21) Assigned senior managers to manage EE implementation 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(22) Budget allocation in support of employment equity goals 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(23) Time off for employment equity consultative committee to meet 0.95 0.96 0.01 0.37 0.36 -0.01 0.02 0.01 -0.01

Retention Factors

(8) Job assignments 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.35 -0.02* 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(11) Performance and evaluation systems 0.95 0.96 -0.01** 0.37 0.37 0.00 0.02 0.01 -0.01

(13) Transfers 0.95 0.94 -0.01** 0.37 0.35 -0.02* 0.02 0.03 0.01

(15) Disciplinary measures 0.96 0.95 -0.01** 0.37 0.36 -0.01** 0.02 0.03 0.01**

(16) Dismissals 0.95 0.94 -0.01** 0.37 0.34 -0.03*** 0.02 0.04 0.02***

(17) Retention of designated groups 0.95 0.95 0.00 0.37 0.37 0.00 0.02 0.01 -0.01

Country Affected Groups Legally Prescribed Measures Quotas Permitted

South Africa Racial majority and minority groups, women, people with disabilities

Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

No

Zimbabwe Racial majority group De facto hiring ban and employee displacement Yes

United States Racial and ethnic minority groups, women, people with disabilities

Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

No

Canada Racial and ethnic minority groups Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

No

Switzerland Majority and minority ethnic groups, women, people with disabilities

Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

No

Belgium Ethnic minority group, women, people with disabilities Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

Yes

Malaysia Ethnic majority, women Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

Yes

India Ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

Yes

Australia Racial and ethnic minorities Deliberate measures to remove barriers and promote employment of groups, including targets and monitoring

No

Findings

Achievement of EE Goals

• Relatively even mix of attraction, attraction and retention, and retention factors negatively related to achievement of EE goals

• On average, attraction/attraction and retention/retention barriers associated with a 13.5%/15.1/18.5 drop in the probability of achieving employment equity goals

Black Representation

• Mostly retention factors negatively related to percent of blacks in workforce (4 out of 8)

• On average, attraction/attraction and retention/retention barriers associated with a -1%/-1.5%/-1% drop in percent of workforce that is black

Female Representation

• Relatively even mix of attraction, attraction and retention, and retention factors negatively related to achievement of EE goals

• On average, attraction/attraction and retention/retention barriers associated with a -1%/-1.5%/-2% drop in percent of workforce that is female

Disabled Representation

• Mostly attraction factors (4 out of 6) negatively related to percent of people with disabilities in workforce

• On average, attraction/attraction and retention/retention barriers associated with a -1%/-1%/0% drop in percent of workforce that is female

Most Frequently Encountered Barriers to Employment Equity

Least Frequently Encountered Barriers to Employment Equity