Resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures to achieve employment equity in Sasol

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(1)RESISTANCE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MEASURES TO ACHIEVE EMPLOYMENT EOUITY IN SASOL. By. MICHAEL MANDLA MATHABELA. Submitted in part fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of. MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY. In the subject. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION At the TECHNIKON OF THE WITWATERSRAND. SUPERVISOR: PROF. R VAN DER WAL. JOHANNESBURG, APRIL 2004.

(2) Copyright Declaration. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, no part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, published, redistributed, screened or used in any form without prior written permission from the author, Michael Ivlandla Mathabela or his duly authorized agents. Where materials have been used from other sources, permission must be obtained from the original source.. •.

(3) Declaration. I, Michael Mandla Mathabela, declare that this research report is my own, unaided work, except as indicated in the acknowledgements, the text and the cited references. It is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Business Administration at the Technikon of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg). It has not been submitted before, in whole, or in part for any degree or examination at any other institution of higher learning.. MICHAEL MANDLA MATHABELA. SIGNED ON THE 22nd DAY OF APRIL 2004. iii.

(4) Abstract Sasol embarked upon an ambitious programme to adopt affirmative action measures for the diversification of the workplace, long before the promulgation of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. However, 8 years after commencing with this process, the organization's diversity status across all the junior, middle and senior management employment levels looks bleak.. Despite the good, professed intentions by top management to diversify the workplace; in compliance with the Act, the process is being hindered by strong resistance. Responding to a questionnaire in annexure B on support for affirmative action measures, 98% of white males said they did not support them.. This resistance is 'morally' shored up by, among others, the numerous high-profile court cases which delivered judgements against affirmative action programmes both in South Africa and the USA.; albeit on technical grounds. On January 16, 2003, US President George Bush also lent a moral shoulder to the campaign against affirmative action programmes when he described the programmes as "fundamentally flawed". He also vowed to challenge Michigan University's affirmative action programme before the Supreme Court. He cited the US Constitution which makes it clear that "people of all races must be treated equally under the law (http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/15/bush.affirmativeaction/irrdex.html) . On June 23, 2003, CNN.Com also ran a quick survey on QuickVote. To the question: "Should race be a factor in University admissions?" 88% (19381 respondents) answered NO while only 12% (2573 respondents) answered YES. The survey was repeated on the 24 th of June. To the question: "Has affirmative action been good for the US?" 61% (18599 respondents) answered NO while only 39% (12039 respondents) answered YES.. It is now history that the US Supreme Court on Monday 23 June, 2003, ruled in a combined 92-page twin judgement on the Michigan University case that members from the designated groups may be given an edge when applying for admissions to universities. iv.

(5) (Grutter v. Bollinger); thus legitimizing the continued use of affirmative action measures to achieve diversity decades after the initiation of the process in the USA. The Supreme Court however cautioned against the excessive use of race as an overriding determinant in shaping admissions (Gratz v. Bollinger). The Grutter v. Bollinger case was a landmark affirmative action case which had engendered massive interest from all the affirmative action implementing countries in the world; more so because even the Bush administration had made no secret of its support for the abandonment of affirmative action measures in the USA.. The equality clause has led to calls for human progress to cease to resemble the pagan idol that would drink nectar but only from the skulls of the slain.. The interesting paradox of this debate is that the potential beneficiaries of affirmative action are resisting this resistance. South Africa awaits with bated breath the outcome of the landmark equity case launched by a Coloured woman against the Cape Town city council wherein she seeks to have the appointment of a white man to a position for which she also applied overtumed(Sunday Times: Business Times, 11 May 2003, page 1).. The study sought to elicit an answer to the question as to whether the programme was being resisted/opposed or not. Only by uncovering the depth and nature of the resistance, could recommendations be made to accelerate the process.. Questionnaires were completed by racially and gender diverse respondents. Overwhelmingly, responses by Africans, Coloureds and Indians indicated resistance to Sasol's type of employment equity practice. This is illustrated by the overall satisfaction index per race in figure 5.4.. These designated groups, however, unanimously welcomed the creation of an equitable workplace through affirmative action measures. White males clearly opposed the implementation of affirmative action measures.. V.

(6) Dedication. This dissertation is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Tiro (a committed HIV-AIDS researcher) who, despite having had to put up with my pressure-induced tantrums at times, was able to motivate me through her deep love to complete this work. She emulates the biblical angel during distressful times to a middle-aged man. T, you are the mother to this bundle of joy, you've given it indefinite life; the same way you are the mother to our other lovable bundles of immense joy: Njabulo, our son, and Lindisa, our daughter.. vi.

(7) Acknowledgements This dissertation owes its life to a number of beautiful people. First and foremost, I should thank my beautiful wife who endured countless nights without her husband as well as the mood swings inherent in careful research work. She has provided me many important moments away from the pain of affirmative action debates, and has been an eternal source of friendship and love over the last two years of the creation of this work.. My supervisor, Dr R Van der Wal, provided unyielding support and counsel. It is due to his uncompromising discipline and insistence of higher quality work that ensured the success of two long years of painstaking research. Thanks Prof, for the many sleepless nights I endured!. The role played by my employer, Sasol Chemical Industries (SCI), in the production of this work is immeasurable. Despite financing my studies, they provided the sensitive information which lies documented herein. The survey was both commissioned and conducted through SCI resources. This unprecedented transparency is a measure of SCI's commitment to the diversification of the Sasol workplace. This work truly owes its existence to the organization and the beautiful people employed by it: T. Rodenhuis (currently in Holland), R. Havenstein (currently CEO of Amplats), T. Munday, D. Sampson, T. Makhoali, S.Tsima and`the Sasol Group Employment Equity Forum (SAGEEF).. vii.

(8) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.1.1. The Research Problem. 1. 1.1.2. White males' resistance to affirmative action measures. 3. 1.1.3. The designated group's resistance to affirmative action measures. 9. 1.1.4. Arguments in support of affirmative action measures. 11. 1.2. Aims of the research. 16. 1.3. Objectives of the research. 17. 1.4. Defining concepts and constructs. 17. 1.5. Research delimitations. 18. 1.6. Limitations. 18. 1.7. Value of the research. 19. 1.8. Key assumptions. 20. 1.9. Summary of chapters. 20. 1.9.8. Literature review. 22. 2.1. Theoretical points of departure. 23. 2.1.1. Type of policy (Perceived fairness). 24. 2.1.2. Human capital. 25. 2.1.3. Social identity. 26. 2.1.4. Racism and sexism (Prejudice). 27. 2.1.5. Relative deprivation. 30. 2.1.6. Political perspective. 32. 2.1.7. Knowledge of affirmative action. 33. 2.1.8. Job Insecurity. 33. 2.1.9. Personal experiences. 34. 2.2. Conclusions. 35. 3.1. Research methodology. 36. 3.1.1. Focus group session. 36. 3.1.6. Procedure. 38. viii.

(9) 3.1.7. Measures. 38. 3.2. Research population and sample. 39. 3.3. Data analysis. 40. 4.1. Sasol's affirmative action practice. 42. 3.1.1. Employment equity governance model: Sasol. 44. 3.1.6. Sasol's values. 46. 3.1.7. EES-NATA. 47. 3.2. The diversity status at Sasol. 47. 4.2. Capacity building interventions. 52. 4.2.1. Sasol's positioning statement. 52. 4.2.2. The definition of victory. 53. 4.2.3. Employment equity & Skills development charter. 53. 4.2.4. Accelerated leadership development programme. 53. 4.2.5. Employment equity draft policy. 54. 5.1. Results, analyses and conclusion. 56. 5.1.1. Profile of participants. 56. 5.1.2. Response by race. 56. 5.1.3. Response by gender. 57. 5.2. Satisfaction indices. 57. 5.2.1. Overall satisfaction per gender. 57. 5.2.2. Overall satisfaction per race. 58. 5.2.3. Potential barriers to employment equity. 59. 5.2.4. Satisfaction scores below 30%. 59. 5.2.5. Satisfaction scores higher than 30% but below 40%. 60. 5.3. Focus group discussions. 63. 5.4. Conclusion. 69. 6.1. Recommendations. 71. 6.2. Bibliography. 77. ANNEXURES. ix.

(10) CHAPTER 1 1.1 THE RESEARCH CONTEXT. 1.1.1 The Research Problem Affirmative action is South Africa's most ambitious attempt to redress its long history of racial and sexual discrimination as it seeks to create a fully diverse society. Institutions with -affirmative action policies generally set goals and timetables for increased diversity — and use recruitment, set-asides and preference as ways of achieving those goals. But these days affirmative action seems to incite, rather than ease, the nation's internal divisions (Mail & Guardian, 2001).. To meet today's challenge of a diverse workforce, according to Professor van der Wal writing in Management Today, South African employers need to develop a greater appreciation of diversity without which any affirmative action programme will be doomed to failure (http://www.managementtoday.co.za/july2001_al4a.htm) . The Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 recognizes: "that as a result of apartheid and other discriminatory laws and practices, there are disparities in employment, occupation and income within the national labour market" and also recognizes that "those disparities create such pronounced disadvantages for certain categories of people".. The Act, in seeking to "promote the constitutional right of equality, eliminate unfair discrimination in employment and achieve a diverse workforce broadly representative of our people" exhorts a designated employer to adopt "affirmative action measures to ensure that suitably qualified (and qualifiable) people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce of the designated employer" (The Employment Equity Act No. 55 Of 1998).. Affirmative action means preferential treatment for disadvantaged groups of people. Typically, an affirmative action programme will require a member of a disadvantaged group to be preferred.

(11) for the distribution of some benefit over someone who is not a member of that group. The grounds of preference are usually race and gender.. Affirmative action and its attendant tassles was succinctly described by the universally adored and acclaimed icon of moral stature: statesman and former South African State President, Nelson Mandela who said, "To millions, affirmative action is a beacon of positive expectation. To others it is an alarming spectre which is viewed as a threat to their security and a menace to the integrity of public life" (Madi, 1993: ix).. Affirmative action programmes can be seen either as an exception to the right to equality or as a part to the right to equality. The former view sees affirmative action as "reverse discrimination", a practice of favouring those discriminated against in the past and discriminating against those favoured in the past.. The latter view sees affirmative action as a means to the end of a more equal society. This view treats equality as "a long-term goal, to be achieved through measures and programmes aimed at reducing current inequality" (de Waal, et al. 2001).. Affirmative action is not an exception to equality, but is a means of achieving equality understood in its substantive or restitutionary sense. Section 9(2) of the Act states that "equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms" and that to "promote the achievement of equality" affirmative action measures may be undertaken. Segregation and apartheid created a political and economic system that favoured some people and unfairly discriminated against others.. This system left a legacy of inequality which inhibits the enjoyment and exercise of the constitutional rights of a large number of people in South Africa. This situation therefore imposes a positive obligation on the government to act so as to ensure that everyone fully and equally enjoys all rights and freedoms. Affirmative action programmes must therefore be seen "as essential and integral to the goal of equality and not as limitations of or exceptions to the right to equality" (de Waal, et al. 2001).. 2.

(12) 1.1.2 White Male Resistance to Affirmative Action Measures. Writing in City Press (November, 23, 2003), Kallie Kriel, a spokesperson of trade union movement Solidarity, stated that "The white elite is selling out the white middle and working class". He said they were doing this in order to entrench their privileged positions. He argued strongly in the same article for "affirmative action measures to also focus on the growing number of poor whites".. The debate over affirmative action takes on a particularly bitter tenor in the trenches of the workplace. 'Angry white men' blame affirmative action for robbing them of promotions and other opportunities (web@ace.nche.edu , June 15, 1999). They label the programme "reverse discrimination" and further contend that "a programme to end discrimination in the name of justice has become a programme to visit injustice on a different set of people" (Zuckerman, 1995).. But, as Clayton (1990) keenly pointed out: "Much white male resistance to affirmative action may spring from unwillingness on the part of any given white man to recognize the true extent to which his gender and his ethnicity, and not simply his own individual merit, have won him rungs on the ladder of success".. One is mirthfully reminded of the outburst exhibited by a small-town storekeeper in rural Texas who upon being asked whether he agreed that Blacks be accorded preferential treatment in the job market as they had been historically disadvantaged by slavery replied: "I didn't go to Africa! I didn't go git nobody!!". Prominent dissenting views from the white spectrum of the South African society include those from the predominantly white Solidarity Union whose official position is that affirmative action is reversed racism; and Afrikaans intellectuals like Joubert who mused: "If we see affirmative action merely as the replacement of white labour with black labour to redress inequality and injustices we have no chance of improving South Africa's competitiveness" (Joubert, 1992).. 3.

(13) Such dissenting views (like their proponents who include both black and white opinion makers) are numerous and varied.. According to Joubert (Joubert, 1992) these proponents assert that the best way to achieve a colourblind future is to practice colourblindness now. They espouse the moralistic view that in this country white males once set themselves apart from blacks and claimed privileges for themselves in the workplace; and indeed in the wider South African society, while denying them to the latter group. Now, on the basis of race, blacks are claiming special status and reserving for themselves privileges they deny to white males in the workplace. Isn't one as bad as the other? The previous regime institutionalized work-place discrimination resulting in over-affirmed white males and to a certain extent white females. An article in Solidarity, the mouthpiece of the predominantly white labour union, observed that the present regime is also institutionalizing work-place discrimination in favour of the designated groups. How will it avoid over-affirming the current beneficiaries at the expense of white males? Is there a clearly defined time-line to terminate the programme at the precise moment when it has just achieved its objective? (Solidarity, 2003).. Two wrongs don't make a right, they contend; if it was wrong to treat blacks unfairly, it is wrong to give blacks preference and thereby treat white males unfairly. In the heat of the argument, Martin Luther King Jr., the African-American champion of the civil rights movement gets quoted as having asserted that "the law should pursue equality of rights, not of condition" and that "people should be judged on their merits as individuals rather than on gr6up affiliation". The equality clause has led to calls for human progress to cease to resemble the pagan idol that would drink nectar but only from the skulls of the slain (Coetzee, 2002).. Nelson Mandela, the first president of democratic South Africa, is also cited as having declared himself ready to fight against black domination as he had fought against white domination in his first speech after his release from prison (Mail & Guardian, 2001).. The equality clause enshrined in the Constitution is often raised during the debate on affirmative action. The principles of formal equality are that there should be sameness in treatment: the law. 4.

(14) must treat individuals in the same manner regardless of their circumstances. Formal equality simply requires that all persons are equal bearers of rights.. On this view, inequality is an aberration that can be eliminated by extending the same rights and entitlements to all in accordance with the same 'neutral' norm or standard of measurement (de Waal: 2001). The argument will sometimes take the form of saying "It is undemocratic to give one class of citizens advantages at the expense of other citizens; the truly democratic way is to have a level playing field to which everyone has access and where everyone has a fair and equal chance to succeed on the basis of his or her merit" (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/race/fish.htm) . The unfairness of the programme, according to some white males, is further compounded by the fact that a few blacks who are non-poor, middle-class and economically favoured than most whites are receiving special attention on the basis of disadvantages they do not experience.. Younger white males advance a slightly different argument to shore up their resistance to affirmative action. They maintain they can understand that blacks had been historically discriminated against but that they should not be expected to pay for it as they did not have anything to do with it. They were either kids or not yet born when all this went on! So why should they be expected to fulfill the biblical imposition to have their fathers' sins visited upon them? (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/race/fish.htm) . This also became a topical campaign issue for South Africa's 2004 elections. Lobbying for the phasing out of. affirmative action, National Action leader Danie Schutte said: "The need for affirmative action has become outdated. People younger than 33 had no say in the previous dispensation, why should they be victims of this discriminatory practice?" (http://www.i ol. co. za/index. php?sf=2902$art_id=qw108141264174B242&cl ick_id=290...).. Torrents of affirmative action condemnation also come from those powerful white captains of industry who unhesitatingly live up to a paternalistic role, a sort of noblesse oblige; who proclaim that Blacks will drop performance standards if appointed to senior positions as they lack procedural knowledge (i.e. practical performance experience) even though some might have good declarative knowledge (i.e. theoretical knowledge) (Mathebula, 2002).. 5.

(15) There is also the fringe grouping of white intellectuals (among whom are Innes: 1993) who frequently pronounce the death sentence on affirmative action measures in their haste to uphold diversity: "Affirmative action is a dead issue. This is the age of diversity", Innes proclaim. Past State President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate FW de Klerk recently called for a national debate on affirmative action. Writing in THISDAY, he said: "What degree of equality must be achieved before transformation can be said to have succeeded? Should the editorial staff of an Afrikaans newspaper like Beeld ultimately be made up of 75% non-Afrikaans-speaking Blacks? Does transformation have a cut-off date? Is transformation not in practice enriching already advantaged Blacks?" (THISDAY, 2004).. Affirmative action judgements are also incorrectly cited to shore up the argument against the implementation of affirmative action measures to "equalize equal opportunities", as Mkhwanazi aptly put it. One such oft cited judgement is the Eskom v Hiemstra NO & Others Case No. J2091/98 handed down by the Labour Court (http://www.workinfo.com/PracticeNotes/LabAug99.html) . In that case, evidence was led to the. effect that Eskom had invited applications for a vending controller post. The advertisement specified that it was subject to its affirmative action stance/policy. Amongst the applicants for the position were two Eskom employees, Ms Samuels (a Coloured female) and Ms van Coller (a White female).. The selection committee interviewed the candidates and recommended Ms van Coller. However the Finance Manager, who was empowered to make the final decision, decided (dn the insistence of the Union) to appoint Ms Samuels as the Department was allegedly under-represented by "Black people" (Africans, Coloureds and Indians).. The matter was referred to arbitration where the Arbitrator found that the appointment of Ms Samuels constituted unfair discrimination. Eskom then took the award on review to the Labour Court. The Court found that the arbitration award was well-structured and motivated. It also held that the Arbitrator "identified the issue and cut to the chase". The "chase" was whether Ms van Coller was treated unfairly.. •. 6.

(16) As this was a review proceeding (not an appeal!), the Court was not entitled to question the findings made on the facts of the matter. The Court was merely able to decide whether the arbitrator in fact applied his mind properly to the matter. Hence the case was disposed of on technical grounds. Eskom did not have a registered affirmative action policy which would provide clear guidelines for such appointments. If the matter had been taken on appeal, the Court might have come to a different decision.. Another oft-cited affirmative action-related Court judgement is the most recent one where the "Labour Court ordered the South African Police Services to promote 10 White male officers who had been overlooked due to their race and gender" (The Citizen, 2002). This judgement prompted a political stampede by both the Boeremag and the labour union, Solidarity, with both vowing to "tackle every single big company" in South Africa which has an affirmative action programme. Indeed, a special fund has recently been set up by Solidarity "to tackle" big companies with affirmative action programmes through a series of court actions. The fund is at the time of writing worth R500 000, according to the Union spokesperson, Dirk Hermann (The Citizen, 2002).. The Labour Court had been persuaded to hand down this seemingly affirmative action-bashing judgement, by the fact that the SAPS had 20 vacancies way back in the year 2000 which could not immediately be filled by members of the designated group. These members were not yet ready. Yet, the 10 ready White males were forbidden to apply for promotion to captain in 2000 and 2001. They were informed that the posts were reserved for the designated groups (The Citizen, 2002).. Thus, bolstered by the above-mentioned court judgements, white males' resistance to affirmative action programmes knows no boundaries! Their voices are strident in their condemnation of affirmative action measures.. An indirect form of resistance to the implementation affirmative action measures occurs when `companies terribly misuse Black talent' (Mathebula, 2002). Highly qualified Blacks in these companies are exposed to what Mathebula (2002) terms "racialized labour". "Racialized labour". 7.

(17) refers to the performing of white institutional functions that have a manifest or symbolic connection to black constituents or black issues. On the other side of the coin "mainstream labour" is labour performed in territories not dominated by Blacks.. Mathebula (2002) contends that Blacks are positioned mostly as "visitors" to organizations and not as legitimate contributing members. They are not given meaningful assignments that lead to greater responsibility and promotions.. According to a research conducted by Kluegel (1985, 1990) in the USA, it follows that many Whites' "opposition to affirmative action could be based on the belief that discrimination does not exist". They believe "that Blacks' economic disadvantages are personal rather than structural" in nature. That is, they believe "the problem is that Blacks lack motivation and skills, not that they lack opportunities".. Survey results (http ://www. siop.org/Afi rmAct/s i op saareva 1. htm) further indicate that many Whites believe discrimination is a problem of the past, and that Blacks have themselves to blame for their current economic disadvantages. There is a widespread belief among Whites that any Black person who suffers economic disadvantage, does so due to lack of commitment on his or her part to succeed. They believe that "Blacks profit more from affirmative action than they were hurt by racial discrimination (Apartheid)" and are consequently better positioned to more than improve their lot.. A study conducted by the National Labour, Economic and Development Institute (Naledi) in 2001, came up with a number of important findings: There is overt and covert resistance to equity from management — particularly white male middle managers. Management tends to see employment equity narrowly, focusing on attracting Indian males at the upper levels; and to a limited extent also black males. This is often linked to the question of qualifications, which are being used as an excuse to exclude other blacks, and black women, workers from promotion (Ditsela, 2001).. 8.

(18) 1.1.3 The Designated Group's Resistance to Affirmative Action Measures. On the other side of the flip-coin, while many Africans, Indians, Coloureds and women (hereinafter to be referred to as members of the designated group), support affirmative action, a growing number says its benefits are no longer worth its side effect: the perception that their success is unearned! (Mail & Guardian, 2001).. Perhaps the most shocking resistance came from the Black USA education secretary, Rod Paige, who, after the Supreme Court had ruled in June 2003 that race and affirmative action could be used for shaping university admissions, blurted: "I'm opposed to racial discrimination. You're saying that now racial discrimination is fine because it's in your favour? Where's the moral consistency here? I don't think your racial membership should be an asset or a burden" (http://www.mg.co.za/Content/13.asp?ao=16125).. One of those dissenting voices comes from Dr Mamphela Ramphele (a political activist and an academically accomplished woman who was until recently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town) who was quoted as saying "affirmative action has no inherent moral-ethical basis" and that it is "an American invention which is an insult to capable black persons and an impediment to `ubuntu' building between 'white' South Africans and 'black' and 'coloured' South Africans" (Cose, 1996).. Ramphela's voice is strident in proclaiming that affirmative action is somewhat responsible for the enduring legacies of American racism: a 'reality' easy to extrapolate to its South African equivalent of racial disharmony as "no society can sustain indefinite affirmative action programmes without creating permanent cleavages between citizens" (Cose, 1996).. Another prominent African who, for different reasons, resists the wholesale implementation of affirmative action is Nobel Prize laureate for Literature, Wole Soyinka. He, on addressing truth and reconciliation in Africa and the Diaspora cautions: "Are we then perhaps moving too far ahead of our violators in adopting a structure of response that tasks us with a collective. 9.

(19) generosity of spirit" to emulate them, to want only the things they have; especially in the face of ongoing violations of body and spirit?" (Soyinka, 1996).. It is notable that resistance to affirmative action measures from members of the designated group emanates mainly from the elitist, prominent quarters of the group.. Judging simply by the results, the playing field would appear to still be tilted very much in favour of white men (Fried et al., 1996). Overall, members from the designated group are in vastly lower paying jobs and still face active discrimination in some sectors. This condition prompts the stampede to wrest more opportunities for themselves (as they perceive the affirmative action process to be slow and deliberate) at the expense of the fiercely resisting white men (who perceive affirmative action as a reward for gender and race at the expense of merit). Resistors of affirmative action from the designated group ask: Is it enough to leave the success and advancement of qualified blacks in white institutions up to the whim and fancy of white employers, many of whom have not lost their memory of the acrimonious past? In a democracy, must every black be satisfied with the prospect that without affirmative action he/she can only be assured of a fair shot at a career if she/he starts a business? Or should blacks as well as whites be availed the protection under law from workplace and academic discrimination?. Perhaps the resistors of affirmative action from the designated group believe, like Jan Christian Smuts, that "at bottom, political derivations are never a means for the attainment of the highest ends" (Lelyveld, 1987).. Why is the anticipated consensus that should sustain affirmative action after years of apartheid so egregiously imperiled? Is it due more to a general free-floating frustration of joblessness adrift in the modem economy than it is to specific grievances against individual programmes like affirmative action?. Today's debate seems caught up in the politics of anxiety, fuelled by emotional arguments about merit versus preference, opportunity versus discrimination; in fact, anecdotes seem to carry the day.. 10.

(20) In South Africa, affirmative action carries both narrow and wide connotations. At both levels there is a great deal of confusion. The narrow conception involves the recruitment and placement of members from groups, previously discriminated against, into positions of common, though not exclusive, sites of affirmative action. Traditionally, "narrow affirmative action seldom rises beyond tinkering" (Maphai, 1993). The wider conception involves the indiscriminate recruitment and placement of members from the designated group into positions encompassing the entire sphere of business and corporate South Africa.. The South African affirmative action process has been informed, to a lesser or larger degree, by the American experience, the Malaysian experience and the Namibian experience: trailblazers of affirmative action The South African affirmative action programme however harbours a uniqueness in that it assimilates white women into the designated group; i.e. the beneficiaries of the programme. This uniqueness is their most cogent tool against white derailers of the programme who are wont to castigate as reverse racism these diversifying efforts (Madi, 1993).. 1.1.4 Arguments in Support of Affirmative Action Measures. The afore-cited condemnation of affirmative action programmes is often rebutted by the dismissive counter-argument vociferously advanced by the proponents of affirmative action programmes that black and white were born into very different circumstances. That these circumstances quickly make some more equal than others. That therefore, society needs affirmative action measures as a vehicle towards racial and gender diversity (de Waal, et al. 2001).. Some have indeed been strong supporters of the affirmative action programme for selfish reasons. Inclusive in these reasons is the concept of "First". During the apartheid years it was fashionable among the designated group; particularly among Blacks; to aspire to be 'the first black South African..." to lecture at Wits, to be CEO of company X, to be a non-executive director in the Board of company Y, to be the student in white educational institution Z, to trade gloves in a boxing ring with a White boxer, to be the only team member in a predominantly white team, to be... or not to be... (Mathebula, 2002).. 11.

(21) A number of potent arguments in favour of affirmative action measures have been advanced. Only a few will be considered in this study.. In a groundbreaking and breathtaking combined 92-page twin judgement in the US on 23 June, 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that race can be a factor for shaping university admissions (Grutter v. Bollinger). The judgement effectively legitimizes the continued use of affirmative action measures to diversify the learning environment; this after many decades of affirmative action programmes in the USA. The Supreme Court emphasized though in the other judgement that race cannot be the over-riding factor. An admission programme must be flexible enough to consider all pertinent elements of diversity in light of the particular qualifications of each applicant, and to place them on the same footing for consideration, although not necessarily according them the same weight (Gratz v. Bollinger).. Two white women were at the centre of the cases. Jennifer Gratz was a top high school student in suburban Detroit in 1995, when Michigan rejected her application. Barbara Gruffer, a 49-yearold mother of two, ran her own consulting business. Michigan's prestigious law school rejected her application in 1997. The two women took the university to court as it had acknowledged it had used race as a factor in rejecting their applications in preference of non-white applicants in order to racially diversify the learning environment.. The University of Michigan cases were the most significant test of affirmative action to reach the courts in a generation. At issue was whether racial preference programmes unconstitutionally discriminate against white students. Justices considered whether states have a "compelling interest" in promoting a diverse student body, or whether the Equal Protection Clause of the 14 th Amendment (the Clause provides that no State shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" and the 14 th Amendment protects persons—not groups, US Constitution) forbids giving one racial group advantages over another. The Grutter v. Bollinger judgement was celebrated by many companies and individuals both in the US, Malaysia as well as in South Africa as the most telling victory against resistance to affirmative action measures.. 12.

(22) One of the most important challenges for the new constitutional order in South Africa is to reestablish respect for human dignity by addressing the inequities and unfair discrimination of the past.. Equality is a difficult and deeply controversial social ideal. At its most basic and abstract, the idea of equality is a moral idea that people who are similarly situated in relevant ways should be treated similarly. Its logical correlative is the idea that people who are not similarly situated should not be treated alike.. The importance of the equality right to the post-apartheid constitutional order is obvious. The apartheid social and legal system was squarely based on inequality and discrimination. As the Constitutional Court has pointed out, apartheid systematically discriminated against black people in all respects of social life. Black people were prevented from becoming owners of property or even residing in areas classified as 'white', which constituted nearly 90% of the land mass of South Africa; senior jobs and access to established schools and universities were denied to them; civic amenities, including transport systems, public parks, libraries and many shops were also closed to Black people. Instead, separate and inferior facilities were provided. The deep scars of this appaling programme are still visible in our society (Brink v Kitshoff NO, 1996).. The scars of decades of systematic racial discrimination can be seen in all the key measures of quality of life in South Africa. White South Africans are significantly wealthier. and better nourished than their black fellow-citizens. They enjoy relatively higher standards of literacy and education. Infant mortality rates and life expectancy among Blacks are equivalent to those of the poorest nations of the world. Wealth and poverty are notoriously unequally distributed (October Household Survey -1999).. In analyzing the equality clause, a distinction must be drawn between formal and substantive equality. Formal equality means sameness of treatment: individuals must be treated the same regardless of their circumstances.. 13.

(23) Substantive equality takes these circumstances into account and requires the law to ensure equality of outcome. Formal equality simply requires that all persons are equal bearers of rights. It does not take actual social and economic disparities between groups and individuals into account. Substantive equality, on the other hand, requires an examination of the actual social and economic conditions of groups and individuals in order to determine whether the Constitution's commitment to equality is being upheld.. The Constitutional Court espoused a concept of `restitutionary equality'. It remarked thus: "Particularly in a country such as South Africa, persons belonging to certain categories have suffered considerable unfair discrimination in the past. It is insufficient for the Constitution merely to ensure, through its Bill of Rights, that statutory provisions which have caused such unfair discrimination in the past are eliminated. Past unfair discrimination frequently has ongoing negative consequences, the continuation of which is not halted immediately when the initial causes thereof are eliminated, and unless remedied, may continue for a substantial time and even indefinitely. Like justice, equality delayed is equality denied.... One could refer to such equality as remedial or restitutionary equality" (National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice 1999 (1) SA 6 (CC)).. Thus the principle of equality does not require everyone to be treated the same, but simply that people in the same position should be treated the same. The dilemma inherent in using affirmative action measures to remedy past discrimination is sharply reflected in USA Justice William Brennan's 1976 ruling wherein he wrote: "Retroactive seniority is essential for the victim of discrimination, because without it he will never obtain his rightful place in the hierarchy of seniority according to which these various employment benefits are distributed. He will perpetually remain subordinate to persons who, but for the illegal discrimination, would have been, in respect to entitlement to these benefits, his inferiors" (http://www. th eatlanti c. co m/pol it ics/racelfi sh. htm).. Some believe that colourblindness after decades of Apartheid will merely lock in white male advantage — which we need to level the playing field first before insisting on a single set of rules. The Government may therefore classify people and treat them differently to other people for a. 14.

(24) variety of legitimate reasons. Affirmative action measures are necessarily a painful intervention to level the playing field. The playing field is already tilted in favour of those by whom and for whom it was constructed in the first place (de Waal, et al. 2001).. Therefore, there cannot be talk of a fair and equal chance where everyone can succeed on the basis of his or her merit. To borrow a famous medical analogy: A cancer is an invasion of the body's equilibrium, and so is chemotherapy; but we do not decline to fight the disease because the medicine we employ is also disruptive of normal functioning. Strong illness, strong remedy: the formula is as appropriate to the health of the body politic as it is to that of the body proper (Mathebula, 2002).. Still, there are a few Blacks who are non-poor, middle-class and economically favoured and who are receiving special attention on the basis of disadvantages they do not experience. What about them? Surely in this day and age race cannot possibly be a serious disadvantage to those who are otherwise well positioned in the society.. The above concern was dramatically addressed by a 1991 ABC broadcast on the programme Prime Time Live (Byrne, 1991). In a stunning 15-minute segment reporters and a camera crew followed two young men of equal education, cultural sophistication, level of apparent affluence, and so forth around St. Louis, a city where neither was known. The two differed in only one respect: one was white, the other black. But that small difference turned out to mean.everything.. In a series of encounters with shoe salesmen, store employees, rental agents, landlords, employment agencies, taxi drivers and ordinary citizens, the black member of the pair was either ignored or given suspicious attention. He was asked to pay more for the same goods or come up with a larger deposit for the same car, was turned away as a prospective tenant, was rejected as a prospective taxicab fare, was treated with contempt and irritation by clerks and bureaucrats, and in every way possible was made to feel inferior and unwanted.. The inescapable conclusion was that alike though they may have been in almost all respects, one of these young men, because he was black, would lead a significantly lesser life than his white. 15.

(25) counterpart: he would be housed less well and at greater expense; he would pay more for services and products; he would have difficulty establishing credit; the first emotions he would inspire on the part of many people he met would be distrust and fear; his abilities would be discounted even before he had a chance to display them; and, above all, the treatment he received from minute to minute would chip away at his self-esteem and self-confidence with consequences that most whites could not even imagine.. Of course, determinations that affect the quality of black people's lives are made early on by kindergarten teachers, grade school principals, high school guidance counselors, and the like, with results that cut across socioeconomic lines and place young black men and women in the ranks of the disadvantaged no matter what the bank accounts of their parents happen to show.. What about the young white males who advance the argument that they were not part of the apartheid machinery; that they were either kids or not even born-- and why should they be punished by affirmative action measures? This concern is best addressed by invoking an analogy.. Say a father robs a bank, takes the money and buys his two sons one a Mercedes and the other a red Ferrari and also buys his wife and family a mansion in Sandhurst. Then they discover he has embezzled the money. He has to give the cars and house back. And the family starts to cry: 'We didn't do anything.' The same thing applies to what the young white males have to say. The fact is, sometimes you have to pay up. If a wrong has been committed, you have to right that wrong.. And, finally, what about those Blacks who resist affirmative action as a consequence of the `stigma' associated with it? One Black sociology professor, reacting to the anecdotal thesis that affirmative action harms Blacks, stated forcefully, 'I have never felt stigmatized, nor have I concerned myself with whether or not White males viewed my presence or success as undeserved' (Clayton et al, 1992). The contention that affirmative action creates a negative stereotype in the minds of White males implies naively that Whites had no negative stereotypes of Blacks in their minds before. Any stigma or negative stereotypes associated with race have existed in South Africa long before affirmative action was ever thought of.. 16.

(26) 1.2. Aims of the Research. To identify the factors causing resistance to the successful implementation of affirmative action measures in order to achieve employment equity in Sasol Ltd.. 1.3. Objectives of the Research. 1.3.1 To identify the positions held by Sasol Ltd's employees regarding the organization' s affirmative action policy;. 1.3.2 To measure the strength and depth of these positions;. 1.3.3 To determine whether affirmative action in Sasol Ltd will succeed in creating an equitable employment environment; 1.3.4 To ensure the results and also the recommendations flowing from this study are used as a blueprint for other organizations with demographics similar to those of Sasol Ltd. through the wide publicizing of both the results and the recommendations;. 1.3.6 To identify through literature the nature and models of affirmative action programmes that engender little resistance upon implementation.. L4. Defining Concepts and Constructs. "resistance" is a term which means: unyielding, repellent, defiant, rebellious, opposing, reluctant (Thesaurus, 1998). It is used herein to demonstrate the preparedness not to acquiesce to the implementation of affirmative action;. "affirmative action measures" affirmative action measures are measures designed to ensure that suitably qualified people from the designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce of a designated employer (The Employment,Equity Act No. 55 of 1998);. 17.

(27) "Employment equity" refers to the establishment of equity in the work-place by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination. It also aims to ensure the equitable representation of the designated groups in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce (The Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998);. "Sasol Ltd" is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals and solvents from coal and gas which employs more than twenty five thousand employees with diverse backgrounds with respect to race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. It has been listed for twenty years on the Johannesburg Stock exchange (History of Sasol Ltd, 2000).. 1.5 Research Delimitations. 1.5.1 Scope of the research. This study focused on the resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures in Sasol Ltd by some employees of the organization. The formal drive to diversify practically all the strata of the organization in terms of race and gender through affirmative action measures, was commenced by the organization in 1995.. Eight years down the line middle, senior and top positions are still almost exclusively in white male hands. The baseline diversity status at the end of December 1996 indicated that 92.7% of white males occupied the aforementioned positions. By the end of November 2003, this figure had shrunk to just 84.8%. The study was undertaken therefore to identify the causes of this halfhearted progress towards the diversification of the entire organization and to formulate resistance-defeating strategies in order to propel the process forward as this is the stated position of very senior management in Sasol.. 1.6 Limitations. 18.

(28) The research results only have legitimate meaning and applicability to Sasol Ltd which is uniquely different from other organizations. They may not, with a credible measure of accuracy, be extrapolated to have similar meaning and applicability in other environments without incurring errors;. As affirmative action is an emotive subject, responses to questions posed in the research questionnaires might not truly reflect the rational position of the respondents;. Respondents to questionnaires who held unpopular or 'politically incorrect' views on affirmative action might fear victimization and not participate freely even though anonymity was guaranteed;. South African managers and employees based in foreign countries did not have their views canvassed by this research due to resource inadequacy; which might result in questionable research integrity;. Resource constraints like time and accessibility prevented the canvassing of responses from all the Sasol Ltd employees based within the borders of South Africa; which might also result in questionable research integrity;. The study was further constrained by the emphasis being focused on one Business Division, Sasol Chemical Industries (SCI), which has characteristics peculiar to itself insofar as industrial environment and employee demographics are concerned.. L7 Value of the Research. The value of the research was to enlighten top management and all interested parties within Sasol Ltd as to the depth of the resistance to the implementation of affirmative action.. 19.

(29) Top management might then adopt and implement the recommendations which flowed from this study or use the findings of the study to design strategies to bring everybody on board so that the process is accelerated and compliance with the Act is maximized.. 1.8 Key assumptions. 1.8.1 Guidelines/Practices Sasol Ltd has facilitated the democratic election of an employment equity committee which serves as both an advisory and consultative body on issues of employment equity and affirmative action. Clear guidelines and practices regarding the governance of the programme are in place and have been adequately communicated to all the employees.. 1.8.2 Questionnaire Respondents understood the questions and were excited because the research afforded them the opportunity to state their positions with regards to the affirmative action programme.. 1.8.3 Literature The study of the resistance to the implementation of affirmative action has been researched to a limited extent in the USA and South Africa. It is at its infancy in South Africa as most available literature addresses how affirmative action is implemented and not the resistance to its implementation.. 1.9. Summary of Chapters. 1.9.1 Chapter 1: The Research Context. This chapter gives the introduction to the study. It explores the basic assumptions and approach to the study. The concept "resistance to affirmative action implementation" is introduced to the reader. The groundwork to the study is firmly laid. The contending opinions and ideologies on both sides of the affirmative action debate are elaborately stated and reasons for each interested group's resistance to the implementation of affirmative. 20.

(30) action measures in general society exhaustively documented. The aims and objectives of the study are also stated. The motivation for the study, statement of the problem, definition of concepts and constructs, delimitation and limitation are given greater scope in this chapter.. 1.9.2 Chapter 2: The Theoretical Foundation of the Research. This chapter gives the theoretical grounding of the research. It details previous studies conducted in this field. It contextualizes the practices of affirmative action implementation resistance within a theoretical framework. The three prominent theories (namely Type of Policy, Human Capital and Social Identity) upon which the resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures is based are discussed in detail. Other less prominent theories like Relative Deprivation, Personal Experience, etc. are also enunciated. American and South African literature on the subject is extensively reviewed.. 1.9.3 Chapter 3: The Research Methodology. This chapter describes the research methodology undertaken by this study. It explains which research design was followed, gives detailed information about what the questionnaire contains as well as the method of analysis carried out once the questionnaires had been completed and returned. It gives a complete profile of the participants along the lines of race, gender, occupational level, disability and years of service. It further explains what data capturing system and report format were used.. 1.9.4 Chapter 4: Sasol's Affirmative Action Practice. This chapter traces the organization's efforts at diversifying its work-place environment along the lines of race, gender and disability in its attempts to comply with the Employment Equity and Skills Development Acts.. It details in brief terms the organization's current diversity status, the organization's capacity-building interventions and the contending forces within it.. 21.

(31) 1.9.5 Chapter 5: Results and Analysis. This chapter delves into the analyses and discussion of the results obtained from the respondents to the questionnaire. The findings are summarised and a pattern emanating from the results is established from whence flows the recommendations of this study.. 1.9.6 Chapter 6: The Recommendations. This chapter makes recommendations on how to minimize the extent of the resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures and maximize the measures' acceptance among all the employees of the organization. It suggests concrete steps that should be taken to popularize this nemesis to even its most ardent opponents.. 1.9.7 Chapter 7: Annexures. This chapter gives all the relevant documents of the organization cited in this study. The attached documents are the questionnaire and the focus group responses per business unit.. 1.9.8 Literature Review. South African and American literature from both sides of the affirmative action debate was consulted and cited extensively to justify the ideological positions of both the proponents and the detractors of the affirmative action policy in Sasol. Furthermore, the various theories explaining why affirmative action programmes are resisted were rigorously cited.. 22.

(32) CHAPTER 2. THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF THE RESEARCH. 2.. Introduction. This chapter describes the theoretical context within which this study is located. It traces previous research and findings on the opposition/resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures; and as such, quotes extensively from literature on the subject. 2.1. Theoretical Points of Departure. Trailblazing research on resistance to the implementation of affirmative action measures is minuscule and the body of knowledge accumulated even scantier.. The little research done in this field suggests that such resistance has, as its root causes; racism and sexism, job insecurity and organizational commitment, type of policy, human capital, social identity, political perspective, relative deprivation and poor understanding of affirmative action. Previous research has shown that individuals tend to be resistant to the implementation of affirmative action measures (Kluegel & Smith, 1986; Lipset & Schneider, -1978). Several explanations have been offered to account for this resistance.. Some of the explanations focus on characteristics of the target of affirmative action (e.g. the applicant is under-qualified), or on the characteristics of the affirmative action policy (e.g. the policy is not procedurally just), while others focus on the relationship between the perceiver and the target (e.g. whether the applicant is a member of the same sex or racial group).. The main conclusion offered by previous research is that resistance to affirmative action is based on evaluations of the fairness of the affirmative action policy. What is unclear is whether the impact of the perceived fairness of the policy moderates the effect of the applicant, policy or type of group membership on subsequent evaluations. Research by Deutsch (1987, 1990) has shown. 23.

(33) that the criteria used for judgements of fairness are highly dependent on the social context. Judgements of policy fairness are likely to be contextualized by such factors as the type of selection policy, the qualifications of the applicant or group membership of the perceiver.. 2.1.1 Type of Policy (Perceived Fairness). The perceived fairness of an affirmative action policy has received much attention (e.g. Chang, 1996; Opotow, 1996; Skedsvold & Mann, 1996). The perceived fairness of a procedure influences an individual's evaluations of agents, representatives and other individuals associated with that procedure (Thibault & Walker, 1975). The fairer a procedure or policy is perceived to be, the more positive the evaluations of those associated with that policy become (Nacoste, 1986).. Although affirmative action is designed to ensure macrojustice (justice between groups), its resistance is frequently based on concerns about microjustice (justice for individuals) (Clayton & Crosby, 1990).. Typical arguments are that affirmative action results in "reverse discrimination" that affirmative action penalizes young White men who were not responsible for Apartheid (e.g. Glasser, 1988; Groarke, 1990), and that affirmative action forces organizations to "change the rules in the middle of the game" (e.g. Crosby, 1994). Heilman (1994) pointed out that reactions of non-target group members will be especially negative if they believe affirmative action hassaused them to be denied employment outcomes to which they were entitled. This, in turn, leads to unfettered perceptions that the organization is not committed to fairness.. For example, Nacoste (1987) had participants make inferences about an organization based on a description that varied the specific affirmative action selection policy (e.g. sex preference versus merit-based selection). Aspects of the applicant's qualifications, the organization's history of discrimination, and the types of affirmative action policy were also manipulated. The results showed that sex-based selection (via an affirmative action policy requiring an applicant's sex to be given primary consideration) was seen as less fair than merit-based selection (via an. 24.

(34) affirmative action policy that required an applicant's qualifications to be given more consideration than his or her sex). In other words, the more weight a selection procedure placed on the applicant's characteristics (e.g. sex or race), the less fair the procedure was perceived to be. When some consideration was given to the sex or race of the applicant, the selection procedure was perceived as fair. These results were independent of the organization's history of discrimination and the applicant's qualifications. Therefore, individual evaluations and support of specific policies are more strongly related to the perceived fairness of a procedure than to the outcome of that procedure (Lind et al., 1980; Nacoste, 1985 — 1987, 1984; Walker & Lind, 1984; Greenberg, 1987). In conclusion, the more an affirmative action policy is perceived to be unfair, the more its implementation is resisted by the non-target members of the organization.. 2.1.2 Human Capital. Milgrom and Oster (1988) developed a human capital model which focused on evaluations of the applicant to explain resistance to affirmative action. Human capital refers to the knowledge and acquired skill a person has that increase his or her ability to conduct activities with economic value. Examples of human capital are individual ability, skills, competencies, and in the context of affirmative action, qualifications. Thus, human capital is most often acquired by experience or expertise. Consequently, it is believed to be a critical determinant of productivity.. Based on the human capital model, we would predict that the more "capital" an affirmative action applicant is perceived as having, the more positive and valuable (and the more accepted) that applicant will be judged. In other words, the stronger the applicant's qualifications, the greater the potential capital, and the more favourable the overall evaluation. Thus, if the affirmative action applicant has weaker qualifications in terms of experience and/or expertise than a White male and he or she is selected, the appointment will be perceived as unfair and resisted.. Although the human capital model focuses on negative reactions to the target as a form of resistance to affirmative action, it does not take into account the relationship between the perceiver and the target in accounting for evaluations of affirmative action applicants. One model. 25.

(35) that does take this relationship into account is the self-interest model. According to the selfinterest perspective, people support policies that promote their own interests and oppose policies that threaten their interests.. Applied to affirmative action, this perspective would assert that people favour affirmative action policies if they have a vested interest in them; and oppose them if they are not beneficial to them.. For example, a woman might support an affirmative action policy designed to recruit women into previously under-represented positions if she could personally benefit from such a policy. Kluegel and Smith (1986) distinguished between simple economic self-interest and cooperative self-interest in their national survey. Cooperative self-interest refers to the belief that affirmative action policies designed to help others will indirectly help oneself. Although the self-interest perspective has strong intuitive appeal, the evidence supporting it is weak ( Kinder & Sears, 1985).. Evaluations of merit selection are almost universally positive, but evaluations of preferential treatment are moderated by such factors as respondent race, gender and self-efficacy.. 2.1.3 Social Identity. According to the social identity perspective, individuals are motivated to defend or promote the interests of the social groups to which they belong, regardless of whether these : actions benefit them personally. Social categorization evokes a comparison process on the basis of group membership. Individuals are motivated to maintain a positive image of their in-group (Tajfel & Turner, 1985). By comparing one's group with groups perceived as inferior on relevant dimensions, in-group status and collective self-esteem are enhanced.. The result of these social comparison and motivation processes is a preference or favouritism that places one's own group at an advantage to another group. In addition, this in-group favouritism is often exacerbated when inter-group interactions involve limited and valuable resources.. 26.

(36) In the case of affirmative action, individuals may be motivated to promote their own group's interests. Thus, resistance to affirmative action policies should be contingent upon the extent to which these policies cross relevant group boundaries and are seen as benefiting out-group members at the expense of in-group members. When an individual perceives the policy to be unfair, and group membership is both relevant and salient, these negative evaluations create resistance to the policy.. Affirmative action programmes directed at Blacks (Africans, Coloureds and Indians) are viewed less positively by White males than programmes directed at White females or the disabled (Smith & Kluegel, 1986).. Individuals may resist specific affirmative action policies because of negative attitudes towards affirmative action candidates who are of a different social identity than they are.. 2.1.4 Racism and Sexism (Prejudice). Fernandez (1981:303) defined [anti-Black] racism "as basic cultural ideologies that state that Whites... are inherently superior to minorities... solely on the basis of race... and that Whites have the power over social institutions to develop, evolve, nurture, spread, impose and enforce the very myths and stereotypes that are basic to the foundation of racism". What is striking about the discourse of racism before 1990 is its nakedness, its shamelessness as it manifested itself in South Africa.. "No woolly-haired nation has ever had an important 'history'," wrote Ernst Haeckel in 1873 (2:415) (Coetzee, 1980). This form of classic racism was eloquently epitomized in the articulate writings of Jodocus Hondius (Coetzee, 1980) who straight-facedly wrote: "The local natives have everything in common with the dumb cattle, barring their human nature.... [They] are handicapped in their speech.... Their food consists of herbs, cattle, wild animals and fish. The animals are eaten together with their internal organs. Having been shaken out a little, the intestines are not washed, but as soon as the animal has been slaughtered, these are eaten..... 27.

(37) They all smell fiercely, as can be noticed at a distance of more than twelve feet against the wind, and they also give the appearance of never having washed" (Coetzee, 1980).. South Africa had a particularly long, harsh history of legal and informal denial of equal enjoyment of rights and privileges to the large and disproportionately poor population of Blacks. Apartheid continued to be practiced for years despite being decried "a heresy and a crime against humanity" by the United Nations. It was undoubtedly the one evil of colossal magnitude that ranked alongside slavery in proportion. Racially discriminatory attitudes and behaviour are deeply embedded within our institutions and individual psyches. It is therefore unsurprising that one still finds "classic racists" who share the views expressed by Hondius above.. Under South Africa's apartheid regime, there were few areas of life or enterprise not stratified and classified along racial lines. South Africa created a vast, multi-tiered system of laws, bureaucracies and regulations to control almost all aspects of Black life in society and apportioned levels of privilege in line with those classifications.. This has not gone unnoticed by Blacks, who, squirming under the oppressive yoke which denied them opportunities observed that their youth has "...shrunk into tasteless sycophancy, or into hatred of the pale world about them and mocking distrust of everything white; or wasted itself in a bitter cry, 'Why did god make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house?" (Du bois, 1996). Some Whites go about it in as subtle a manner as possible, though their racism is hardly disguisable as Du Bois once observed: "Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, 'How does it feel to be a problem?' they say, 'I know an excellent Black man in my town...' At this I smile, as the occasion may require. To the real question, 'How does it feel to be a problem?' I answer seldom a word".. Du Bois movingly described the yearning for the unreachable opportunities by Blacks as, "The shades of the prison-house closed round about us all: walls straight and stubborn to the whitest,. •. 28.

(38) but relentlessly narrow, tall and unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly, watch the streak of blue above".. Such forms of "classic racism" (Sidanius, Pratto and Bobo; 1996) have been supplanted by modern forms. For example, aversive racism is said to be a combination of racial prejudice and an egalitarian ideology (Dovidio, Mann and (iaerner; 1989). Symbolic racism, in contrast, is said to be a combination of racial prejudice and a conservative ideology (Kinder, 1986; McConahay, 1982; McConahay & Hough, 1976; Sears, 1988).. The end of apartheid does not mean the end of racism. "It is but the beginning of a new struggle in a new terrain" (Prof. William Makgoba, Vice Chancellor; University of Natal). Makgoba recently referred to this terrain as the 'new racism'. What are the contours of the 'new racism'? Asks James Wilmot (Beyond racism).. The first is the intrusion of privately held racial attitudes into the gray domain of interpersonal relations and semi-public conduct beyond the reach of the constitution or law. A second contour is both formal and informal racial discrimination.. A third contour is evident in the attitudes towards affirmative action or corrective action of those advantaged by White supremacy. A fourth contour of the 'new racism' may be discerned in attitudes towards Black political empowerment (www.beyondracism.org ). It is therefore a widely held view in South Africa that, though manifesting itself in more subtle forms, the disadvantage emanating from racial discrimination is all-encompassing. It is political, social and economical.. Research has consistently found that self-report measures of racism are positively associated with resistance to affirmative action targeted at racial majorities. Using data from the national Harris opinion survey of 1978, Jacobson (1985) found that symbolic and overt racism predicted attitudes towards affirmative action programmes. Kravitz (1995) found that racism was associated with opposition to affirmative action in general and to specific affirmative action programmes.. 29.

(39) Sidanus et al. (1996) found that resistance to affirmative action was associated with classical, naked racism, and that this relation increased with respondent education. In other words he found that the more educated the White respondent was, the more resistant he/she was to affirmative action policies targeted at Blacks.. In comparison to racism, sexism has been neglected in the affirmative action research, but there is some relevant work. Similar to modem racism, neo-sexism is said to be "a manifestation of a conflict between egalitarian values and residual negative feelings towards women" (Tougas, Brown et al., 1995:843).. Research has found that neo-sexism is an apt predictor of resistance to affirmative action. Joly et al. (1993) studied 96 male managers and professionals. They found that neo-sexism predicted opposition to affirmative action in general and a specific affirmative action programme targeted at women. In summary, prejudice (racism and sexism) is associated with resistance to affirmative action programmes targeted at the relevant group.. 2.1.5 Relative Deprivation. Relative deprivation is "the emotion one feels when making negatively discrepant comparisons" (Crosby, 1976:p.88). Building on earlier work, Crosby (1984) distinguishes four types of resentment individuals feel about the distribution of an outcome. Personal deprivation exists when the individual receives less than he or she desires and deserves.. Surprisingly, this concept has been neglected in the affirmative action area. In-group deprivation exists when the individual's group receives less than the individual desires and believes it deserves. Within the affirmative action area this has been called collective relative deprivation.. Ideological deprivation exists when a group with which the individual sympathizes receives less than the individual desires and believes it deserves. Within the affirmative action area this has. 30.

(40) been called relative deprivation on behalf of others. Finally, backlash exists when the individual resents the fact that others have received positive outcomes.. With few exceptions (Lynch & Beer, 1990) backlash has been ignored in the affirmative action literature. Lynch (1992) argues various factors have led to a taboo against acknowledging the very negative effects that affirmative action has had on young, working and middle-class White males. He refers to this neglect as "race unconsciousness" and attributes it to social-structural factors and actions of both the political Left and the Right.. Relative Deprivation on Behalf of Others. Tougas and her colleagues (1990) have correlated relative deprivation on behalf of others with resistance or support of affirmative action. This is perceived discrepancy between two groups. This concept manifests itself in South Africa in the form of the so-called 'Brain Drain'.. Some White parents who have financed a hard-earned University or Technikon degree are known to actively encourage their children to pursue greener economic pastures in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc. as they could no longer be guaranteed the hitherto exclusively White jobs as a consequence of the advent of affirmative action. This was evident in a recent radio talk show (SAFM) which canvassed opinion on how White parents felt about affirmative action.. Of the thirteen all-white callers, everyone of them expressed revulsion (let alone resistance!) at affirmative action and related stories of how well their children or siblings were doing overseas after leaving the country upon being disillusioned by the spectre of affirmative action.. Collective Relative Deprivation. Like relative deprivation on behalf of others, collective relative deprivation incorporates both a perception of discrepancy and dissatisfaction with that discrepancy. The difference is, collective relative deprivation refers to the respondent's own group.. 31.

(41) In other words, the perception of a discrepancy automatically leads to dissatisfaction. For example, a White parent who observes his/her child being overlooked for promotion in preference for a Black child with similar competencies, may be dissatisfied with the discrepancy and indeed oppose the affirmative action policy that imposes such a status quo upon the former child.. 2.1.6 Political Perspective. A few studies have attempted to assess the relation between political perspective and affirmative action attitudes. In their national survey of Whites, Kluegel and Smith (1983) examined the relation between affirmative action attitudes and political orientation.. Support for affirmative action tended to increase with beliefs that Blacks have poor opportunities, equality is just and beneficial, and poverty is due to structural causes. Resistance to affirmative action tended to also increase when the opposite was believed.. Thus, those who hold the political conviction that the racial socio-economic gap that exists between Whites and Blacks is due to a lack of effort on the part of Blacks, would tend to resist affirmative action programmes.. Extracts from the political rhetoric and policy positions from the election manifestos of organizations like the African national Congress (ANC), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), the Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO), etc. which are in support of affirmative action programmes confirm the theory that political perspective relates directly to affirmative action attitudes.. Information gleaned from the 2004 election manifestos of the Independent Democrats (ID), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) as well as the Democratic Alliance (DA) indicates strong resistance to affirmative action; also an attestation to the above theory.. 32.

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