Gender Equity in a Post-Apartheid South Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 79-89
Author(s):  
Shirley Mthethwa-Sommers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Gender Equity

Mortality of Women From Intimate Partner Violence in South Africa: A National Epidemiological Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeemah Abrahams ◽  
Rachel Jewkes ◽  
Lorna J. Martin ◽  
Shanaaz Mathews ◽  
Lisa Vetten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
National Study ◽  
Police Records

The purpose of this article is to describe mortality of women from intimate partner violence (IPV) in South Africa using a retrospective national study in a proportionate random sample of 25 mortuaries. Homicides identified from mortuary, autopsy, and police records. There were 3,797 female homicides, of which 50.3% were from IPV. The mortality rate from IPV was 8.8 per 100,000 women. Mortality from IPV were elevated among those 14 to 44 years and women of color. Blunt force injuries were more common, while strangulation or asphyxiation were less common. The national IPV mortality rate was more than twice that found in the United States. The study highlights the value of collecting reliable data across the globe to develop interventions for advocacy of which gender equity is critical.

scholarly journals Why, when and how men rape: Understanding rape perpetration in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Jewkes ◽  
Yandisa Sikweyiya ◽  
Robert Morrell ◽  
Kristin Dunkle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
General Population ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Small Proportion ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Different Types

This article reports the findings of research conducted with a randomly selected sample of men aged 18–49 years from the general population of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, who were asked in an anonymously conducted survey about their rape perpetration practices, motivations, and consequences thereof. Overall 27,6 per cent (466/1686) of men had forced a woman to have sex with them against her will, whether an intimate partner, stranger or acquaintance. Some perpetrated alone, others with accomplices. Most men who had raped had done so more than once, started as teenagers, and often had different types of victims. Asked about motivations, men indicated that rape most commonly stemmed from a sense of sexual entitlement, and it was often an act of bored men (alone or in groups) seeking entertainment. Rape was often also a punishment directed against girlfriends and other women, and alcohol was often part of the context. A third of men had experienced no consequences from their acts, not even feelings of guilt. More commonly there was remorse and worry about consequences, and in a third of cases there had been action against them from their family, that of the victims, or respected community members, and about one in five had been arrested for rape. This research confirms that rape is highly prevalent in South Africa, with only a small proportion of incidents reported to the police. Many of the roots of the problem lie in our accentuated gender hierarchy. This highlights the importance of interventions and policies that start in childhood and seek to change the way in which boys are socialised into men, building ideas of gender equity and respect for women.

Women in senior management positions at South African universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Ramohai
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
South African Higher Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present reasons for the mobility of women in senior management positions in South African higher education. Against the backdrop of women underrepresentation and retention challenges in institution of higher learning in this country, it is pertinent to share the experiences of senior women, with the aim of understanding institutional structures and cultures that make it difficult for women to survive in senior positions. Design/methodology/approach The paper used a qualitative approach. The focus of this paper was on the women who had held or were still holding senior management positions in higher education in South Africa. The requirement for this paper was that these women should have moved out or across institutions while at a senior management position. This paper drew from five women from different institutions and involved them in in-depth interviews. The women who fitted the category of senior management in this paper included deputy vice chancellor, deans and heads of departments. Findings The findings indicated that the decisions to opt out of senior management positions for the women ranged from personal to institutional. The personal reasons that emerged from this paper pointed mainly to issues of salaries. The women opted to move out of their positions for better salaries which they believed they would get in the private sectors or in other institutions. Professional development also led women to move to more promising spaces that could afford them an opportunity to grow. Apart from these personal reasons, hostile institutional cultures were cited by all women as the most serious contributory factor to their turnover. Of these, they cited patriarchal practices that led to oppression and dominance, which made it difficult for them to cope in the senior positions they held. Originality/value This paper aimed to respond to a gap in research on senior management women’s mobility in higher education, specifically in South Africa. According to Samuel and Chipunza (2013), there is a serious concern that pertains to retention of senior management within African higher education. However, most studies do not provide a focused attention on women but offer a general interpretation of senior management turnover. There seems to be lack of research that aims at understanding the contextual reasons that lead to turnover of women senior management in South African higher education. Against the backdrop of low representation of women in senior positions in specifically South African higher education and calls for equity, the study looked at the reasons why higher education institutions at times fail to retain this most sought after group (women) in these positions of power. Understanding issues around this matter has the potential to contribute towards improved practices while adding a voice to discourses around gender equity and equality.

Enabling and empowering women in leadership in South African universities – Assessing needs and designing a response

2021 ◽  
pp. 089202062098195
Author(s):  
Oliver Seale ◽  
Patrick Fish ◽  
Birgit Schreiber
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Senior Leadership ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Management Positions

Gender equity and women’s access to senior leadership and management positions in universities are a major challenge not only in South Africa but on the African continent, too. For women to take up senior leadership roles more potently, it is essential that they not only cope with and compete in patriarchal systems but more so, are equipped to change patriarchal hegemony and shift the management discourse and culture to a pluralistic leadership culture where transformational leadership becomes the norm and praxis. This paper examines a needs analysis for leadership and professional development competencies of women in senior leadership positions in South African higher education and presents the discussion on these findings, based on the data collected from 74 participants. The conclusion reveals the participants’ enthusiasm for personal leadership development as well as their readiness for impacting their leadership contexts. These findings, in turn, shape the content development of the Women in Leadership programme, designed by Higher Education Leadership and Management under the auspices of Universities South Africa.

scholarly journals The Value of Reference Letters: Experimental Evidence from South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-71
Author(s):  
Martin Abel ◽  
Rulof Burger ◽  
Patrizio Piraino
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Information Frictions ◽  
Job Interviews ◽  
Applicant Screening ◽  
And Gender

We show that reference letters from former employers alleviate information frictions in a low-skill labor market, improving applicant screening and gender equity. A resume audit study finds that using a reference letter in the application increases callbacks by 60 percent. Women drive the effect. Letters are effective because they provide valuable information about workers’ skills that employers use to select applicants of higher ability. A second experiment, which encourages job seekers to obtain and use a reference letter, finds consistent results. In particular, reference letters raise job interviews and employment for women. (JEL D83, J16, J24, J64, O12)

scholarly journals Ethics in compulsory education – Human dignity, rights and social justice in five contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Sporre
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Societal Relevance

What children learn through their ethics and values education in school is of crucial societal relevance and is directed by school curricula. As curricula vary between countries, an international comparison is of interest. The aim of this study was to compare curricula to reveal variations in how matters of social justice were described in curricular texts, with a special focus on class, gender and race. Curricula from five different contexts were compared: Namibia; South Africa; California State, United States of America; Province of Québec, Canada; and Sweden. This provided the study, originating in Sweden, with crucial comparative material from outside Europe. The studied curricula were systematically searched for the importance and significance of the terms ‘poverty/poor’, ‘gender’, ‘equity’, ‘equality’, ‘justice’, ‘race’, ‘racism’, ‘human dignity/rights’, ‘equal value’ and Ubuntu. Methodologically, this represented a qualitative content analysis approach with a research interest in intersectionality, that is, in how matters of class, gender and race intersect. The study showed considerable variation between the curricular formulations from the five contexts. For example, texts from California and Québec emphasised equality as a general matter and less as one of intersectionality, compared to Namibia and South Africa as well as Sweden. In general, human rights were emphasised, but human dignity less so. For future curricular development towards education as a global common good, matters of social justice, including sustainability, need critical monitoring. The aspects of intersectionality such as class, gender and race are thus crucial, as is the inclusion of an integrated, participatory view on students’ ethical competence.

scholarly journals Gender and School Leadership: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clever Ndebele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Male Dominance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
Role Modelling

This study looked at leadership from a gender perspective in a rural context in South Africa. The study investigated the challenges faced by female school principals because of their gender in one rural district. Grounded in the qualitative paradigm and using the social realist theoretical analytical framework, a thematic approach was used in analysing qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with ten female school principals. Findings showed that female school principals were not perceived as incompetent and unable by male colleagues only, but also by female staff colleagues as a result of an entrenched culture of male dominance.  Among the challenges faced by female principals included: negative attitude from some parents and educators; being undermined because of their gender and lack of confidence on their side. The study recommends the mounting of gender awareness workshops with both parents and educators to sensitive them on gender equity issues. In addition the study calls for mentoring and networking workshops, in service training opportunities and role modelling to be given to female teachers who aspire to, and have potential in leadership so that these female teachers can feel empowered and see that they have the potential of being leaders.   

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