Employment policies and practice in the public service: The case for affirmative action

Abstract

South Africa IS apartheid legacy of racial and class inequalities demands drastic and purposeful intervention. This is necessary because, blacks and women have, for decades, been discriminated against on the basis of race, gender and disability . Despite the advent of a democratic government, a large proportion of senior management positions in the public service of South Africa are still occupied by white, male Afrikaners who, in 1996 constituted 63 per cent of the management echelon. There is a need, therefore, to introduce a nation - wide , and systematic strategy in the public service to "normalise" this situation through programmes of affirmative action.