Transformation, diversity and inclusion
A holistic approach to the fundamental objectives of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) has allowed us to enable inclusive economic participation.
PwC recognises the central role our people have played in our transformation journey.
Transformation remains a priority in our firm, and we have gained strategic insights into how to make a broad impact. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment redresses the inequality in South African society and we have developed a strategy that goes beyond business and also makes a valuable contribution to education and society. This holistic approach to the fundamental objectives of the Act has allowed us to enable inclusive economic participation. Our strategy prioritises and focuses on advancing diversity and inclusion. We are particularly proud of how this is evident in the composition of our firm’s executive structures and the impact we have made in advancing women in business.
We invest in young black talent through several programmes and initiatives. One of these initiatives is our annual Youth Seminar, which aims to equip young graduates with the tools to enter the workplace. A second initiative is the IT learnership sponsorship of 120 African, Coloured and Indian youth with disabilities.
Transformation and our people
We aspire to develop our leadership from within. The PwC Governing Board is 44% African, Coloured and Indian (ACI), with 22% being women. Our South Market Area Leadership Team (SMALT) is 43% ACI, with 43% being women. The following positions were held by ACI individuals on the Management Committee of PwC South Africa:
- Shirley Machaba - CEO
- Anastacia Tshesane -Transformation Leader
- Kalane Rampai - Consulting Leader
We have steadily grown our ACI ownership to 34.5% in 2021. ACI female ownership was at 13.18% in 2021.
The diversity of our firm contributes to its growth in various ways. PwC’s goal is to achieve a staff profile reflective of the demographics of South Africa and to achieve equality in the workplace. We will accomplish this goal by focusing on our talent management and succession planning. To accelerate our transformation agenda, we have committed to ensuring that a minimum of 50% of new associates and new recruits are ACI candidates.
The firm has also implemented tailored development programmes to accelerate the development of ACI talent in line with the firm’s ACI retention plans. PwC South Africa employs 4,984 permanent staff members, including partners, of whom 56% are ACI. 57% of staff are women, and 35% of all staff are ACI women.
Skills development
PwC is registered for skills development purposes with the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET). We are well aligned with FASSET’s strategy and sector skills plan to improve skills development in South Africa. By submitting the annual mandatory grant with prescribed information on our employees, training implemented during the year, and our work skills plan, we secured our mandatory and discretionary grants for 2020/2021.
The discretionary grants received from FASSET consist of grants for employees placed in learnerships, internships, bursary students, and employees who we placed into permanent employment. Grants of over R15 million were directly used in the development of our employees and bursary students. We are making a significant contribution to developing people in areas that were identified as scarce skills in South Africa.
We invest significantly in formal and experiential learning and development initiatives with, an intentional focus on the development of ACI staff. For the past five years, the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of South Africa (ABASA) has recognised PwC for qualifying the largest number of historically disadvantaged CAs annually.
In line with our purpose, we have invested in several initiatives to nurture future leaders. Our Foundation for the Future programme exposes talented young graduates to various operational disciplines within our Advisory line of service, providing them with opportunities to be mentored by directors and senior managers.
The firm invested R19.3 million in bursaries in 2021. Of this, 79% was directed to ACI individuals. Over the past 18 years, PwC has qualified more than 2,800 CAs from historically disadvantaged communities through our investment in learnership programmes.
Economic transformation
Our most direct form of support for economic transformation is through our Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) Programme. This programme, built on the foundation of the firm's core skills, combines financial and technical support to help transform the economic catalysts, namely the daring entrepreneurs. We have recognised that support to entrepreneurs to address the daily challenges they face enables them to fulfil the anticipation of innovation and job creation as they experience growth and stability. Walking that journey with our beneficiaries makes us proud to be a part of the journey of economic emancipation of our communities.
We focus on increasing spend with black-owned and black-female-owned businesses. More than 80% of our procurement is channelled towards entities that embrace B-BBEE and have a valid B-BBEE scorecard.
Living our societal purpose
During the year under review, we continued to help small businesses grow, by drawing on our expertise (and that of external partners) to assist small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises
(SMMEs). Apart from contributing to economic transformation, this approach has enabled us to develop a potential pipeline of new business for the firm.
For more information, see the societal purpose section.
Explore our Integrated Report 2021 and related content here
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