Fatima Vawda Founder and CEO of 27FOUR

From Apartheid to Asset Allocation: Why DEI Still Matters

I am a Black woman, a South African, a mother, a Muslim, an asset manager—and above all, a believer in the transformative power of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Each of these identities shapes how I navigate the world—and how the world navigates me. I want to share a story. Not a corporate case study. Not a data point. But a lived reality. A call to hold the line in the face of a rising backlash against DEI in the global investment industry.

A Shared History of Exclusion

South Africa and the United States share much in common: multiracial societies with painful histories of exclusion. Constitutions that promise equality. And a legacy of systemic injustice that laws alone cannot erase. When apartheid formally ended in 1994, South Africa became a democracy—but inherited an economy designed for the few. We soon realised that political freedom without economic redress would entrench inequality.

So, we legislated transformation: Employment Equity and Black Economic Empowerment. These were not mere policy choices—they were a national commitment to restore dignity, redistribute access, and drive inclusive growth. Because we knew then—as we know now—that growth without equity is fragile, and democracy without inclusion is hollow.

A Sector Not Built for Me

In 2007, I founded 27four Investment Managers in an industry that wasn’t built for people like me. The asset management world was, and largely still is, dominated by white men. Back then, there were less than 10 Black-owned asset managers in South Africa managing less than R80 billion. Today, there are more than 75, collectively managing over R3 trillion. This didn’t happen by accident or goodwill. It happened because regulation forced capital to reckon with its bias. Because policy created the conditions for new entrants to emerge— and because some of us refused to be invisible. Transformation is not a box to tick or a finish line to cross. It is a continual, often contested, journey.

The Backlash is Real—and Dangerous Across the world, DEI is facing a coordinated pushback. In the U.S., executive orders have dismantled federal DEI mandates, defunded programmes, and reframed equity as extremism. The private sector has followed suit—quietly rolling back inclusion efforts under pressure.

This rhetoric is spreading: “Let’s focus on merit.” “We should be colour-blind.” “This DEI thing has gone too far.”

But merit is never neutral. Apartheid had its own version of “merit” — it just excluded those who didn’t write the rules.

When DEI is labelled as radical, what’s really being said is: let’s return to a system that worked well for the few—at the cost of the many.

This is not just a retreat from policy. It’s a regression of values. And neutrality, in the face of inequality, is not impartiality. It’s complicity.

DEI is Not a Trend. It’s a Business Imperative.

Let’s talk numbers.

South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. Labour market inequality accounts for 90% of income inequality. White- African wage gaps have hardly narrowed in decades. Women remain systematically underrepresented in leadership. In the asset management sector, 63% of firms have less than 30% of assets managed by women. Women dominate support roles—but are nearly absent from portfolio management and capital allocation.

Yet research consistently shows that diverse leadership teams outperform. By 2030, women could control 45% of global financial wealth. Yet more than half of these assets remain unmanaged—because the financial system is still designed by, and for, men.

Ignoring DEI isn’t just unjust—it’s bad business.

When you leave talent at the margins, you leave value on the table. Exclusion narrows not only opportunity—but also insight, innovation, and impact.

South Africa Must Lead by Example Despite global headwinds, South Africa continues to uphold its constitutional values. Our new Government of National Unity is advancing equity in both public and private sectors.

At 27four, we are tracking the state of DEI through our DEInvest Survey and DEI Index. We go beyond ownership and representation to assess influence—how asset managers engage portfolio companies on DEI. If South Africa is the “protest capital of the world,” it is because we believe change is possible. We know that silence has never delivered justice.

Let our journey be both a lesson and a warning: Those who benefit most from the status quo rarely give up power without resistance. But when we centre justice, resistance becomes resilience.

Holding the Line

So, how do we respond to the DEI backlash? We hold the line. We tell our stories. We use the data. We speak truth to power. We invest in the long game. We remind the world: DEI is not a threat—it is a strategy. A lever for growth. A roadmap to a just economy. Let us not retreat. Let us lead.