“Your silence will not protect you. Nor will your likeability. What is there to be liked if you’re complicit in your own erasure?”
These words, though spoken by a late American poet author, Audre Lorde, strike at the heart of a challenge African women leaders know intimately. In boardrooms across South Africa, a quiet revolution is brewing: one that demands we redefine what effective leadership looks like.
The cost of constant compromise
In a nation where women comprise 51% of the workforce, only 29% hold senior management roles, according to a Women in the Workplace 2023: South Africa Report by McKinsey & Company in partnership with Lean In.
This disparity isn’t accidental, it’s systemic. The study also reveals that women who lead decisively are 30% more likely to receive negative feedback than male peers exhibiting identical behaviours. The implications are clear: our society still rewards women for accommodation rather than authority. This “likability penalty” creates an impossible choice, conform or risk professional isolation.
South Africa's stalled progress
The JSE’s latest gender report by Just Share, paints a sobering picture:
Only 4 female CEOs in the Top 40 companies.
- Just 5 female board chairs (Impala Platinum, Shoprite, Sasol, Standard Bank, Capitec).
- Executive-level gender diversity has declined year-on-year.
Yet amidst these challenges, pioneers like Nolittha Fakuke (Chair of Anglo American’s South African Management Board) demonstrate what becomes possible when women lead authentically. Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, who was recently inducted into the International Women’s Forum Hall of FAME, joining visionary leaders including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Maya Angelou. Their journeys prove innovation thrives when we reject narrow definitions.
Four pillars of authentic leadership
- Trust over popularity
As Sheryl Sandberg observed, “Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women.”
The solution? Shift from seeking approval to earning respect through consistent, competent leadership.
- Courageous innovation
From fintech to renewable energy, women like Rapelang Rabana (digital pioneer) and Nonkululeko Nyembezi (first black female JSE chair) are rewriting Africa’s business narrative.
Their secret? Valuing impact over imitation.
- Uncomfortable truth-telling
Dr. Judy Dlamini’s book (Equal but Different) challenges organisations to confront unconscious bias.
Real leadership means articulating hard truths, not to alienate, but to elevate.
- Strong back, soft front
Mining magnate Bridgette Radebe exemplifies this balance, combining steel resolve with deep empathy.
It’s a reminder that compassion and conviction aren’t opposites, but partners.
The road ahead
The numbers don’t lie: at current rates, gender parity in JSE leadership won’t come until 2065, according to World Economic Forum projections.
But statistics aren’t destiny. To every woman reading this: your voice isn’t “too much” – it’s exactly what our continent needs. Your ideas don’t require softening to be valuable.
And your leadership, in all its unapologetic authenticity, is the key to unlocking Africa’s potential. As we stand at this crossroads, let’s choose audacity over accommodation. Not just for ourselves, but for the generations of women who will walk through the doors we kick open today. I always believe: “When you see people as equal, you create opportunities that are equal together. This is about equal opportunity.”
- Janine Hills is the Founder and CEO of Authentic Leadership