Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
The Employment Equity Act No. 55 (1998) states it purpose as, the promotion of equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination, and the implementation of affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages experienced by designated groups in employment, so as to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational levels in the workplace.
The level and pace of transformation in a variety of industries has been a topical issue for a number of years, the recent parliamentary commission hearings on transformation in the financial services sector are a testament to this. The financial services sector, through the Financial Sector Charter, claims to have been the first industry to voluntarily commit to the achievement of the transformation objectives. Over the years, however, banking institutions in South Africa have failed the transformation targets agreed to in the Financial Sector Charter for one or more occupational levels.
The main objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of black African middle managers about the barriers to the career progress into senior management level positions in the banking sector in South Africa. The secondary objectives included determining how black African middle managers define career progression; establishing what their perceptions of the required skills and personal attributes are for senior management in the banking sector are; as well as whether the black African middle managers within the banking sector believe they have the requisite skills and personal attributes required to progress into senior management; to determine whether black African middle managers believed that they had equitable opportunities as other race groups to advance in their organisations and finally to determine what, in the opinion of the respondents, needs to be done to overcome these barriers to their career progression.
The literature review section provides a detailed summation of the legislative or regulatory frameworks of employment equity, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerement as well as the Financial Sector Charter. It also provides a conceptualisation of career progress and diversity management. Areas that could...