Different Age Groups’ Response To Employment Equity Practices

Abstract

The focus of this article is on response differences with regard to employment equity practices within nine South African companies from different industries, as well as whether the Employment Equity Questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring employment equity practices. A convenience sample of 4729 participants in the field survey provided the secondary data for this study. The Employment Equity Questionnaire yielded a high Alpha coefficient of 0,96. The main findings were that differences in responses between age categories do exist, but only a small percentage of the variance could be ascribed to differences in employment equity practices. In addition to this, the South African companies show the same trends, with regard to age discrimination, as other countries like the United States and Britain. This finding could therefore serve as a lead indicator for proactive measures – to ensure that the same mistakes from other countries are not repeated here.

Opsomming
Die fokus van hierdie artikel is op responsverskille met betrekking tot gelyke werkgeleentheidpraktyke binne nege Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye in verskeie industrieë en ook of die Employment Equity Questionnaire ’n betroubare instrument is om gelyke werkgeleentheidpraktyke te meet. ’n Geleentheidsteekproef van 4729 deelnemers in die veldopname het die sekondêre data vir hierdie studie voorsien. Die Employment Equity Questionnaire het ’n hoë Alfakoëffisiënt van 0,96 opgelewer. Die hoofbevindinge is dat daar verskille in response tussen ouderdomsgroepe bestaan, maar dat slegs ’n klein proporsie van die variansie aan verskille in gelyke werkgeleenthede toegeskryf kan word. In aansluiting hiermee, wys Suid-Afrikaanse maatkappye dieselfde tendens met betrekking tot ouderdomsdiskriminasie as ander lande soos die VSA en Brittanje. Hierdie bevinding moet as ’n kernaanwyser vir proaktiewe maatstawwe beskou word – sodat dieselfde foute van ander lande nie hier herhaal word nie.