| Overview : South Africa is often seen as a good example in the development of progressive legislation and policy promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, in response to these global commitments. Since 1994, South Africa has made significant progress towards gender equality and women empowerment. For example, the number of women participating in politics has increased; there are women judges and magistrates, and women in senior positions in the public service. In the labour market, women are now able to work in sectors that were previously male and white dominated such as mining, construction and infrastructure development. During these years, women have also emerged as business owners and entrepreneurs. However, while significant progress has been made, South African women continue to face serious inequality and disadvantages in a wide range of spheres, including the economy, society, in their communities and in their homes. These disadvantages are further exacerbated by unequal gender relations within the categories of race, class, disability, sexual orientation, religion and geographic location; while gender inequality continues to be deeply rooted in the relationships, structures, values, attitudes and behaviour of institutions of the state, civil society and the family. They remain the hardest hit by the triple burden of inequality, poverty and unemployment. One way in which the government has responded to gender inequality and women empowerment is through The National Development Plan (NDP), which identifies the financial inclusion of women as a critical tool that will result in quicker elimination and reduction of inequality and contribute towards the achievement of the set targets for 2030. In this regard, women’s potential must be unleashed in order to give impetus to this developmental trajectory of the NDP. The Medium Term Strategic Framework (2014-2019), which is the government’s strategic plan, aims to take bold and decisive steps to place the economy on a path that eliminates poverty, creates jobs and sustainable livelihoods and substantially reduces equality with a special focus on women. Assist the CO to develop a local gender strategy that is aligned to the global Gender Equality Strategy (2014-2017) and national gender strategic priorities; Develop an Action Plan in line with the new strategy . |
