111,000 women and 70,000 white men can lose their jobs in South Africa

The Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) warned that new legislation puts the jobs of 111,000 women and 70,000 white men at risk.

SRI referred to the Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Act, which took effect on 1 January 2025, requiring companies to reflect the demographic profile of the country.

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) said inspectors specialising in employment equity are ready to implement the EE Amendment Act.

The DEL’s employment equity directorate, Deputy Director Masilo Lefika said companies with over 50 employees must prepare and implement an Employment Equity (EE) plan.

This EE plan applies for the period from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2030 to align with the timeframes of the five-year sector EE targets.

While the Department of Employment and Labour is driving the implementation of the plan, others have launched legal action against it.

The DA has launched a constitutional challenge to Section 15A of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which introduces rigid national race quotas in the workplace.

“These quotas will destroy jobs, undermine the economy, and violate the constitutional rights of all South Africans,” it said.

“We are taking the Minister of Employment and Labour to court because Section 15A represents a radical and harmful departure from previous employment equity law.”

“The final quotas make it virtually impossible for some communities, particularly coloured workers in the Western Cape and Indian workers in KwaZulu-Natal, to find or keep jobs.”

The DA argued that transformation comes through inclusive economic growth, not divisive race-based quotas.

Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth said this legal challenge is an attempt to reverse the progress made since 1994 and maintain the unfair status quo.

“The Act empowers the Minister to set numerical targets for equitable representation of suitably qualified individuals from designated groups at all occupational levels,” she said.

“This is done after consulting relevant sectors and with the advice of the Commission, ensuring that the Minister does not act arbitrarily.”

111,000 women and 70,000 white men can lose their jobs

Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) said its analysis showed that large numbers of women and white men could lose their jobs due to the employment equity targets.

“Employers in South Africa will be forced to replace thousands of white male workers and women of all racial groups who work in the education or healthcare sectors,” it said.

The Solidarity Research Institute analysed the regulations whereby the government will soon attempt to enforce employment equity through race and gender scorecards.

Employers face hefty fines of as much as 10% of a company’s turnover if they fail to employ staff, especially in lower job levels, who comply with the figures published.

The Solidarity Research Institute report showed the potential impact of Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth’s race scorecards.

• 76,000 female healthcare workers must be replaced by men over five years.
• 65,000 female teachers must be replaced by men over five years.
• 70,000 white men in all sectors must be replaced by men from other racial groups.
• 13,000 black men must be replaced in public administration positions.

“Middle-class workers in particular, rather than top management, will be hit hard by this,” Solidarity said in a press statement.

The deadline for employers to start submitting these race plans is September 2025. Failure to comply will have serious consequences for employers.

Connie Mulder, head of the SRI, said over-eagerness has resulted in only the economically active population being considered as a criterion.

“The tendency of men and women to freely pursue diverse and specific career paths has been completely ignored,” he said.

“Women more often pursue careers in nursing, education or the arts, and men often pursue jobs in construction, mining and the transport sector.”

Mulder said these sectoral targets and strict central regulation of labour in South Africa are blatant discrimination against minorities or groups.