With the transformation of the top companies in the private sector significantly less advanced than in the public sector, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant on Monday warned companies to pull up their socks or face penalties under the Employment Equity Act.

The sixteenth Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) report, released on Monday, showed what can only be described as snail’s pace transformation in the top and senior management positions of private sector companies.

The 2015 representation of whites in top management at 68.9% was heavily inflated compared with the percentage of the economically active population (EAP) that whites constituted at 9.9%, while Africans holding the top spots were significantly underrepresented at 14.3% in relation to their EAP of 77.4%, said CEE chairperson Tabea Kabinde.

Unpacking the report in Pretoria, she noted that the Indian grouping, at 8.6%, also had an overrepresentation compared to an EAP of 2.7%, while the coloured groups, at 4.7%, represented half their EAP of 10%.

Females made up only 21.4% of these top management positions.

According to the report, overall, whites occupied some 72.4% of the top positions in the private sector, while Africans held 73.2% of the top positions in the public sector.

The overall 2015 figures showed a slight change from the representation in 2014, when whites held 70% of top management positions, followed by Africans with 13.6% and Indians with 8.4%. The representation of coloureds remained unchanged year-on-year.

Educational institutions showed an “overwhelming” representation of whites at 63%, while African people featured prominently in the government sectors, with local government at 76% and provincial government at 74.6%, as well as State-owned companies, with 56.6%.

Representation within senior management followed a similar pattern; however, Kabinde pointed out that a shift had started to occur in professionally qualified and skilled technical positions, where great strides were being made.

“Here is where we see the greatest change in terms of demographics,” she said, adding that there was optimism that these individuals were working their way into top positions.

In terms of the professionally qualified category, whites held 38% representation in 2015, slightly less than the 41.9% reported in the prior year, while Africans held 41.2% of the positions in this category, Indians 8.5% and coloureds 9.4%, compared with the respective 36.7%, 9.1% and 9.5% recorded in the prior year.

In the skilled technical profile, Africans were well in the majority, accounting for 58.8% of the workplace, while coloureds accounted for 11.6%, Indians 5.9% and whites 22%.

However, with the report still revealing “the same trends” over the past few years, Kabinde voiced concern over the limited inclusivity and implementation of diversification strategies in the workplace.

Further, the rate of termination and recruitment of whites “almost nullified” any attempt to shift the demographics in favour of designated groups.

“White people continue to receive preference over other race groups. Even when their contract of employment is terminated in one organisation, they are recruited back again at the same top management level in another organisation during the same period, which is an indication of opportunities afforded specifically to them at the expense of other race groups,” Oliphant added.

Companies would be provided a final chance over the next six months to shape up their transformation efforts or face the hardline stance of the Department of Labour and the “might of the law”, Oliphant warned.

The CEE would embark on a roadshow aimed at undertaking more engagement with stakeholders to identify the reasons behind the slow pace of change, undertake more advocacy and awareness campaigns, delve deeper into research to identify the obstacles, understand the trends and unveil what was needed to unlock compliance, and facilitate discussions around the transformation legislation.

This would be the last engagement undertaken, following which the department would enforce the legislation, Oliphant concluded.