TOWARDS AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA - 31 May 2011 - The dti
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TOWARDS AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA A STATUS QUO REPORT 31 May 2011
© Department of Trade and Industry, November 2011. Version Number: 1.0 This document contains confidential and proprietary information. The dissemination, copying, disclo- sure, use of or taking of any action in reliance on the contents thereof, without the written consent of the dti, is strictly prohibited. the dti Campus 77 Meintjies Street Sunnyside Pretoria 0002 the dti Private Bag X84 Pretoria 0001 the dti Customer Contact Centre: 0861 843 384 the dti Website: www.thedti.gov.za
Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Acknowledgements
At the outset it is our duty as the Gender and Women’s Empowerment Unit (GWE) to
acknowledge the Deputy Minister Ms Elizabeth Thabethe.
The Blueprint Group (Pty) Ltd gratefully acknowledges the support of the GWE of the
Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). Particularly, we wish to thank Ms Bongi
Ludidi, Ms Nompumelelo Maisela and Ms Lindiwe Tsongayinwe. In addition, thanks are
due to Ms Grania Mackie and Ms Carmen Armstrong from the Women’s Enterprise
Development Programmes of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) based in
Pretoria.
Blueprint also wishes to thank all the provincial gender focal points that assisted in the
organisation of provincial focus group discussions. Special thanks are due to all the focus
group and workshop participants who gave up their time to contribute to the findings
and recommendations of this project. These people are listed in Annexure 2.
ii
Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. v
Acronyms Used .............................................................................................................. vi
Section 1: Executive Summary and Background .............................................................. 7
1 Executive Summary................................................................................................... 8
2 Background and Introduction.................................................................................. 15
3 Scope, Methodology and Limitations ...................................................................... 17
Section 2: Research Findings ......................................................................................... 21
4 Policy Environment: Context of Gender and Women’s Empowerment .................... 22
4.1 International Context ........................................................................... 22
4.2 African Context .................................................................................... 25
4.3 South African Context .......................................................................... 26
5 Women in the South African Economy and Enterprise Sector ................................. 30
5.1 Women in the Economy ....................................................................... 30
5.2 Women in the SMME Sector................................................................. 39
6 Key Research Themes ............................................................................................. 43
6.1 Ensuring Policy Leadership and Coordination for Women’s
Economic Empowerment through Enterprise Development ................. 43
6.2 Creating an Enabling Business Environment for Women’s Economic
Empowerment through Enterprise Development ................................. 45
6.3 Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship ................................................ 46
6.4 Delivering Enterprise Education and Training for Women’s
Economic Empowerment through Enterprise Development ................. 47
6.5 Promoting Access to Credit and Financial Services ................................ 47
6.6 Enhancing Access to Business Development and Information
Services ................................................................................................ 48
6.7 Improving Women’s Participation in Women Entrepreneurs’
Associations and Networks ................................................................... 49
6.8 Ensuring Women’s Access to Business Premises ................................... 50
6.9 Opening Women’s Access to National and Global Markets ................... 50
6.10 Promoting Science and Technology for Women’s Economic
Empowerment through Enterprise Development ................................. 51
6.11 Promoting Women’s Empowerment and Enterprise Development
through Social Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives .............................. 52
Section 3: Recommendations ........................................................................................ 54
iii
Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
7 Monitoring, Evaluating and Financing the Gender Mainstreaming and Women’s
Economic Empowerment .................................................................................. 55
7.1 Purpose of a Monitoring and Evaluation System ................................... 55
7.2 Designing a Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy ................................... 56
7.3 Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework............................ 58
7.4 Future Research Demands .................................................................... 61
7.5 Financing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Enterprise
Development ....................................................................................... 62
8 Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................ 66
8.1 General Approaches and Recommendations ........................................ 66
8.1.1 Defining Women’s Economic Empowerment ............................ 66
8.1.2 Balancing Gender Mainstreaming with Women-Specific
Programming ........................................................................... 67
8.1.3 Targeting Women for Economic Empowerment through
Enterprise Development .......................................................... 68
8.2 Recommendations for the Promotion of Women’s Enterprise
Development ....................................................................................... 69
8.2.1 Access to Financial and Business Development Services ........... 69
8.2.2 Broader Development and Empowerment Strategies ............... 71
8.3 Recommendations for the Promotion of Gender Equality ..................... 72
8.3.1 Micro-level Interventions for Gender Equality and
Women’s Economic Empowerment ......................................... 72
8.3.2 Meso-level Interventions for Gender Equality and
Women’s Economic Empowerment ......................................... 73
8.3.3 Macro-level Interventions for Gender Equality and
Women’s Economic Empowerment ......................................... 73
8.4 Recommendations for Improving Leadership and Coordination for
Women’s Economic Empowerment ...................................................... 75
8.4.1 Business Leadership and Coordination...................................... 75
8.4.2 Mechanisms for Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s
Economic Empowerment ......................................................... 75
Section 4: Annexures .................................................................................................... 77
A.1 List of References ................................................................................................ 78
A.1.1 Consultations Cited .............................................................................. 78
A.1.2 Documents Cited .................................................................................. 78
A.2 People Consulted................................................................................................. 81
A.3 Workshop Questionnaire (25 March 2011) .......................................................... 90
A.4 Workshop Questionnaire (13 May 2011) ............................................................. 92
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Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
List of figures
Figure 1: National and Provincial Focus Group Discussions....................................... 17
Figure 2: Number of Participants by Sector and Province ......................................... 18
Figure 3: Column Chart of Participation Based on Sector and Province..................... 18
Figure 4: Overall Participation by Sector .................................................................. 19
Figure 5: Participation by Province, Race and Sex..................................................... 19
Figure 6: Key Labour Market Indicators .................................................................... 31
Figure 7: Weighting of Employment by Sector in the South African Economy ........... 32
Figure 8: Employment by Occupation in the South African Economy........................ 32
Figure 9: Unemployment by Sex .............................................................................. 33
Figure 10: Earnings by Sex: South African Employees ................................................. 33
Figure 11: Women-to-Men Earnings Ratio, Adjusted by Population Group................. 34
Figure 12: Contribution to Value Added by Sector ..................................................... 36
Figure 13: Contribution of SMEs to GDP ..................................................................... 38
Figure 14: SMME contribution by Sector (2006) ......................................................... 38
Figure 15: Small Enterprises in South Africa – Growth 2000-2006 .............................. 40
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Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Acronyms Used
AsgiSA Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
BBBEE Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
BDS Business development services
Cipro Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office
FABCOS Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services
FDI Foreign direct investment
FET Further Education and Training
GEAR Growth, Employment and Redistribution: A Macro-Economic Strategy
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GMS Gender management system
GWE Gender Women’s and Empowerment Unit
HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HR Human resources
IDC Industrial Development Corporation
IFC International Finance Corporation
ILO International Labour Organisation
IPAP Industrial Policy Action Plan
M&E Monitoring and evaluation
NYDA National Youth Development Agency
PDS Private sector development
RECs Regional economic communities
SADC Southern African Development Community
SAWEN South African Women Entrepreneurs’ Network
SEDA Small Enterprise Development Agency
SME Small and medium enterprise
SMMEs Small, medium and micro-enterprises
the dti The Department of Trade and Industry
WEF Women Entrepreneurs Fund
WEDGE Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (ILO)
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Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Foreword
I am proud to say that the 2006 Draft Strategic Framework on Gender
and Women Empowerment of the Department of Trade & Industry has
taken us through a phase of identifying the major obstacles affecting
women in starting, growing and sustaining their businesses as well
as barriers to entering the economy. Recognizing such challenges as
access to resources, appropriate technology, skills and credit led to the
introduction of a wide range of specific interventions. Furthermore,
our commitment to play a leading role in the transformation of our
economy now demands that we take stock and highlight the progress
made as well as the disparities that still prevail.
We are therefore revisiting our Strategic Framework along with the International Labor Organization
(ILO).
I am humbled by the support that this project has enjoyed from all the provinces and various players in
the South African economy. As I present this Status Quo Report, let us take heart of the progress made
and note the long way ahead of us.
The Report provides a comprehensive review of the context for gender and women’s economic
empowerment in South Africa. It further, gives details of a wide range of institutional and policy
frameworks that affect women‘s participation in the economy . Whilst this is work in progress, the
report highlights significant findings and presents a series of recommendations designed to inform
the revision of the dti’s Strategic Framework on Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment going
forward.
I highlight in particular three considerable issues raised that will certainly take primacy as we update
the strategy. These are the following: Defining Women’s Economic Empowerment, Balancing
Gender Mainstreaming with Women – specific programming and targeting women for Economic
Empowerment through Enterprise development. These issues in question together with the specific
recommendations compel us to rethink and improve on our current service offerings. Findings from
both the situational analysis studies and the various consultative sessions held throughout the country
provide a condensed view of the different key stakeholders and affected groups.
I call on all organs of the state and our partners to follow the process and walk with us to deliver a
quality Strategic Framework on Gender and Women Economic Empowerment that will yield the vision
we all have- that of economic independence for women. This Report is a considerable milestone
towards updating the Strategic Framework on Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment and I
am confident that despite the challenges, we will in the course of this financial year table the final
framework before Cabinet.
I thank you
Elizabeth Thabethe, MP
Deputy Minister, Trade & Industry
Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Message of Support
Under the current mandate, more emphasis is placed on the
implementation of key strategic programs that contribute to the
achievement of inclusive growth, job creation as well as industrial
competitiveness and provision of leadership in trade policy as contained
in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for 2009 – 2014
cited by the Honorable Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies.
Women economic empowerment is not only a key program towards
achieving inclusive growth in South Africa, it is also a Constitutional
and human rights imperative.
In the current term, the Department of Trade & Industry has taken
it upon itself to review the existing framework, taking stock of the
ground covered as well as moved to examine new ways to address the
challenges that still prevail. The release of this Status Quo Report is a major milestone towards the new
ways of doing business in terms of women economic empowerment.
While there are encouraging success stories of women moving away from traditional hawking into
more value adding business opportunities such as franchising, furniture manufacturing, printing, travel
agencies and property development, it is clear that statistics on the representation of women in the
economy remain puzzling. Both the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and the 2010 FinScope
Study confirm that over 70% of small business in South Africa is women owned and mainly informal but
also in many ways less likely to be financially served.
The Status Quo Report provides a comprehensive review of the context for gender and women’s
economic empowerment in South Africa, albeit at the backdrop of the global economic crisis. It further,
gives an extensive analysis on women‘s participation in the economy, thus highlighting the challenges
that lie ahead.
Whilst this is work in progress, the Report highlights significant findings and the assessment of recorded
universal challenges or cross- cutting areas that require us to improve upon, equally so, the unique
challenges that are location specific. An additional body of research confirms that women entrepreneurs
require the same levels of support as any small business would, but also additional due to the unique
role of women in societies and communities.
We will continue with the process of reviewing the strategic framework to ensure views and inputs
and or expression of the affected groups are incorporated and translated into policy, programs and
strategies. I am informed that very few countries have formally finalized and implemented a Strategic
Framework on Gender and Women Economic Empowerment, notably, the USA, the UK and Canada.
Indeed, South Africa will soon be an interesting reference point in this area. We must keep on working
harder and smarter to create a vibrant and growing inclusive economy.
I thank you
Sipho Zikode
Deputy Director General, Empowerment & Enterprise Development (EEDD)
Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Section 1: Executive Summary and Background
7Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
1 Executive Summary
This report is the final output of a detailed review of the context for gender and
women’s economic empowerment in South Africa. It is preceded by two reports that
present a situational analysis of women’s economic empowerment through enterprise
development in South Africa. This report provides a summary and synthesis of the main
findings of the research and presents a series of recommendations designed to inform
the revision of the 2006, Draft Strategic Framework on Gender and Women’s Economic
Empowerment of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). It is anticipated that
the revised framework will ensure that businesswomen in South Africa are able to
expand opportunities to participate in, benefit from, and contribute to economic
growth.
The research project has employed a mixed method approach. In the first instance, the
research team reviewed secondary data on women’s economic empowerment and
enterprise development, and mapped a wide range of policies, programmes and
institutions. The results of this examination are presented in the first volume of the
Situational Analysis Report.
The second volume of the situational analysis builds on the assessment of secondary
data, and it draws upon the issues raised through consultations with key organisations
and individuals in all provinces. Over 200 women participated in the process. This
involved direct consultations and a series of consultation workshops, or focus groups,
designed to allow participants the opportunity to raise the issues they believe are
relevant to the promotion of women’s economic empowerment through enterprise
development.
Based on the findings of the research, 20 recommendations are presented for
consideration by the dti in the future revision of the Strategic Framework on Gender and
Women’s Economic Empowerment.
I General Approaches and Recommendations
Three broad issues should be integrated into the revision of the Strategic Framework:
I.A Defining Women’s Economic Empowerment
The 2006 Strategic framework on gender and women’s economic empowerment
does not provide a definition of women’s economic empowerment, and the
following definition for the revised Strategic Framework is proposed:
The term women’s economic empowerment refers to the ability of all women to
fully participate in, contribute to, and benefit from economic growth and
development. It is a broad term encompassing a range of diverse but integrated
socio-economic strategies. It recognises that within this framework there are a
variety of sub-groups deserving special attention, including women from
historically disadvantaged communities, young women, women with disabilities,
and women living in rural areas.
While progress in women’s economic empowerment can be measured in terms of
actual outcomes, such as those described below, it is also a process that
transforms gender relations in society and the economy, and builds the skills
necessary for a woman to gain self-confidence in order to take control of her life.
8Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
It contributes to gender equality by creating a situation in which women and men
have equal conditions for realising their full human rights and potential and are
able to contribute equally to social and economic development and benefit
equally from the results. Empowerment increases a woman’s access to and
control over her resources.
Women’s economic empowerment strategies include, but are not limited to,
strategies with the following aims: (a) increasing the number of women who
manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets; (b) developing
human resources and skills; (c) achieving equitable representation in all
occupational categories and levels in the workforce; (d) preferential
procurement; and (e) investment in enterprises that are owned or managed by
women.
The term women’s economic empowerment through enterprise development
refers to a range of strategies that government employs, in partnership with the
private sector and other social partners, to increase the number of women who
manage, own and control competitive and sustainable enterprises. This includes
sole proprietorships, women-empowered companies and cooperatives, and
family-owned enterprises and partnerships in which women have the majority
share of ownership and management.
Recommendation 1: Define Women’s Economic Empowerment
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework provide a clear
definition of women’s economic empowerment, which frames the concept within
current policy frameworks of empowerment and specifies the role of enterprise
development within this context.
I.B Balancing Gender Mainstreaming with Women-specific Programming
While mainstreaming is an effective strategy for promoting gender equality and
women’s economic empowerment, it requires regular and careful planning and
monitoring. There are times when mainstreaming is not enough, and in these
situations women-specific programming is required.
Recommendation 2: Provide Clear Guidance on how to Mainstream
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework provide clear guidance
to all relevant agencies (i.e. government and private actors at the national,
provincial and local levels) with regard to how gender equality concerns can be
mainstreamed.
Recommendation 3: Provide Women-specific Programming when Required
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework encourage agencies to
consider formulating women-specific programmes to complement
mainstreaming strategies.
I.C Targeting Women for Economic Empowerment through Enterprise
Development
Careful attention needs to be given to formulating target groups within the
broad category of women. Attention should be given to issues such as: race
(with particular emphasis on those women from historically disadvantaged racial
groups), age, disability, location (i.e. rural, urban, former townships), levels of
9Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
education, formal business owners and managers, and informal business owners
and managers (i.e. Second Economy actors).
Recommendation 4: Clearly Target Sub-categories of Women
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework provide guidance to
agencies on the importance of programme targeting. This guidance should
include the identification of national priority target groups as well as a
framework for how to address the needs of these groups and monitor progress.
II Recommendations for the Promotion of Women’s Enterprise Development
II.A Access to Financial and Business Development Services (BDS)
Many women in business, or those planning to start a business, believe the
current institutional and programme framework for enterprise development is
inadequate. There are few, if any, women-specific programmes available to help
women start up and expand a business, and many agencies have insufficient
data on the number of women they assist.
Recommendation 5: Improve Monitoring and Evaluation Systems within the dti Agencies
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework clearly stipulates a
process through which the dti-supported agencies are required to develop clear
gender targets and report annually on the progress towards these targets.
While gender mainstreaming within national and provincial enterprise
development programmes is a necessary and feasible strategy, this should be
supported by the provision of women-specific programmes that contain, among
other elements, general business start-up concepts and skills (i.e. an
introduction to business), time management and personal development skills,
financial literacy, and mentor support.
Recommendation 6: Develop a Women’s Enterprise Development Programme (which
Includes Mentorship)
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework instruct SEDA and any other
relevant agency to design and implement a women’s enterprise development
programme. This programme should recognise and respond to the personal
development challenges facing many women who own and manage an
enterprise. Specific attention should also be given to the provision of a national
support service of mentors for businesswomen.
Many women in business feel excluded from the markets that are necessary to
establish and grow their businesses.
Recommendation 7: Improve Women’s Access to Markets
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework provide specific
information on ways in which women can gain better access to new and
expanding markets. This should include strategies that help women obtain
relevant and up-to-date market information, and developing assessment tools
10Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
that help to identify and address the barriers women face in accessing new and
expanding markets.
Many participants were concerned with the lack of information available to
them regarding business development programmes and services. Thus, a clear
strategy for improving the delivery of information to women is essential.
Recommendation 8: Improve Information Delivery
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework give direction to
national and provincial government agencies on how to improve the delivery of
information on relevant programmes and services to women, with particular
attention to those women in rural areas and with low levels of literacy.
Women who have succeeded in business are extremely valuable role models
and can be used in the promotion of women’s economic empowerment.
Business award programmes and competitions have been useful strategies in
this regard, especially when they highlight the experience of women at the
grassroots.
Recommendation 9: Enhance the Recognition of Female Role Models in Business
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework encourage the
strengthening of programmes that recognise and promote successful
businesswomen as role models for others. These role models should be from a
range of specified target groups, including women with disabilities, women living
in rural areas and young women.
II.B Broader Development and Empowerment Strategies
It is essential that the concerns of women’s economic empowerment become
better integrated into the broader national, provincial and local development
strategies.
Recommendation 10: Integrate Women’s Economic Empowerment into Broader
Economic Development Policies
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework contain specific
provisions that ensure the needs and interests of women’s economic
empowerment are explicitly integrated into development policies and strategies
at national, provincial and local levels. This should include clear, time-bound
targets and indicators that describe how women will participate in and benefit
from these initiatives.
III Recommendations for the Promotion of Gender Equality
III.A Micro-level Interventions for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic
Empowerment
While basic education and training is the cornerstone to women’s economic
empowerment, low levels of education and literacy undermine many women’s
progress toward economic empowerment.
11Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Recommendation 11: Improve Women’s Access to Basic Education And Training,
Including Literacy
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework give priority to women’s
access to basic education and training and provide inter-departmental and inter-
agency mechanisms for improving the access women have to basic education
and training, including the improvement of literacy and the development of
entrepreneurial skills among women.
III.B Meso-level Interventions for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic
Empowerment
There is a high demand for leadership skills development that can improve the
effectiveness of women in businesswomen’s organisations and other
development formations.
Recommendation 12: Invest in the Development of Leadership Skills
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework prioritise the
development of leadership skills among women at local and provincial levels.
This should include the leadership of community and women’s organisations, as
well as leadership in the business community.
The mainstreaming of gender issues and the design of women-specific
programmes requires programme managers to have particular skills and
experience in this field.
Recommendation 13: Build the Capacity of Programme Managers
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework encourage the building
of capacity of programme managers, and outline a process through which
programme managers in national, provincial and local agencies and
departments can become more proficient in gender mainstreaming and the
design and management of programmes that specifically target women.
III.C Macro-level Interventions for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic
Empowerment
Policy-makers need to become more proficient at designing and monitoring
policies that either mainstream gender concerns or specifically target women.
Recommendation 14: Build the Capacity of Policy-makers
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework encourage the building
of capacity of policy makers and outline a process through which national and
provincial policy-makers can become more proficient in gender mainstreaming
and the design and management of programmes that specifically target women.
National and provincial departments also need to become more aware of the
progress being made toward gender equality and women’s economic
empowerment.
Recommendation 15: Improve the Reporting on Equity Targets and Gender Auditing
12Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework describe a process
through which key national and provincial government departments and
agencies will define and report on gender equity targets. This should include a
process of gender auditing of key national and provincial departments and
agencies.
It is essential for national and provincial governments to liaise with
businesswomen’s organisations and other relevant social partners to consider
ways in which equity targets and women’s economic empowerment
programmes can be discussed.
Recommendation 16: Promote Public-private Dialogue on Equity Targets
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework describe ways in which
national, provincial and local gender-equity targets and women’s economic
development programmes can be discussed with women in business and with
other social partners.
Many agencies working within the national policy framework for gender equality
and women’s economic empowerment require guidance. Thus, attention should
be given to informing and guiding all relevant departments and agencies on how
they can participate in, and improve gender equality and the promotion of,
women’s economic empowerment.
Recommendation 17: Guide National, Provincial and Local Agencies
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework outline ways in which
the dti can provide clear guidance to all relevant national, provincial and local
agencies on how to mainstream gender issues, and how to improve the targeting
of women in their programmes and services.
IV Recommendations for Improving Leadership and Coordination for Women’s
Economic Empowerment
Women’s economic empowerment through enterprise development requires clear
leadership and coordination at national and provincial levels. This requires the
improvement of leadership and coordination among the community of women in
business as well as the establishment of effective mechanisms for implementing and
monitoring gender equality and strategies for women’s economic empowerment.
IV.A Business Leadership and Coordination
The dti has a close and supportive relationship with the South African Women
Entrepreneurs’ Network (SAWEN), and the challenge is to find ways in which
SAWEN can respond to the demands of its members and other businesswomen,
while promoting effective public-private partnerships with the dti and other
national government departments.
Recommendation 18: Support the Development and Sustainability of SAWEN
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework consider the links
between the dti and SAWEN and describe initiatives that will be undertaken to
strengthen SAWEN’s membership base at national, provincial and local levels.
The framework should also contain initiatives that promote the long-term
13Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
sustainability of SAWEN and the development of supportive synergies with other
businesswomen’s organisations.
IV.C Mechanisms for Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Economic
Empowerment
Careful attention should be paid to the ways in which the revised Strategic
Framework will be implemented and monitored. This involves the need for
improved public-private dialogue in which public and private actors can regularly
discuss the equity targets and agency performance.
Recommendation 19: Establish a Mechanism for Regular and Structured Public-private
Dialogue on Gender Equity and Women’s Economic Empowerment
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework make provision for the
establishment of a mechanism for public-private dialogue on gender equity and
women’s economic empowerment, such as a National Women’s Economic
Empowerment Council.
While the Gender Unit should oversee the design, implementation and
monitoring of the revised Strategic Framework, partnerships should be
developed with other key agencies, including private sector organisations,
businesswomen’s organisations and other social partners, to implement and
monitor the framework.
Recommendation 20: Establish a Mechanism for Implementation and Monitoring
It is recommended that the revised Strategic Framework outline a mechanism in
which the dti Gender Unit will partner with other organisations to implement
and monitor the initiatives contained in the framework. This should include
building stronger links with national business support agencies and departments
of provincial economic development.
14Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
2 Background and Introduction
This report is the final output of a detailed review of the context for gender and
women’s economic empowerment in South Africa. It is preceded by two reports that
presented a situational analysis of women’s economic empowerment through
enterprise development in South Africa:
Situational analysis Volume 1 presented the results of a review of secondary
data on women’s economic empowerment and enterprise development, and it
mapped a wide range of policies, programmes and institutions in this field.
Situational analysis Volume 2 built on the assessment of secondary data and
reported on the findings of direct consultations with key stakeholders and a
series of consultation workshops, or focus groups. This included nine provincial
focus group discussions and one national workshop.
This Final research report provides a summary and synthesis of the main findings of this
research and presents a series of recommendations designed to inform the revision of
the dti’s Strategic framework on gender and women’s economic empowerment. It is
anticipated that the revised framework will ensure that businesswomen in South Africa
are able to expand opportunities to participate in, benefit from, and contribute to
economic growth.
In 2006, the dti formulated a Strategic framework on gender and women’s economic
empowerment. While this framework remains a draft, it provides a valuable reference
for consideration of the principles and purpose of women’s economic empowerment.
The framework presents the vision of a ‘society in which there is social and economic
justice for all, where women and men are able to achieve their full human potential, and
in which women have equal access to, and control over, economic resources.’ Its
mission was to ‘ensure that gender equity is systematically taken into account in all the
values, policies, programmes of the dti, its working environment, work practices,
monitoring and evaluation systems, and to establish the requisite structures, processes
and timeframes for achieving this’ (Department of Trade and Industry, 2006:4).
The draft framework specified seven objectives:
To challenge the direct and indirect barriers in enterprise, industry and trade,
which prevent women from having equal access to and control over economic
resources.
To facilitate women’s equal access to economic and productive resources by
strengthening their capacity and networks as well as their ability to benefit from
the dti’s policies and programmes.
To increase women’s easy access to finance by assessing existing programmes
that provide access to finance for women and suggesting improvements to
address existing gaps in a sustainable manner.
To work towards gender parity in all enterprise, industry and trade and
structures, including boards, councils and missions.
To ensure that the life experience and views of South African women contribute
equally to the reform of trade, investment and enterprise development.
15Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
To conduct research, and put in place indicators and monitoring systems to
measure the gendered impact of the dti’s policies and programmes.
To ensure that the dti budget benefits women and men equitably and that
specific resources are allocated for helping to overcome the particular
disadvantages faced by women.
This Final Research Report identifies the key challenges for gender and women’s
economic empowerment in South Africa. It presents a brief profile of the South African
economy and investment climate and positions female-owned enterprises within this.
A wide range of institutional and policy frameworks are examined:
Policy leadership and coordination structures within national and provincial
governments;
Business environment (i.e. the policy and legal framework for doing business in
South Africa);
Policies for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship;
Policies affecting women’s access to enterprise education and training;
Policies affecting women’s access to credit and financial services;
Policies affecting women’s access to business development and information
services;
Policies affecting women’s participation in women entrepreneurs’ associations
and networks;
Policies affecting women’s access to business premises;
Policies affecting women’s access to markets and international trade
development support;
Policies promoting women’s access to science and technology; and
Policies promoting social entrepreneurship and cooperatives.
16Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
3 Scope, Methodology and Limitations
This research project has employed a mixed method approach.
In the first instance, the research team were involved in reviewing secondary data on
women’s economic empowerment and enterprise development. The results of this
examination are presented in the first volume of this Situational analysis report. The first
volume report also maps a wide range of policies, programmes and institutions.
Building on the assessment of secondary data, the research project collected and
analysed primary data through consultations with key organisations and individuals. This
involved direct consultations and a series of consultation workshops, or focus groups,
designed to allow participants the opportunity to raise the issues they believed were
relevant to the promotion of women’s economic empowerment through enterprise
development. This process included nine provincial focus-group discussions and one
national workshop. See the figure below.
Figure 1: National and Provincial Focus Group Discussions
Province Date Venue
Eastern Cape 29 March 2011 Mthatha
Free State 9 March 2011 Bram Fischer Building
Bloemfontein
Gauteng 25 February 2011 Reef Hotel
Johannesburg
KwaZulu-Natal 8 March 2011 International Conference Centre
Durban
Limpopo 16 March 2011 Oasis Lodge
Polokwane
Mpumalanga 24 February 2011 Government Buildings
Nelspruit
Northern Cape 1 March 2011 Kalahari Lodge
Kimberley
North West 18 March 2011 Cooke’s Lake
Mafikeng
Western Cape 24 March 2011 The Capetonian Hotel
Cape Town
National Consultation 25 March 2011 Casa Toscana Lodge
Pretoria
National Consultation 13 May 2011 Swan Lake Lodge
Pretoria
Annex 2 contains a list of people consulted.
17Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
The three figures below provide a breakdown of the participants in these consultations.
Figure 2: Number of Participants by Sector and Province
District
Province Government Municipalities NGO Business Totals
Eastern Cape 3 2 0 26 31
Free State 3 0 3 6 12
Gauteng 3 0 0 10 13
KwaZulu-Natal 5 5 14 8 32
Limpopo 2 3 2 9 16
Mpumalanga 7 5 0 17 29
North West 12 4 0 19 35
Northern Cape 1 0 0 11 12
Western Cape 12 0 0 13 25
First National 14 0 13 7 34
Second National 18 0 11 22 51
Totals 80 19 43 148 290
Figure 3: Column Chart of Participation Based on Sector and Province
18Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Figure 4: Overall Participation by Sector
Figure 5: Participation by Province, Race and Sex
The purpose of the focus group discussions was to obtain the views of key stakeholders
regarding the issues affecting women’s economic empowerment and enterprise
development. Key stakeholders included national, provincial and local government
officials, non-government organisations, women in business, and civil society
organisations including women’s organisations. Special attention was given to ensuring
groups representing people with disabilities and people living with HIV and AIDS were
invited and engaged in the process.
The overall approach to these focus group discussions was to allow participants to raise
issues they believed were relevant to the promotion of women’s economic
19Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
empowerment through enterprise development in their province and in South Africa
more generally.
Drawing on the findings of these assessments and consultations, a main research report
will be prepared. This report makes recommendations to the dti regarding the key
elements of a revised strategic framework.
The major limitation to the research methodology was that the provincial consultations
relied on the support of provincial authorities who generally preferred to conduct these
consultations in urban centres. This generally reduced the overall involvement of rural-
based women. Efforts were made to address this, by ensuring rural women’s
organisations were invited to the national workshops.
Similarly, while there was special attention to invite groups representing people with
disabilities and people living with HIV and AIDS, and to engage them in the process, not
all these organisations responded to these requests.
20Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Section 2: Research Findings
This section contains three chapters:
Chapter 4: Policy environment: context of gender and women’s empowerment.
This chapter presents the context for women’s economic empowerment globally, across
Africa and within South Africa. It briefly summarises the key concepts around gender
equality and women’s economic empowerment in South Africa, and it sets the scene in
which the conditions for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
through enterprise development occurs.
Chapter 5: Women in the South African economy and enterprise sector.
This chapter describes the make-up of the South African economy and the engagement
of women in the economy. It includes an overview of women in business in South Africa.
Chapter 6: Key research themes.
This chapter reviews the research findings in terms of the major policy themes.
21Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
4 Policy Environment: Context of Gender and Women’s
Empowerment
This chapter presents the context for women’s economic empowerment globally, across
Africa and within South Africa. It briefly summarises the key concepts around gender
equality and women’s economic empowerment in South Africa, and it sets the scene in
which the conditions for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
through enterprise development occurs.
Women’s economic empowerment is a broad concept, embracing a wide range of fields.
While it is important to adopt a holistic approach to this topic – one that encompasses
all interrelated policy spheres – it is also necessary to define the concept so that it can
be applied and monitored.
4.1 International Context
While it is generally understood that men and women have different experiences as
owners and managers of privately owned enterprises, there is growing recognition
internationally that specific tools and processes are required to address this. Many
development programmes for women’s enterprise have attempted to provide
assistance to women in the private sector to help them overcome the specific barriers
they face. In contrast, there are increasing calls for a more systemic response to the
gender-based inequities in private-sector development. As the new slogan suggests,
‘smart economics’ includes ‘(bringing) women into the market economy and addresses
growth and equity simultaneously’ (Braun, 2007).
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises play a central role in
promoting employment and economic growth. In addition, this is a sector in which
many women earn their livelihood, with women’s entrepreneurship increasing rapidly in
many industrialised nations. Many women support themselves and their families
through the income they receive from their entrepreneurial activities, making
supporting women’s entrepreneurship important to family well-being (Kantor, 2001).
The development of women’s enterprise (Mayoux, 2001) contributes in the following
ways:
• Economic growth, because of women’s increasing prominence in the small-scale
sector. Increasing the profits and efficiency of women’s enterprises is therefore
essential to growth within the small-scale sector and the economy as a whole.
• Poverty alleviation and employment creation, because women are generally
poorer than men, spend more of their income on their families, and operate
more labour-intensive enterprises using female labour.
• Economic, social and political empowerment for women themselves through
increasing women’s access to and control over incomes and working conditions.
This then gives them greater power to negotiate wider economic, social and
political changes in gender inequality.
22Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Along with other private-sector development initiatives, the business environment
affects the performance of private enterprises in both the formal and informal
economies. The principal objective of a better business environment is that it should
lead to poverty reduction, and especially to an increase in employment opportunities for
poor people. However, national business environments can treat male-owned
businesses differently to female-owned businesses. Many of the constraints to the
growth of MSEs ‘do not affect men’s and women’s businesses in the same way, since
men-owned and women-owned businesses do not operate in the same sectors or
locations, or have equal access, control, and use of the same resources and marketing
outlets’ (Esim, 2001, p. 9).
Differences between businesses owned by men and those owned by women may have
specific regional contexts. Women face general barriers for the development of SMEs in
some countries (e.g. weak institutional support, lack of access to credit and services),
and also gender-specific barriers related to uneven sharing of privatisation gains (e.g.
lack of collateral or start up capital, or of both), lack of networks, and traditional views
on women’s role. Thus, it is necessary to identify those features of the business
environment that differ for women and for men. This includes the following:
• Structural features: these are explicit characteristics of the business
environment that treat female-owned enterprises and male-owned enterprises
differently. Examples of such structural biases include policies, laws and
regulations that prohibit women from owning property in their own right.
Another, more positive example, might be a small-enterprise advisory board or
oversight committee that contains a specified equal number of women and
men.
• Behavioural or attitudinal features: bias in the treatment of women and men,
and of female-owned enterprises and male-owned enterprises, may be removed
from policies, laws and regulations, but may be found to persist in the
implementation of these policies, laws and regulations, because of behavioural
or attitudinal reasons. Sexist practices, for example, may occur in the
administration of policies, laws and regulations.
• Impact variations: while it may not be possible to immediately identify structural
or behavioural elements of gender bias, it may be possible to determine the
affect of these by the impact they have on enterprise development. There may,
for example, be a high proportion of female-owned enterprises in the micro-
enterprise sector and a far lower proportion in small and medium-sized
enterprises. Alternatively, it may be that women participate less in business
associations than do men; or that the growth of female-owned enterprises is
constrained by greater restrictions on the access women have to finance,
compared to men. Such findings help to trace these experiences back to
determine whether the source of the restriction is structural or behavioural.
• Promotional policies, laws and regulations: promotional policies, laws and
regulations may be formulated by governments to redress the impact of other
policies, laws and regulations, or to achieve a specified social and economic
outcome. This may, for example, include policies that promote female-owned
enterprises, as well as other policies that encourage young men and women into
business, or people with disabilities.
Gender analysis tools help policy makers and practitioners to better understand the
realities of the women and men whose lives are affected by planned development.
Principally it is about understanding culture, as expressed in the construction of gender
23Analysis of Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment
identities and inequalities. Finnegan (2003) suggests that a gender analysis should
identify the situations and circumstances facing both women and men within the target
market before planning any intervention in private-sector development. This
information would include their respective socio-economic profiles, their educational
and skills base, their access to and control over economic resources, the scope and scale
of economic activities, their aspirations and motivations, and their additional
commitments within the household and the community.
Esim (2001) indicates how little the current approaches to market development have
been successfully applied to women’s enterprise promotion. She supports the proposal
by Mayoux (1995) that there should be two approaches to achieving women’s business
growth: a market approach, which aims to assist individual women entrepreneurs in
increasing their incomes and expanding their businesses; and an empowerment
approach which aims to increase not only their incomes, but also the bargaining power
of producers.
Recent reviews of gender and economic growth in Africa show that businesswomen are
disproportionately disadvantaged by business registration procedures, limited access to
finance and obstacles to property ownership (Ellis et al., 2006, Ellis et al., 2007). In
Kenya, it has been proposed that support in private sector development (PSD) should
move ‘from firm-level interventions to focus more on addressing the systemic,
underlying issues that create barriers for female-owned businesses’ (Ellis et al., 2007, p.
95).
In 2006, the World Bank launched its Gender Action Plan to promote women’s
empowerment in the economic sectors, and in particular in infrastructure (i.e. energy,
transport, and water and sanitation), agriculture, PSD, and finance. 1 This will be
achieved by: (1) intensifying gender mainstreaming in operations of the World Bank and
the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as well as through regional economic and
sector work; (2) mobilising resources to implement and scale up results-based initiatives
that empower women economically; (3) improving the knowledge and statistics on
women’s economic participation and the relationship between gender equality, growth,
and poverty reduction; and (4) undertaking a targeted communications campaign to
foster partnerships on the importance of women’s economic contributions and to
execute the plan (World Bank Group, 2006).2
At a meeting in Berlin in February 2007, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development hosted a conference entitled ‘Women's economic empowerment as
smart economics: a dialogue on policy options’. In its concluding ‘Call for Action’, the
conference agreed to ‘assist our partners in the south by giving greater visibility to
gender equality and women’s empowerment in our support towards the
implementation of poverty reduction strategies e.g. by engendering Joint Assistance
Strategies’, as well as to ‘support women’s voices to be fully heard in all decisions about
poverty reduction, economic growth and opportunities’ (German Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development, 2007, pp. 85-87).
1
The Gender Action Plan is supported by Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden,
and the United Kingdom.
2
In an effort to promote gender responsiveness in the private sector, the Gender Action
Programme will: (1) engender Investment Climate Assessments in nine countries (three
per year); undertake analytical work on gender and firm productivity, and female
entrepreneurship; and (3) organise workshops with policymakers, private sector
representatives, and labour leaders (World Bank Group, 2006, p. 12).
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