SA may have a complex relationship with workers from outside the country, but there is no doubt that we have to attract skills that we don’t have and that these often come from beyond our borders. As it turns out, however, top talent doesn’t just look for financial rewards; our values as a society matter too.
In the last week of June, I had the opportunity to attend the release of Brand SA’s global reputation study on SA. According to the study’s report, SA remains “top of mind in the areas of investments, exports, tourism and talent attraction”.
The study quizzed respondents about a number of areas, and found 40% of would-be workers and 43% of would-be students rank the country positively when it comes to opportunities on offer.
SA’s “people and values” are also considered positive by 39% of would-be workers and 46% of would-be students. Among these values, of course, are SA’s safeguarding of human rights and the constitutional order.
This was particularly striking to me, given that the results of the study were released in June, which is celebrated globally as “pride month”.
According to Wikipedia, “LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements.”
In recent years, organisations have increasingly put in place initiatives that are directed towards demonstrating and promoting their commitment to diversity and pride. They are also making more of an effort to prove “allyship” with LGBTI employees and to demonstrate this to the outside world.
SA companies seem to have embedded diversity and inclusion in their values — and if the research I’ve quoted is anything to go by, this has not gone unnoticed.
One of the important qualities of our constitution is its role as an instrument to promote diversity and protect human rights. In its preamble, the constitution speaks of equal protection by law and of the intention to free the potential of each person. This is given further meaning within other pieces of legislation — and global talent is responding.
Consider, for example, the Companies Act, which applies across small and large companies. It begins by setting out its purposes — primarily to promote compliance with the Bill of Rights in the application of company law. Similarly, the main purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to ensure that employers promote the constitutional right of equality and eliminate unfair discrimination, including on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Because strikes make headlines, we tend to forget that SA’s employment laws don’t deal only with labour disputes, strikes and wages, but also with the values of human rights and inclusion.
Leading the way
In “Business Must do More to Protect the Rights of LGBT+ Employees”, a 2017 article co-authored with Patrick Bracher and published in FM sister publication Business Day, we noted that “apart from companies embracing diversity as a matter of complying with the law, there is another critical consideration to be borne in mind. Embracing diversity and creating open spaces are critical for the preservation of the corporation and the entire financial and economic system.”
This is as true today as it was five years ago. And at a time when we need the best in the world to help advance our economic cause, local companies must do what they can, wherever they are.
As countries like the US reverse their gains in the areas of human rights and inclusion, SA and its companies should work all the harder to safeguard these values
The most striking example of a company that is leading in this instance is Anglo American. When you think of a mining company, diversity and inclusion aren’t the first values that come to mind. Women’s rights — let alone “gay” rights — aren’t areas of discussion and leadership closely associated with such a company. Yet during pride month, Anglo American held an event that sought to discuss and promote LGBTI rights.
At the same time, we saw other companies in mining and banking “come out” and celebrate their diversity.
As countries like the US reverse their gains in the areas of human rights and inclusion, SA and its companies should work all the harder to safeguard these values, within the corporate sector and throughout our economy and society. This will put us in better standing when it comes to attracting the best talent in the world, while also allowing us to further our economic gains.
The legal environment allows us — and indeed enjoins us — to do so.
* Payi is an economist and head of research at Nascence Advisory & Research
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