"We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world." – Nelson Mandela
The Rainbow Nation is one of South Africa's most distinguishable features, fostered by the concept of "rainbowism" - a concept denoting fairness, equality, and diversity. The term encapsulates the ‘harmonious’ coexistence and cooperation among the nation’s ethnic and culturally diverse people. South Africa’s rich diversity sets itself apart as a country with a deep representation of various cultures within its borders. This diversity inspired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a prominent African leader and anti-apartheid veteran, to coin the term. The CEO of Common Purpose South Africa, Elsbeth Dixon (2023) stated that “Almost three decades have passed since Bishop Tutu first coined us as the “Rainbow Nation” in post-apartheid South Africa, yet here on the ground, we are still feeling disappointed, and even angry; we are failing to enable all parts of our rainbow to enjoy the benefits of our democratic era. To put it simply, our potential as a true, thriving “Rainbow Nation” is yet to be fully unlocked.”
Well…we are now fully into 30 years of democracy yet South Africa still grapples with its legacy which includes unequal access to education, unequal pay, segregated communities and massive economic disparities. Much of it is reinforced by existing institutions and attitudes against a backdrop of colonialism and apartheid. In a narrative documentary titled Mother City, we see Nkosikhona Swartbooi leading a defiant war against government and property developers in one of the world’s most unequal cities, Cape Town, indicating that land reform is still an unfulfilled promise.
Twelve official languages; freedom of sexual orientation; young people in positions of power; and a diversity of skin colour. However, if this is the case then we would not need movements that try to advance diversity, equity, inclusion or feminism for instance. In a video that surfaced online, Renaldo Gouws, a Democratic Alliance party member and Youtuber, was seen and heard saying, “Alright so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f**ing k*****s, kill all the f***ing n*ggers. That’s all I gotta f***ing say.” He was suspended by the party but was later appointed as the deputy spokesperson of two portfolios - Tourism and the Auditor General - while investigations on his racist remarks are still ongoing. This is yet another example of racism rearing its ugly head and exhibits that it is true that to those accustomed to privilege, equality and justice are foreign concepts.
When we look at the workplace, one of the goals of many organisations and companies is to deliver fairness and offer equal opportunities for all employees, irrespective of their employment conditions. Executives seek to ensure that all employees have access to the same rewards and learning opportunities. However, practice often falls short, with a number of employees not possessing the basic requirements associated with fairness, respect or reward. Normalised forms of inequality such as income, treatment and responsibility inequality associated with race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and age have increasingly been joined by other examples, such as religion, disability, social class, background, language and employment status. Inequality keeps increasing with more and more factors contributing towards it so “Add this to devastating black youth unemployment rates in South Africa, not to mention the fact that young black professionals feel the need to “leave their culture at the door” when they come to work in order to fit in with company culture, as I’ve heard time and time again in our work, and you begin to see that the impact of difference and discrimination still existing in our country are still abound.” (Dixon, 2023)
The Rainbow Nation concept encourages unity and emphasises the importance of equal opportunities for all, where on the global stage, there is an expectation that South Africa's diversity can serve as a model for the rest of the world. I truly believe that our country can achieve this, however, work needs to be done – inequalities need to be faced head on. These inequalities hinder us from reaching this rainbow nation ideal.
References:
Dixon, E. (2023). We live in a “Rainbow Nation”, but its potential is yet to be unlocked. Common Purpose. https://commonpurpose.org/resources/blog/unlocking-rainbow-nation