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Data shows extremely large pay gaps and poor leadership diversity in JSE-listed wholesale and retail sector

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GUEST – Kwanele Ngogela – Just Share senior inequality analyst

The average lowest paid worker in the wholesale and retail sector would need to work for 21 months to earn what an average CEO in this sector earns in one day.

New research by Just Share looks at ten JSE-listed companies in the wholesale and retail space, based on analysis of these companies’ most recent public disclosures. The research highlights significant pay gaps and poor levels of diversity at the board and management level.

Shoprite Holdings, Pick n Pay, Pepkor Holdings, The Foschini Group, Woolworths, Mr Price Group, Dis-Chem, Clicks Group, Truworths International, and Spar Group together employ 389,766 full-time employees and account for R833.7 billion in yearly revenue. Overall, the wholesale and retail sector is the second-largest employer in South Africa after government, employing about 17% of the workforce.

The sector’s performance on gender and racial diversity at board and top management levels is mixed, with disappointingly low targets set by several of the companies analysed here.
11 Sep 2024 2PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

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