[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/jain_harish02.jpg” caption=”Harish Jain returned to South Africa earlier this year to begin tracking the changes the Employment Equity Act has had on the country. File photo.”]After nearly a decade of work developing employment equity legislation in South Africa, Harish Jain, professor emeritus of human resources and labour relations at the DeGroote School of Business, returned to the country earlier this year to begin tracking the significant changes that have occurred as a result of the introduction of the country's Employment Equity Act.

Jain, who had taught employers about affirmative action at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business, was approached by the South African government to assist in the development of employment equity legislation in 1995. He played a significant role, working as a policy advisor to the South African Department of Labour, aiding the transition to de-segregation in all sectors of society and addressing the media at a national press conference when the bill was passed.

Jain's current research involves analyzing data collected from South Africa between 1997 and 2007 and comparing South Africa's employment policies with Canada's, whose most recent changes went into effect in 1997, a year before South Africa's bill was passed.

“It will be very interesting to see if they have made more progress than we have,” Jain says. “There is a great deal of room for change and I think that South Africans realize that. There is a great awareness and they want to progress.”

This was evidenced on May 6 when South Africa officially elected the leader of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, to be the country's president. Zuma has pledged to unite the country by focusing on improving education and protecting and creating jobs for all South Africans.

Jain is optimistic that his research will indicate where gaps still exist and aid policy makers in correcting problems. After ten years of human rights in South Africa, Jain offers a reminder that “change takes time. It is not going to happen overnight.”