Empowerment UNLOCKED

Working women face a unique set of challenges both globally and here in South Africa. We find out what you can do to get fit for financial success.

- HELEN WALLACE

While it may be 2024 and while the struggle for South African women's rights may have been fought for almost 70 years - our country's fairer sex is still at an economic disadvantage. According to both local and global reports, men still dominate the local labour force and women are still paid 23-35% less than their male counterparts for doing the same job.

Globally, the picture looks pretty much the same. According to feminist non-profit organisation Catalyst, only 47% of women around the world actively participate in the workforce. For men, this number comes in at 74%. Reasons for this range from restrictions on leaving the home and child-rearing responsibilities, to lack of opportunities. During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, women were also 24% more likely than men to lose their jobs.

CLOSING THE GAP

UN Women (a global organisation that focuses on gender equality) believes that empowering females in the economy and closing gender gaps in the working world will be essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Mzansi is slowly making progress when it comes to wages, coming in 20th out of 146 countries (according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report in 2023).