Women helping women: outcomes of a South African pilot project

PurposeThis paper reviews how women help women in the South African Women in Construction (SAWIC) organization to effectively participate in projects. In a pilot project partnering with industry stakeholders, the Development Bank of Southern Africa as incubator of SAWIC, further explored what support women contractors required to succeed, tested mentoring and coaching as part of enterprise development.Design/methodology/approachRelevant literature were studied and analysed, testing the views and measure of success of women contractors against existing models. A survey instrument was developed to test the constructs empirically.FindingsThe empirical testing of success as a construct indicated that women overwhelmingly view mentoring and coaching as key capacity building and growth strategies towards successful women‐owned construction enterprises, underpinned by preliminary indications of the almost complete pilot study.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation to the study is that it is based on preliminary findings and limited scope of the civil project.Practical implicationsGiven the excellent results of the Cronbach α and factor analysis, the instrument developed proved to be reliable and valid and could be used for similar studies.Originality/valueKnowledge sharing of lessons learnt in the joint initiative between government, the building industry, development finance institutions and women associations towards addressing critical skills shortages and gender equity.

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Influences on Women’s Choices of Careers in Construction: A South African Study

Construction Economics and Building ◽

10.5130/ajceb.v10i1-2.1582 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (1-2) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kolosa Madikizela ◽

Theo Haupt

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Role Models ◽

African Women ◽

Barriers To Entry ◽

Representation Of Women ◽

Skills Shortage ◽

Successful Women ◽

Gender Based ◽

South African Women ◽

Multiple Samples

This paper analyses the factors influencing the choices of careers in construction by South African women. The literature on challenges which influence women‟s choices of careers in construction was reviewed and questionnaires were conducted with multiple samples, including construction organisations, construction students and professional women working in construction. The study found that women have a role to play in the construction industry and that they can build successful careers within the sector. However, it was not easy given the various barriers to entry such as gender-based discrimination against them, the harsh work environment of the construction site, the lack of sufficient knowledge about the industry itself and the shortage of successful women in construction as role models. There was evidence of discrimination and sexual harassment. All these factors impacted negatively on the choices of careers in construction by South African women. This study makes a contribution to our understanding of the factors that have marginalised women in a male dominated industry and provides some indication of approaches to attract more women into the sector. It is hoped that it will stimulate debate about how the low representation of women in construction can be addressed and how construction careers for women can be promoted and encouraged and that the resource pool will be enlarged given the prevalent acute skills shortage in the industry.

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Political Resistance and Citizenship Agency: Exploring the Experiences of Black African Zimbabwean and South African Women

Politeia ◽

10.25159/2663-6689/3178 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Belinda Maswikwa ◽

Amanda Gouws ◽

Sarah Frances Gordon

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

African Women ◽

Western Society ◽

Political Resistance ◽

Black African ◽

Case Study Analysis ◽

Resistance Strategies ◽

Everyday Resistance ◽

South African Women

This article addresses how marginalised black African women in South Africa and Zimbabwe understand themselves as citizens, express agency and practise political resistance. Little research has been done on this topic in Southern Africa, especially in Zimbabwe, making this study particularly relevant. Literature relating to citizenship, agency and the political resistance of women in non-Western society is also discussed. Focus is placed on a case study analysis of women who live in Zimbabwean and South African townships and who self-identify as members of the Ndebele and Zulu ethnic groups respectively. In-depth interviews, which consisted of closed and open-ended questions, were conducted with these women, and each participant also completed a form requiring them to provide socio-demographic information. Content and relational analysis was used to analyse the responses of the participants. The results indicated that these black African women participated politically in invented spaces that typically exist outside of the public political sphere. The women use everyday resistance strategies to negotiate their relationship with the state. These resistance strategies were found to be framed in terms of the women’s daily economic struggles and the structural challenges they faced.

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South African women leaders, transformation and diversity conflict intersections

Journal of Organizational Change Management ◽

10.1108/jocm-10-2016-0196 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 877-894 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claude-Hélène Mayer ◽

Sabie Surtee ◽

Jasmin Mahadevan

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Women Leaders ◽

South African ◽

African Women ◽

Structural Level ◽

Content Type ◽

Constructivist Perspective ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

South African Women ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate diversity conflict intersections and how the meanings of diversity markers such as gender and race might be transformed. It highlights the resources of South African women leaders in higher education institutions for doing so. Design/methodology/approach This study proceeds from a social constructivist perspective, seeking to uncover narrated conflict experiences via a hermeneutical approach. Findings Women leaders in South Africa experience diversity conflict across multiple intersecting diversity markers, such as gender, race, ethnicity and class. They are united by inner resources which, if utilized, might bring about transformation. Research limitations/implications Intersectional approach to diversity conflict is a viable means for uncovering positive resources for transformation across intersecting diversity markers. Practical implications Practitioners wishing to overcome diversity conflict should identify positive resources across intersecting diversity markers. This way, organizations and individuals might bring about transformation. Social implications In societal environment wherein one diversity marker is institutionalized on a structural level, such as race in South Africa, diversity conflict might be enlarged beyond its actual scope, thereby becoming insurmountable. This needs to be prevented. Originality/value This paper studies diversity conflict intersections in a highly diverse societal environment in organizations facing transformational challenges and from the perspective of women leaders.

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BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AND CERVICAL (PAP) SMEAR TEST: ATTITUDES AND SELF-REPORTED PRACTICES AMONG SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.89.5.27-32 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 89 (5) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

KARL PELTZER

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Pap Smear ◽

African Women ◽

Breast Self Examination ◽

Pap Smear Test ◽

Smear Test ◽

South African Women ◽

Self Examination

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THE SINS OF THE FATHER: GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Commonwealth Youth and Development ◽

10.25159/1727-7140/1798 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 57-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lyn Snodgrass

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Black Women ◽

South African ◽

African Women ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Political Issues ◽

Race And Gender ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

South African Women

This article explores the complexities of gender-based violence in post-apartheid South Africa and interrogates the socio-political issues at the intersection of class, ‘race’ and gender, which impact South African women. Gender equality is up against a powerful enemy in societies with strong patriarchal traditions such as South Africa, where women of all ‘races’ and cultures have been oppressed, exploited and kept in positions of subservience for generations. In South Africa, where sexism and racism intersect, black women as a group have suffered the major brunt of this discrimination and are at the receiving end of extreme violence. South Africa’s gender-based violence is fuelled historically by the ideologies of apartheid (racism) and patriarchy (sexism), which are symbiotically premised on systemic humiliation that devalues and debases whole groups of people and renders them inferior. It is further argued that the current neo-patriarchal backlash in South Africa foments and sustains the subjugation of women and casts them as both victims and perpetuators of pervasive patriarchal values.

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