South African women have little to celebrate this Women’s Month, as they continue to suffer the brunt of unemployment.
According to Stats SA, women shoulder a disproportionate burden of unemployment, underemployment and lower workforce participation compared to men.
This was partly because women were more likely to take on household duties, child-rearing, and other responsibilities that limited their opportunities in the labour market.
“The trends in labour force participation and absorption rates for men and women from 2014 to 2024 indicate that fewer women have been participating in the labour market as compared to men.
“The data shows a general increase in labour force participation rates for both men and women between Q2:2014 and Q2:2024. This increase was more substantial for women, rising to 55,8% in Q2:2024 from 50,9% in Q2:2014 (up by 4,9 percentage points), indicating a narrowing of the gender gap in labour force participation.
“For women, Labor Force Participation Rates increased across all education levels except for those with other tertiary qualifications, who experienced a decline of 1 percentage point,” Stats SA said.
Stats SA released the latest unemployment figures on Tuesday, which show an uptick in joblessness.
The report showed that a significant increases in labour force participation were observed among women with less than a matric qualification rising from 40,0% to 43,1% – an increase of 3,1 percentage points and graduates rising from 85,7% to 87,2%, an increase of 1,5 percentage points) over the 10-year period.
It said unemployment increased to 33.5% during the second quarter, from 32.9% in the previous quarter.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) said the fluctuating unemployment reflects the structural defects in the economy that keep the economy on a zigzag growth path.
The union’s spokesperson, Trevor Shaku, said the unemployment over the past 10 years has been rising steadily, supported by the dismal labour absorption rate.
“The increasing number of the working-age population has not been met by a proportional rise in job creation. Consequently, over 6,4 million people are trapped in what is considered to be long-term unemployment.
“Previously, we have repeatedly attributed this problem to structural contradictions of capitalism, in its neo-colonial character in particular.
“The neo-colonial character means that our economy loses an opportunity to build manufacturing industries for mineral resources as they are extracted and beneficiated elsewhere, not locally. In a country that is endowed with mineral resources of massive proportions such as ours, unemployment should not be a main problem.
“However, these endowments are extracted to be turned into value-added products elsewhere, creating employment in those countries and growing their economies,” Shaku added.
The Star