To Grow Your Business, You Need To Get Inclusive

By Lee Naik, CEO of TransUnion Africa.

The issue of women in leadership is top of the agenda for businesses and societies around the world. But despite this, progress towards achieving gender equality in the workplace remains frustratingly slow.

We’ve made significant strides, but we’re not there yet. Women remain in the minority at the top tables of Africa’s biggest businesses. In 2015, women held 12.7% of board directorships (364 out of 2,865) in 307 listed companies based in 12 African countries. This is 4.6% lower than the 17.3% women’s representation on the boards of the 200 largest companies globally. As a result, African businesses are missing out on a host of proven benefits that women bring to the table.

Encouragingly, we’re starting to see pockets of progress. For instance, Rwanda and South Africa have increased women’s representation in middle-management roles by 27% and 15% respectively, according to McKinsey. And yet, for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 86 women are promoted. Because men outnumber women at a managerial level, this means there are fewer women available to be promoted to executive level.

That’s not good enough. In 2022, it’s time we redoubled our efforts to bridge the divide in the C-suite, middle management and our workforces.

To achieve this will take some work. You can’t simply pay lip service to inclusive leadership. You need a clear action plan that highlights the practical steps required to transform. More than that, we need a clear change in mindset. We must think differently about the way we hire staff, and what we do in the workplace to make it a welcoming place for women to be.

Making a workplace a more equal place means looking at the way we work, and shaping our policies and processes to be as flexible as possible to accommodate people like single parents and second earners – many of whom are women. For example, flexibility in starting and finishing times, and access to home working, can be invaluable for many women.

At TransUnion, we know we can only benefit from a culture where everyone is valued and included in all aspects of their experience. We’re dedicated to eliminating bias in the ways we hire, pay, promote and develop associates. We’re working to continually apply learnings to advance equity, and support our people along the way with targeted training programs and educational resources.

In 2019, we stated our commitments to reaching global gender parity by 2030 in our senior leadership, and achieving a year-over-year increase at all levels of management for under-represented groups. To achieve this, every business unit leader has also created a strategic, tailored plan for hiring, developing and promoting diverse talent within their specific group.

This includes taking thoughtful action when assigning special projects, creating mentorship opportunities, using ‘skip-level’ connections, assembling diverse interview panels and conducting succession planning, among others.

So far, our efforts are paying off. As of May 2022, 72% of TransUnion Africa hires were female, and females make up 49% of junior to middle management and 41% of senior management.

Our work is far from done. Diverse teams add more value, and deliver greater insights to our clients and their customers. But diversity and gender equality doesn’t just happen. It takes a clear vision and plan to remove barriers and actively bring more women and under-represented groups into the business. Africa’s women deserve no less.

For more information visit: www.transunion.co.za.