Black South Africans are struggling to win boardroom promotion, almost a decade after the end of the country's apartheid regime, a report has found.

Only one in six of the country top listed firms employ blacks in executive boardroom positions, a report by black empowerment monitor Empowerdex has said.

And only eight of the 387 companies surveyed was headed by a chief executive or managing director from a "historically disadvantaged" community.

"There is a dearth of [black] directors in every South African-based company listed [in Johannesburg]," Empowerdex said.

But the agency forecast that, thanks largely to policy initiatives, blacks were set to win greater boardroom representation.

"Judging from the levels of black economic empowerment and transformation activities observed in the latter half of 2002, the advent of the truly non-racial boardroom seems much nearer," the report concluded.

The government last year stepped up efforts to boost the shares of economic riches accruing to blacks, who account for 40 million of the country's population of 45 million.

Action has so far centred on the mining and fuel sectors, with financial services firms thought to be the next to be urged to promote black representation.

Front runners

The report name Cyril Ramaphosa, a former ANC secretary general tipped by some as a future South African president, as the country's most influential black executive.

Though directorships at firms including brewer SABMiller and banking giant Firstrand, Mr Ramaphosa had an influence at companies with a combined stock market value of 137bn rand (�10bn; $16.1bn), Empowerdex said.

Tokyo Sexwale, who has also been touted as a presidential possibility, ranked second in the list.

Mr Sexwale boast positions at giants including retail bank Absa and diamond firms Trans Hex and Mvelaphanda Holdings.

The top ranked woman in the survey, in 13th position overall, was Hixonia Nyasulu, a marketing specialist, on the board at financial services firm Nedcor and consultancy SECI.

Irene Charnley, rated by Fortune magazine as one of the most influential non-US businesswomen, was the second-ranking woman, coming 16th in the overall table.