Employment and Labour on labour market structure remaining hierarchical in terms of race, gender and disability

The South African labour market continues to reflect pronounced racial, gender and disability disparities, according to the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) in its 26th Annual Report.

The Commission for Employment Equity said the upper two decision-making occupational levels, namely top management and senior management, remain racialised and gendered, with the white and Indian population groups, and males, being dominant at these levels.

Released under the tagline “Bridging the Equity Gap Through Diversity and Inclusion”, the report is based on analysis of Employment Equity (EE) data submitted by designated employers, those that employ 50 or more employees, in the 2025 EE reporting cycle.

The CEE uses the Economically Active Population (EAP), as produced by Statistics South Africa, as a benchmark to assist employers in the analysis of their workforce to determine the degree of under or over-representation of designated groups and non-designated groups in the workforce.

The EAP includes persons between the ages of 15 and 64 years who are either employed or unemployed but seeking employment.

In terms of EAP, as per the report’s review, the African population group for both genders accounts for 81.3%, the Coloured population group for both genders accounts for 8.6%, the White population group accounts for 7.7%, and the Indian population group accounts for 2.4%.

According to the CEE Annual Report, White population representation at 57.1% is approximately seven times their EAP, and Indian population representation at 12.2% is more than five times their EAP at top management level.

In contrast, African population representation at 21.1% is approximately four times below their EAP, while Coloured population representation at 6.4% is slightly below their EAP at this occupational level. Foreign national representation stands at 3.1% at this occupational level.

The CEE said male representation remains dominant at top management level, at more than two times female representation. It also shows that males are over-represented in terms of their EAP of 54.3%, while females are under-represented in terms of their EAP of 45.7% at this occupational level.

The report further indicates that employees with disabilities remain low and account for only 2.5% of representation at top management level.

“Notably, most designated groups, in particular, black women and persons with disabilities continue to be predominantly concentrated within the lower to middle management occupational levels of the workforce. Although there has been an encouraging increase in the representation of women in lower to middle management occupational levels, this upward movement has not yet translated into substantial gains at Senior Management and Top Management occupational levels,” the CEE said.

The CEE is a statutory body mandated to advise the Minister of Employment and Labour on the development of Codes of Good Practice, regulatory matters, policy directions, and any issues arising from the implementation of the Act.

The report said the persistently low representation of persons with disabilities, remaining slightly above 1% across all occupational levels of all economic sectors for decades, remains a significant concern.

The Commission said, following the new landscape on the setting of sector targets, it urges employers to prioritise and adopt assertive strategies when developing and implementing their Employment Equity Plans (EE Plans).

“Additionally, the high representation of Foreign Nationals across all occupational levels in the economy, particularly in the public universities, remains a concern and must be monitored vigilantly. In a country grappling with high unemployment rates, it is essential for South Africa to thoroughly review the legislative framework governing labour migration and take appropriate action where necessary,” cautioned the CEE.

The 26th CEE Annual Report, which covers the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, reflects on the key strategic objectives of the CEE, and the highlights of the CEE's activities and achievements during the period under review, guided by the strategic objectives formulated at the start of their five-year term of office in December 2020.

In the 2025/26 period, some 15 090 reports were submitted, covering 6 896 041 employees. This reflects a decrease of 48.4% in reports received and a decrease of 10.4% in employees covered.

The significant drop in the number of reports received, from 29 269 in 2024 to 15 090 in 2025, is largely due to the change in legislation that does not require small employers, mainly those with one to 49 employees, to submit reports anymore.

The drop in employees covered, from 7 699 665 in 2024 to 6 896 041 in 2025, is insignificant because small employers accounted for few employees, at 803 624.

For the period under review, the highest number of reports was received from the manufacturing sector, followed by the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.

At senior management level, White population group representation stands at 44.1%, which is approximately six times their EAP, while the representation of the Indian population group at 12.5% is approximately five times their EAP.

The representation of the African population group at 31.5% is less than half their EAP at this level. The high representation of foreign nationals, at 3.3%, is noted at this occupational level.

At professionally qualified level, Africans are the only population group that is below their EAP. The representation of foreign nationals at 2.2% is relatively high at this occupational level. The White and Indian population representation far exceeds their EAP in most sectors of the economy at professionally qualified level.

At skilled level, Africans are the only population group that is under-represented in relation to their EAP. It also shows that the representation of foreign nationals is at 1.3% at this occupational level. The representation of females is above the EAP at skilled level, while employees with disabilities account for 1.2% of the total workforce at this occupational level.

At semi-skilled level, Africans and Coloureds are over-represented. The White and Indian population groups are under-represented at this occupational level. The high representation of foreign nationals, at 1.7%, at this low occupational level remains a concern to the CEE.

The report said the representation of Indians and Whites are the only population groups that are below their EAP at unskilled level.

The CEE said, considering the high unemployment rate in South Africa, it is crucial that the representation of foreign nationals, at 3.2%, should be monitored and managed at this occupational level.

The representation of Africans and Coloureds are the only population groups that are over-represented in both government and in the private sector at unskilled level.

Despite set targets, the Commission revealed that the representation of employees with disabilities is at 1.3% of the total workforce in 2025.

This is the first report after the operationalisation of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, and the introduction of the five-year sector EE targets, including the issuing of the EE Compliance Certificate.

The Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, and the two sets of EE Regulations, 2025, became effective on 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2025, respectively.

Reflecting on the status of litigation, the CEE said these cases primarily concern the constitutional validity, lawfulness and implementation of the amended EE legislative framework and the sectoral numerical targets. Some of the litigations have been filed by political parties, employers' organisations, civil movements and trade unions.

“The CEE will continue to strive for diversity and inclusivity for all those persons previously disadvantaged in the workplace irrespective of the outcome of the litigation,” said outgoing CEE Chairperson Nicole Deokiram.

Enquiries:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
E-mail: teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za

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