Every year, as Women’s Month approaches, the calendar fills up with pink campaigns, panels, and well-meaning messages. While the intention behind many of these efforts is sincere, my concern is that we’ve grown too comfortable with safe gestures and surface-level messaging - creating a disconnect between what we say and what we measure.
Article by: Cheree Dyers, Chief Executive Officer at Prescient Investment Management
In South Africa, Women’s Day honours the bravery of those who marched against injustice in 1956. That legacy deserves more than symbolic gestures. What began as a single day of remembrance has grown into a month that should compel deeper reflection and accountability. While a month-long dedication reflects how women are taking up more space, Women’s Month should not be treated as a celebration alone. It must serve as a checkpoint to assess whether we are committed to closing the gaps that matter, including pay, promotion and participation, and whether we are willing to go further, even when it is uncomfortable.
For those of us who lead teams and steer strategy, especially in financial services, this month should prompt deliberate reflection. What are the actual results of our equity strategies? Where have we moved the needle? Where are we still falling short? More importantly, what are we doing to create structural, sustained change? We often say we’re making progress, and in some areas, that is true. Change takes time. However, time is not a strategy. If we are not measuring our actions, revisiting our targets and taking ownership of outcomes, then progress remains a story we tell ourselves, not a reality we build.
According to Citywire’s 2024 Alpha Female Report, just 12.5 per cent of portfolio managers globally are women. While this has improved slightly, the retention gap remains significant. The average turnover rate for female portfolio managers is 43 per cent, compared to 29 per cent for men. Women are not being developed and retained at the same pace, which suggests a deeper, structural issue.
Closer to home, Just Share’s 2024 research shows that only 23 per cent of executive management roles in the JSE Top 40 are held by women. Female representation on boards is slightly better, at 36 per cent, but remains far from parity. Although women make up 46 per cent of South Africa’s economically active population, less than a quarter of senior leadership positions are filled by them. In fact, only four of the JSE Top 40 companies have female CEOs. Companies that once set gender diversity targets often fail to revise them, treating the targets as ceilings rather than minimum expectations.
Gender equity cannot be outsourced from C-suite leaders to the human resources department or onto a compliance checklist. This responsibility lies with the executives and CEOs who make the decisions about hiring, promotion and recognition. Did you know that, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, South Africa ranked 6th in 2006 and has since fallen to 33rd on the Global Gender Gap Index? August is a time to reflect on whether we are doing enough and the data suggests we are not. At the current pace of progress, global gender parity will only be achieved in 123 years, missing the Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030 by more than a century.
Diversity needs to be recognised for what it is: a competitive advantage. Companies committed to diversity and inclusion significantly outperform those that aren’t. According to McKinsey’s 2023 Diversity Matters Even More report, companies with more than 30 per cent women in leadership positions are significantly more likely to outperform those with lower levels of female representation. The same report indicates that leadership diversity is also convincingly associated with holistic growth ambitions, greater social impact, and more satisfied workforces. It is well documented that diverse teams make better decisions, challenge groupthink and bring more creative solutions to complex problems. However, this only happens when diversity is actively managed and different perspectives are not only heard, but used intentionally to strengthen thinking, decisions and outcomes.
Too often, the burden of change is placed on women as if the issue lies with them, not the system. Very few organisations examine and measure the leadership behaviours they reward. Many still value visibility over output, hours over outcomes, and outdated leadership styles that fail to reflect how the world of work has evolved.
Even when women reach senior roles, they are often stretched thinner than their male colleagues. They are expected to fix problems they didn’t create and take on the additional burden of mentoring, emotional labour and cultural leadership; all on top of their core responsibilities. This is the invisible tax many women in leadership pay. It is rarely acknowledged or openly discussed and these contributions are rarely recognised or rewarded. At the same time, women are judged more harshly for showing ambition and often held to higher standards just to be seen as equal.
What about work-life balance? I wish more CEOs, especially female leaders, would acknowledge that it is largely a myth. In leadership, balance is rarely symmetrical. Life moves in cycles. Some seasons are intense, while others offer more space to breathe. The real goal is not perfect balance but personal agency. That means having the ability to prioritise, choose how and when to show up, and take ownership of the space you need. Of course, that is only possible in a workplace culture that supports it. Leaders have a responsibility to shape that culture by letting go of unrealistic messages about balance and creating space for agency and support instead.
If we want to see more women move through the ranks, we have to change the system. That means refusing to accept a shortlist with no women. It means tracking who receives high-impact projects and visibility. It also means re-evaluating how we measure performance and what we reward.
Financial services are well positioned to lead this shift. Remote work, tech-enabled delivery and output-based performance models have enabled flexibility. These changes allow people to work in ways that are both effective and sustainable. The result is a greater opportunity to embrace different leadership styles and to open doors for more women.
Technology, when applied with intent, can help us redefine success. Leadership no longer has to look like the person who is first in the room and last to leave.
In our own leadership journey, we’ve seen how progress follows intent. Today, women make up 67 per cent of the executive committee, 50 per cent of the board and executive leadership combined, and 40 per cent of the investment team. Half of both the board and executive committee are Black women. These outcomes were not the result of a single policy, but of deliberate action taken over time. Equity was treated as a leadership priority, not a branding exercise. We tracked progress, confronted the blind spots and made decisions even when they were uncomfortable. These figures are not just milestones. They are markers of intent and proof that what gets measured moves the needle.
There is a clear business case for getting this right. Citywire’s research shows that gender-diverse portfolio management teams deliver lower volatility and stronger risk-adjusted returns. Despite this, more than 80 percent of new fund mandates in 2024 went to males. This doesn’t reflect capability; it reflects bias in who gets the opportunity.
Every August, we make the same wish to see more women represented in leadership, but how many of those wishes actually come true?
What I wish more CEOs said during Women’s Month is this: we need to be honest about where we are falling short. Progress has been made, but not nearly fast enough. Leadership means making decisions that move us forward, even when they are uncomfortable. It is time to lead with intent and take responsibility for the outcomes.
Women are ready. The market is ready. The world has changed. The only question is whether we are ready to stop wishing and start leading.
Disclaimer:
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