South Africa must make a concerted effort to achieve gender equality and ensure decent work and economic growth for women who make up just over half of its 60.6 million population.
As the country commemorates its 28th Women’s Day, data shows the uphill battle that women continue to face both in terms of personal safety and closing the wage gap.
In his foreword to the National Strategic Plan to Combat Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that South Africa holds the shameful distinction of being one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.
We have amongst the highest rates of intimate partner violence, and recently released data from Statistics SA show that rape and sexual violence have become hyperendemic. This is a scourge that affects us all: young and old, black or white, rich and poor, queer or cis, rural or urban. It pervades every sphere of our society. Women and girls are being abused, assaulted and murdered in our country every day – at the hands of men. We are in the throes of a deep crisis that must be brought to a decisive end.”
This statement is supported by the Africa Health Organisation which notes that femicide in South Africa is five times higher than the global average. On a continental level, 84% of South African women say that domestic violence is the number one challenge that they face. In comparison, 70% of women in Ethiopia, 64% in Kenya and 61% in Nigeria say the same.
Violence against women and girls falls under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 5 which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.
Economic participation and opportunity
Approximately, 51.1% of the country’s 60.6 million population is female, according to mid-year population estimates in 2022. Despite representing such a high percentage of the population, women in South Africa remain marginalized in the economy.
Decent work and economic growth are encapsulated within UN SDG 8. According to the Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, South Africa achieved an overall ranking of 81 of the 146 countries surveyed.
However, data under the Economic Participation and Opportunity indicator paints a rather erratic picture, with South Africa ranking:
- 81st in terms of economic participation and opportunity
- 111th in terms of wage equality for similar work done by men
- 66th for labor-force participation rate
- 42nd for estimated earned income
- 88th for legislators, senior officials and managers
Nadiya Hattia, Senior Consultant at the BEE Chamber in South Africa, said:
“The current statistics reveal that approximately half of South African women are inactive in the labor force, including those discouraged from seeking employment. This gender-based unemployment gap persists throughout the country, contributing to one of the highest gender pay gaps globally, with women earning on average 23% less than men across different sectors and occupations.”
South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q1 2023 shows that the national average unemployment rate for women is 35.4%, a 4.7% gap in official unemployment between the sexes. This gender gap rises to 7.1% when the expanded definition of unemployment is applied, which basically includes individuals within a specific age category who are willing and able to work but who are not actively searching for a job (also termed discouraged work seekers).
Last year, almost one in two (47%) of women in South Africa were recorded as being economically inactive by Statistics South Africa, which found that this number was much less for men at 35.6%. The country’s national statistics agency highlighted that the productive potential of South African women in the labor market remains unused and “the labor market continues to favor men and shows no signs of making real progress towards improving prospects for women”.
Of the 53.7% of women who do find work, it is usually in vulnerable employment where earnings are inadequate, productivity is low and work conditions are difficult.
Onyi Nwaneri, CEO of Afrika Tikkun Services, previously highlighted that achieving a completely equal society across gender and racial lines has proved to be a massive undertaking in South Africa.
“Despite improvements brought by the implementation of Section 6(4) of the Employment Equity Act, the goal of true equitable pay for all is yet to be reached as the median gender pay gap has remained stagnant between 23% and 35%,” she said.
“Women in this country tend to bear the bulk of family responsibilities including providing income for daily needs, despite being paid less on average than men. Numerous studies have attested to the benefits of investing in the economic empowerment of women. It will take a collective effort by all spheres of society including those tasked with enforcing the law, to achieve the ultimate goal of inclusive labour practices that don’t discriminate based on gender, race or any other demographic,” she added.
Women discriminated throughout Africa
The situation that women find themselves in is not specific to South Africa. A recent study, titled African Women’s Voices: Reframing the Narrative on Women’s Roles in African Societies, found that from 2010 to 2016, Africa was closing the gender gap faster than any other region in the world. Thereafter, the commodity crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted this trend.
“Women’s economic participation, as measured by labour force participation rates and wage levels, began declining in Africa, and the continent’s gender gap soon went from among the fastest improving to one of the slowest worldwide,” said Nomava Zanazo, consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, Johannesburg.
“By our calculations, if African women’s economic participation were to resume the pace of 2010 to 2016, the continent could close the gap 60 years faster than it is likely to do now,” she added.
How is this situation being addressed?
Despite the daunting data, South Africa does have a number of programs and policies in place to promote the economic empowerment of women including:
- National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality which aims to create an enabling environment for women’s economic participation and advancement.
- Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) which features elements within the framework that attempt to bolster previously disadvantaged and marginalized groups in South Africa, promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, including preferential procurement from women-owned businesses and women in management and ownership positions within private companies.
- Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill which aims to advance gender equality and promote the economic empowerment of women and create mechanisms for women’s access to resources, education, and economic opportunities.
- National Development Plan (NDP), also known as Vision 2030, which features targets for promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. It covers the gender wage gap, and the representation of women in positions of leadership.
