Parliament on low gender and people with disability representation in senior management services

Continued low gender and people with disability representation alarming

The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration/Performance Monitoring and Evaluation is gravely concerned by the failure of most government departments to reach set targets regarding employment of people with disabilities and employment of women in Senior Management Services.

The Committee remains of the view that this inability to reach the 2% target of employing people with disabilities and 50% women in SMS levels within government departments is holding back transformation and perpetuating injustices of the past as well as undermining years of the struggles of women emancipation. “It remains a grave concern to the Committee that only 8729 people with disabilities were employed among the 1 324 228 work force within the public service. This represents a mere 0.66% which is totally unacceptable,” said Mrs Bertha Mabe, Chairperson of the Committee.

While the Committee notes slight improvements in average statistics of employment of people with disabilities by all provinces excluding the Eastern Cape as well as all national departments, the Committee calls for a recommitment by departments to employ people with disabilities. One way to achieve this is through compliance and submission of Gender Equality Strategic Framework and the JobAccess Strategic Framework for the Recruitment, Appointment and retention of People with Disabilities. “It is only through effective planning that we can successfully surpass these challenges,” Mrs Mabe said.   

Meanwhile, the Committee is further concerned that although there was a slight increase over the last financial year of employment of women within the Senior Management Services the number still remain below 50% target. It is further alarming that the number at the most senior level of the public service, levels 15 and 16, is lower.

“It cannot be acceptable that only 40.5% of positions within the SMS level are held by women. The Committee calls on government to lead the push in efforts to achieve gender parity within this generation. It is even more concerning that there is only a low 28% of women representation at level 16,” Mrs Mabe emphasised.  

The Committee has called for the Department of Public Service and Administration to convene an engagement of heads of departments to find lasting solutions to this recurring challenge. Furthermore, the Committee has called on the presentation to be made available to the executive both at national and provincial level to get their buy-in with strategies to remedy the situation.

Going forward, the department will call the Free State government as well as the South African Police Service to account for low numbers presented by the respective departments.   

Enquiries:
Malatswa Evans Molepo
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za

 

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