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Cape Town - Britain should introduce quotas to promote women in the workplace, said Cherie Booth QC, according to the UK's The Independent.
The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was speaking at the Hay Festival over the weekend, said it was essential to "accelerate" the careers of women and redress the gender imbalance in the workplace.
"If we wait for it to happen naturally, I think it’s going to take a long time."
She said a concerted effort aimed at achieving gender equality in the political arena was especially important, adding that she was proud about her husband having only women shortlists for the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, women politicians in South Africa are making inroads into top government posts judging from President Jacob Zuma's new Cabinet.
Zuma included 31 women in his Cabinet of 71 ministers and deputy ministers.
The newly created ministry of small business development is headed by two women.
"We are happy to be moving closer to our target of having more women in Cabinet and the national executive as a whole," he said during the unveiling of his Cabinet on Sunday.
Earlier this month, CEO of Amrop Landelahni, Sandra Burmeister, said there has been progress with gender transformation over the past few years, but the advancement of women into top jobs remains slow.
She said South Africa follows the global pattern where the number of women declines as they rise through the corporate ranks.
Burmeister also indicated that the UK government is currently considering legislation that all new board appointments should have an all-female shortlist.
She said that South Africa's gender equality bill, which requires public bodies and companies to ensure that 50% of all decision-making jobs are filled by women, asserts the right sentiments, but needs to align quotas with the availability of suitably qualified women.
"A fixed 50% target is not realistic since there simply may not be enough women to fill half the positions in all types of jobs.
"In South Africa, a blanket target of 50% women will pose difficulties for sectors where two-thirds of workers are technical – such as in construction, infrastructure and information technology," she said.
The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was speaking at the Hay Festival over the weekend, said it was essential to "accelerate" the careers of women and redress the gender imbalance in the workplace.
"If we wait for it to happen naturally, I think it’s going to take a long time."
She said a concerted effort aimed at achieving gender equality in the political arena was especially important, adding that she was proud about her husband having only women shortlists for the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, women politicians in South Africa are making inroads into top government posts judging from President Jacob Zuma's new Cabinet.
Zuma included 31 women in his Cabinet of 71 ministers and deputy ministers.
The newly created ministry of small business development is headed by two women.
"We are happy to be moving closer to our target of having more women in Cabinet and the national executive as a whole," he said during the unveiling of his Cabinet on Sunday.
Earlier this month, CEO of Amrop Landelahni, Sandra Burmeister, said there has been progress with gender transformation over the past few years, but the advancement of women into top jobs remains slow.
She said South Africa follows the global pattern where the number of women declines as they rise through the corporate ranks.
Burmeister also indicated that the UK government is currently considering legislation that all new board appointments should have an all-female shortlist.
She said that South Africa's gender equality bill, which requires public bodies and companies to ensure that 50% of all decision-making jobs are filled by women, asserts the right sentiments, but needs to align quotas with the availability of suitably qualified women.
"A fixed 50% target is not realistic since there simply may not be enough women to fill half the positions in all types of jobs.
"In South Africa, a blanket target of 50% women will pose difficulties for sectors where two-thirds of workers are technical – such as in construction, infrastructure and information technology," she said.
