The lived experiences of African and coloured women in top management and their contribution to organisational strategic decision-making in South African organisations

Abstract

Despite the progress women of colour in South Africa have made in being represented in top management, African and Coloured women remain underrepresented in most senior parts of their organisations. With that in mind, what is still unclear is what happens with women of colour when they have reached top management, and how they are involved in critical decisions within their organisations. Understanding their lived experiences through the lens of intersectionality and role congruency theory gives insights into what these experiences look like and whether the idea of tokenism persists in corporate South Africa at that level. The main elements of focus concerning their roles are the intersection of race and gender, together with their leadership level, and examining what role they play in strategic decision-making in their organisations. this study examines how African and Coloured women are engaged in the process of strategic decision-making in their organisations. Through interviews, data was gathered that answered the question, confirming that they are involved in this process of strategic decision-making. Even with this outcome, they still face barriers in their roles as senior leaders, with their organisations committed to the cause of accelerating women in leadership role.