The onward march towards economic freedom for women



Monday, 12 August 2024



 



The onward march towards economic freedom for women



Dear Fellow South African, 



Last week we commemorated the Women’s March to
the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956. This historic protest by more than 20,000
South African women was a response to the cruel and dehumanising practices of
the apartheid regime. 



The march was also a protest against economic
injustice.



As one of the regime’s so-called ‘influx
control’ measures, the pass laws restricted freedom of movement for black men,
thereby curtailing their ability to work. The decision to extend the pass laws
to black women would have effectively shut off all remaining opportunities for
black families to earn a livelihood. 



This spurred the pioneers of 1956 to march on
the seat of apartheid power. 



The significance of the 1956 Women’s March is
enduring, not least of all because it underscored the centrality of women’s
economic empowerment to the broader effort to achieve gender equality. 



Thirty years into democracy we have made
impressive strides in advancing gender equality across society, but we still
have a long way to go in broadening women’s economic participation. 



This is borne out by a recently published
Gallup study titled ‘Gender Power in Africa’. The report analyses the
disparities and imbalances that shape the lives of women in five African
countries, including South Africa. 



South Africa ranks the highest of the countries
surveyed with respect to the rate of female participation in political
decision-making, low rates of child marriage, and the participation and
completion rates of girls in primary and secondary education. 



However, of the countries surveyed, South
Africa has the highest rate of unemployed women and women not in the workforce.
The percentage of South African women considered to be self-employed or
entrepreneurs is the lowest, at 5%. In this respect, we lag behind the rest of
the continent. According to the World Economic Forum, women constitute 58% of
self-employed people across Africa. 



In a country such as ours, with a high
unemployment rate, entrepreneurship is an important tool to empower more women
and broaden their participation in the economy. This includes in the informal
sector, which accounts for 18% of total employment in the country. 



Through its various departments and entities,
the state provides financial support to women to enable them to start their own
businesses and to sustain existing businesses. Women-owned businesses are also
able to access training in business and project management, IT and other
skills. 



We have set a target to allocate at least 40%
of public procurement spend to women-owned businesses. In 2021, we launched a
Women’s Economic Assembly to enable women-owned enterprises to participate in
local industry value chains. Since its inception this programme has yielded
promising results in a number of key economic sectors, notably the automotive
sector. 



We are also striving to expand women’s access
to economic activity through land ownership, enabling female farmers to own
land through the state’s land redistribution programme and supporting them with
equipment and other agricultural inputs.  



From citrus farmers in North West to
cooperatives making affordable school furniture in KwaZulu-Natal, to cosmetics
companies and tech start-ups in the Western Cape, all across the country
women-owned enterprises are benefiting from an integrated approach to
supporting small businesses.



The private sector is playing an important role
in guiding these entrepreneurship journeys through start-up incubators, women
entrepreneurship awards and programmes such as the Youth Employment Service.



With the help of the Social Employment Fund and
others, government is enabling women entrepreneurs to employ workers and
provide mentorship to trainees.  



There is much more that the private sector can
do. Access to financial resources, including credit lines, is vital to the
viability of women-owned businesses. Another important area is access to tools
of financial inclusion like bank accounts and mobile money and payment
technologies. It will be critical to broaden the reach of financial services to
include women in the informal sector and in rural areas. 



Empowering women contributes to thriving
economies, spurs productivity and boosts economic growth. 



With greater collaboration between government
and business, together with the support of labour and civil society, we can use
entrepreneurship to lift more women out of poverty. We can create more jobs for
women and help more women secure their financial freedom. 



The achievement of economic freedom for South
Africa’s women would be the most fitting tribute to the courageous women who
marched on the Union Buildings in 1956.



With best regards,
 



 



The private
sector is playing an important role in guiding these entrepreneurship journeys
through start-up incubators, women entrepreneurship awards and programmes such
as the Youth Employment Service.



 



With the
help of the Social Employment Fund and others, government is enabling women
entrepreneurs to employ workers and provide mentorship to trainees.  There is
much more that the private sector can do. Access to financial resources,
including credit lines, is vital to the viability of women-owned businesses.
Another important area is access to tools of financial inclusion like bank
accounts and mobile money and payment technologies. It will be critical to
broaden the reach of financial services to include women in the informal sector
and in rural areas.

Empowering
women contributes to thriving economies, spurs productivity and boosts economic
growth. 



With greater collaboration between government and business, together with the
support of labour and civil society, we can use entrepreneurship to lift more
women out of poverty. We can create more jobs for women and help more women
secure their financial freedom. The achievement of economic freedom for South Africa’s women would be the most fitting tribute to the courageous women who marched on the Union Buildings in
1956.