Boosting black actuaries

MISSION: ACHIEVING INCLUSIVITY, DIVERSITY STARTS AT SCHOOL

- Brian Sokutu

With a statistical gulf showing black Africans lagging behind in the actuarial profession, non-profit organisation SA Actuarial Development Programme (SAADP) is determined to achieve inclusivity and diversity in the field - as it marks 21 years of existence.

According to last year's Actuarial Society of SA numbers, South Africa has a total of 1 768 qualified actuaries.

Of the total, 2.1% are coloured, 9.2% black Africans and 14.4%, and 74.3% are Indian and white respectively.

Despite progress in bridging the gap for black actuarial talent, the SAADP said the profession remained "one of the least diverse professions in SA".

Explaining how the actuarial profession struggled to close the colour gap, SAADP executive director Nthato Selebi said: "The actuarial profession in South Africa continues to lag in diversity, with black, coloured and Indian actuaries making up less than 30% of the total of qualified actuaries.