South Africa’s efforts to build a more representative pool of chartered accountants are being held back by persistent funding constraints, limited mentorship and weak exposure to the profession, according to the African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA).
The organisation says these structural barriers continue to prevent many young Black women from entering and completing the training required to qualify as chartered accountants, despite ongoing transformation efforts in the sector.
AWCA Head of Student Chapters Ntebaleng Twala said the profession still does not reflect the country’s demographics, noting that Black women remain significantly underrepresented among qualified chartered accountants.
“We are currently 57,000 CAs, and within that base you find that 12% are Black women, and that just indicates how much work still needs to be done,” Twala said.
Chartered accountants hold key roles across South Africa’s economy, supporting financial governance, accountability, corporate leadership and public sector oversight.
