Black women navigating leadership advancement in the South African financial services sector

Abstract

Black women remain critically underrepresented in South African financial services leadership despite three decades of democracy and comprehensive equality legislation. This study investigates how Black women navigate advancement into senior and executive leadership positions, examining the adaptive strategies they employ, the organisational systems that enable or constrain these strategies, and the persistent barriers that remain. Using an intersectional framework, the research explores how race and gender interact to create unique barriers that cannot be understood by examining either dimension in isolation. Through qualitative, phenomenological methodology, the study conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 Black women executives and senior leadership, and 5 organisational enablers in South Africa’s financial services sector. Thematic analysis revealed that whilst Black women employ sophisticated adaptive strategies. Their advancement depends critically on organisational transformation beyond individual adaptation. Findings demonstrate significant gaps between organisational diversity policies and actual structural and cultural levels, despite both individual and organisational efforts. The study contributes to intersectionality theory by measuring strategy effectiveness rather than merely documenting barriers, providing evidence-based guidance for Black women, organisations, and policymakers.