SA Businesses Are Losing Women Just Before They Reach the C-Suite

South African businesses may be making progress in bringing more women into management, but a significant gap remains when it comes to women reaching the highest levels of corporate leadership.

According to the Commission for Employment Equity, women currently hold 37.7% of senior management positions, but that figure drops to just 26.9% at top-management level.

The nearly 11-percentage-point decline highlights what is being described as a “missing middle” in the country's leadership pipeline, women are making it into senior management, but many are not progressing into the C-suite.

Inge Lawrence from Bizmod says the trend raises important questions about what happens to women once they reach senior leadership.

“It is concerning that experienced women are reaching senior levels but are not progressing into the C-suite at the same rate.”

The gap is also visible among South Africa's largest listed companies. Analysis by Just Share found that women occupied 36% of board positions at JSE Top 40 companies in 2024, but accounted for only 23% of executive-management roles.

The problem isn't simply a lack of qualified women

According to Lawrence, the figures suggest that the challenge cannot simply be explained by a shortage of women with the qualifications or ambition to lead.

Women are entering the leadership pipeline and reaching senior management. The bigger question is what happens when opportunities for the most influential positions become available.

While board representation remains important, executive positions carry direct responsibility for business strategy, operations, people, performance and capital allocation.

Having more women represented on boards therefore does not necessarily mean that more women are occupying the positions responsible for running businesses.

The cost of losing women from the leadership pipeline

The loss also has consequences for businesses.

By the time an employee reaches senior management, an organisation has typically invested years in their professional development, leadership capabilities, institutional knowledge and relationships.

When an experienced woman leaves or decides that pursuing the next level is no longer worth the personal cost, companies risk losing that investment or failing to make full use of the talent already within their organisations.

Career progression also has long-term implications for women's financial security.

Research from the University of Cape Town's Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit has found that almost half of South Africa's gender pay gap can be explained by women working at lower-paying companies than men.

The pay gap is particularly significant between women's mid-20s and mid-40s, a period that often coincides with substantial family and caregiving responsibilities.

What businesses can do

Bizmod says organisations need to look beyond simply counting the number of women in leadership positions and examine how women move through the pipeline.

It recommends that employers focus on three key areas:

1. Measure movement, not just representation

Businesses should track how many women are entering, progressing through and leaving each level of the organisation. Simply setting a target for the number of women in executive positions does not show where the leadership pipeline is losing talent.

2. Examine access to career-defining opportunities

Businesses should look at who receives opportunities to lead major clients, turnaround projects, international assignments, profit-and-loss functions and crisis situations.

These experiences often become the evidence used when deciding who is ready for executive leadership.

3. Move from mentorship to sponsorship

Mentors can provide guidance, but sponsors use their influence to actively open doors.

Bizmod says senior leaders should identify women with executive potential, advocate for them and ensure they gain the experience, visibility and networks needed to progress.

Businesses should also examine whether their definition of “leadership potential” unintentionally rewards constant availability, visibility and uninterrupted career histories.

Flexible working policies, for example, can have limited impact if employees who use them are subsequently viewed as less committed or less likely to be promoted.

Women need pathways, not another call to “lean in”

Lawrence argues that the responsibility for closing the leadership gap should not rest solely with women.

“Women do not need another August campaign telling them to be more confident or to lean in. They need transparent pathways, equitable access to opportunity and leaders who are accountable for developing diverse successors.”

As South Africa marks Women's Month, the issue raises a broader question about what meaningful gender transformation looks like in corporate South Africa.

The test may no longer be simply how many women enter the leadership pipeline, but how many remain and progress when the most powerful positions become available.