Abstract
Orientation: Since the advent of democracy in 1994 numerous policies and programmes were put in place to address the imbalances of race and gender in the South African labour force.Research purpose: The aim of this study is to gauge the perceptions about existing barriers in the implementation of affirmative action (AA) training interventions at public hospitals in the Mpumalanga Province.Motivations for the study: The research conducted in this study provides valuable information which would enable the Mpumalanga health department and public hospital management to develop improved interventions associated with AA training interventions.Research design, approach and method: The population of the study consists of two groups of participants which are AA appointees and AA mentors. The study mixed qualitative and quantitative research methodological processes.Main findings: Results of this study show that there are differences in perceptions between Black respondents who believe that mentors should be held liable for the failure of the mentees and White respondents who disagreed. The findings suggest that employees are of the opinion that internal policy guidelines on the implementation of AA are not communicated to all employees.Practical implications: Public hospital management should articulate the purpose of AA interventions and its targets to both mentors and mentees and continuously review the implementation thereof.Contribution: The study contributes towards explaining the importance of training interventions that are useful for the success of AA appointees in their respective duties and also give account of barriers that are experienced by these appointees.
Highlights
Since 1994, efforts taken to address the imbalances associated with race and gender in South Africa’s workforce are those that relate to legislative reforms as well as training and mentoring for affirmative action (AA) appointees
This study examines the sentiments of the AA appointees in terms of the hurdles that they encounter while carrying out their respective duties
From the policy perspective of AA, the implementation of such policies should be supported through training interventions to ensure that beneficiaries of AA training become successful
Summary
The research findings reveal that there are remaining barriers in terms of AA candidates not functioning efficiently, which AA training has not managed to address. One such barrier is perceived to be the resistance of appointed mentors to provide training; this perception has been expressed mainly by Black AA appointees, whereas White female AA appointees have argued that no such barrier exists. Conclusions drawn from the findings include the following, (1) implementing AA requires guiding policies at institutional level, (2) various support mechanisms, beyond AA training, are required by the beneficiaries of AA and (3) the appointed mentors’ resistance to providing training must be explored
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