Motlhatlego Dennis Matotoka, Kolawole Olusola Odeku
{"title":"Unequal Remunerations in the South African Private Sector","authors":"Motlhatlego Dennis Matotoka, Kolawole Olusola Odeku","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract South Africa has passed various laws such as the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 to address discriminatory practices in the workplace. These discriminatory practices include the unequal pay between males and females performing work of equal value. Payment of unequal remunerations is prevalent in the South African private sector, and it is exacerbated by the preferential treatment enjoyed by white employees compared to employees in other race groups. White groups and black males dominate higher positions in the private sector and their remunerations are often higher than those of black female employees in similar positions. This is so because the private sector engages in the gender wage gap to the detriment of suitably black South African females who are both underrepresented at managerial levels and paid less than their male counterparts. This paper examined various transformative remuneration interventions and their effectiveness in ensuring remuneration equality regardless of gender. The paper examined those practical challenges that further hinder the achievement of income equalities in the private sector. The paper asserted that there should be consequences such as termination of State contracts for companies that deliberately engage in the payment of unequal remunerations between male and female employees. This paper adopted a qualitative research methodology. The data for this paper were sourced from the desk research, Acts, court decisions and international conventions dealing with income inequalities in South Africa. The paper concluded that companies need to strategise, track and measure income disparities and address the gender wage gap to promote equity and fairness in the workplace.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76093137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Education as a Path to Gender Justice for Maasai Youth","authors":"Claire Fialkov, David Haddad","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a6","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study explored the differences between adolescent boys and girls and their tendency to accept the influence of others. This is important when considering not only one’s path in life but also the implications for independence and having an equal voice in a civil society. The study measured authenticity in 306 adolescent Maasai boys and girls and found that boys are significantly more likely to accept external influence than girls. Accepting external influence is inversely correlated with authenticity, a character strength linked with mental health and well-being, and arguably needed for democratic societies to flourish. Furthermore, unquestioned adherence to external social inductions serves to maintain the status quo and prevents responsiveness to needed change. The embodiment of authenticity is crucial for its actualization and takes place in the context of relationships. Schools represent a microcosm of the larger society and provide a window into different cultural practices and, as such, represent opportunities for transformation. The study discussed the social implications of these ideas, and the role Kenyan teachers play in the advancement of gender justice.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90425174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Resilience of Female Academics in Rural South African Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Marongwe Newlin, Masha Anthony","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a7","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The aim of the study was to explore how female academics in rural South African higher education developed resilience by balancing the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, work, and house chores; and rose above the harsh situations. Some people in Africa and across the globe argue that females do not enjoy the same privileges and opportunities at home and work because of patriarchy and societal norms that reinforce family and organisational practices favouring the male counterparts. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and a case study design. A purposive sampling technique was used to choose nine participants from three rural universities. Telephonic interviews were used for data collection, and the data were thematically analysed. This study found that female academicians were faced with a myriad of challenges, but influences from within the self helped them to build resilience. The study concluded that no matter what hurdles are along the way, women have learnt to fight for their space. The implication drawn from the study’s findings is that failure to address the challenges faced by female academics, especially regarding the workload policy, impacts negatively on the quality of work done and slows down knowledge production. Consequently, the study recommended that employers in higher education should come up with a workload policy/model that allows female academics to work more efficiently and effectively contributing constructively to knowledge production in higher education.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89828070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sexual Harassment of Female Students in selected South African Universities","authors":"Eleanor Alvira Hendricks","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a8","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Universities are institutions focussing on developing knowledge acquisition, acquiring discipline-specific skills, and where mentoring of students transpire, facilitating students in pursuing careers of their choice. Therefore, universities should be nonviolent environments where students use their scholarships to their full potential. In recent years, universities have become environments of distress for female students, with escalating reports of violence against them so extensive that it has become petrifying. This study aimed to explore reasons for increasing sexual harassment towards female students in three South African Universities. A qualitative approach and a case study research design were used in conducting this study. Thirty female students (10 from each of the three selected universities) and three staff (2 counsellors and 1 Dean of students from the selected universities) were purposively sampled to participate in this study to share their experience on sexual harassment. The data obtained through in-depth interviews was analysed thematically and supported by the relevant literature. The findings revealed that amongst the many forms of violence against women, sexual harassment is very common. The study recommended that female students who have been victims of any form of sexual harassment should establish support networks and empower each other in overcoming fear of abuse and assist victims to become survivors.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75711692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Challenges Facing Women’s Community Vegetable Gardening in the Echobeni area of KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa","authors":"Nqobile Precious Nzama, Edmore Ntini","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a5","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper presented the results of a qualitative study on challenges to community gardens as a livelihood strategy in a rural community. The paper aimed to generate knowledge on the manifestations of the challenges and what could be done to minimise them. Its objective was to describe the challenges to community gardens. The paper used a qualitative case study of community vegetable gardens in the Echobeni area situated on the south coast of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Interviewing method was used. Five purposefully sampled participants from a population of 20 women engaged in vegetable gardening in the Echobeni area were interviewed. The study identified seven challenges, namely: lack of institutional support and leadership support; vandalism; pests; lack of knowledge and marketing; land tenure; inadequate water supply; and lack of motivation. The study recommended the need for capacity building, the adoption of a sustainable livelihoods’ framework, the promotion of institutional linkages, security of land tenure, and encouraging the participation of the rural youth.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80873726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Girls’ Rights to Education in Chadereka Muzarabani District, Zimbabwe: A perspective on Sustainable Development Goal Number 5","authors":"R. Kasimba, P. Nyoni","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a9","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The study unearthed embedded factors that hinder Muzarabani District from achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030. Main research focus is how far has Zimbabwe’s rural areas such as the Chadereka community achieved gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with respect to the 2030 target. The research further explores reasons why there is a high number of girls of school-going age outside the school system. A human rights-based approach guided the study’s arguments. The research utilised a case study design while a thematic analysis was used for data analysis. A qualitative methodology was employed while key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observations were used to collect data with purposive sampling being adopted in the selection of respondents. A total of 20 participants were chosen and they included; three men (a villager, a chief and a village head); five girls; five women; two officials from the DA’s office who consisted of the DA and an official dealing with women, children and disability, and development; two officials from local NGOs, a school head and two female teachers. The study found that women in Chadereka were still in a perpetual state of domination by their male counterparts due to persistent gender stereotypes, school setting related challenges and climatic variances that impacted on the education and ultimate emancipation of the girl child.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79693094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Border Management and Gender Issues in sub-Saharan Africa’s Cross-Border Trade under COVID-19","authors":"Muesiri O. Ashe, Vivian B. Ojong","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a2","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The study is an analysis of border management in relation to the gender structure of cross-border trade in sub-Saharan Africa. It is partly a response to recent policy briefs of the United Nations on gender issues under COVID-19. The study adopted a historical approach and combined data from personal fieldwork with those from both published and unpublished works. It posits that there still exists gross gender imbalance in the region’s cross-border trade and that the agencies in charge of border control can do more to minimise the imbalance. One of its key findings is that policies protecting small-scale cross-border commerce constitute one means of increasing the participation of women and therefore reducing gender imbalance in the system. Among its recommendations is the adoption of relevant initiatives of regional organisations and international agencies that have given gender issues in cross-border trade a priority and embarked on relevant fieldwork on the way forward.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88473772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancing Women’s Empowerment in the Workplace: A Study of a Company in the Polymer Industry in South Africa","authors":"D. Isaacs, Kariena Strydom, I. Mbukanma","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a3","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Previous scholars have emphasised gender inequalities in management and decision-making in a variety of companies. This study aimed to identify and analyse characteristics that may promote women's empowerment and minimise gender inequality in the workplace. A quantitative research method was adopted with strict adherence to deductive design, and a questionnaire was used to collect data from 111 female employees at a company in the polymer industry in South Africa. An inferential statistical method was employed, using regression analysis to test and ascertain the significance of the relationship between five independent variables (information and communication resources; rewards and incentives; autonomy; skills and knowledge; and self-esteem) and the dependent variable, which measures women’s empowerment. The findings revealed a strong, positive significant relationship between the variables. Improving these five independent variables positively predicts an improved pattern of women’s empowerment in the workplace. It is recommended that stakeholders incorporate these independent variables into their human capital management structures to empower women.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89625247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opportunities for Gender Equality in the African Continental Free Trade Area: Drawing Lessons from COMESA","authors":"Clayton Hazvinei Vhumbunu, Joseph Rukema Rudigi","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a1","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which has been signed by 54 out of the 55 African countries, seeks to create a single continental market for goods and services and facilitate the free movement of people on the continent, thereby boosting and enhancing the competitiveness of intra-African trade. However, while the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA, under Article 3 (e), emphasises that one of the general objectives of the AfCFTA is to promote gender equality, experiences in other African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) FTAs have proven that gender and gender equality have not been adequately mainstreamed in implementing Free Trade Areas which has resulted in gender inequalities in international trade and commerce. Consequently, the majority of women have been left marginalised in trade and faced with serious challenges in accessing opportunities created by regional trade agreements. This paper sought to examine the potential of the AfCFTA to promote gender equality in Africa through the promotion of intra-African trade opportunities. Using secondary data sources, it drew from the experiences of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in mainstreaming gender in regional trade to proffer recommendations for the AfCFTA. The concepts of gender equality, gender mainstreaming and trade liberalisation were utilised for conceptual analysis. Recommendations of the research are key in presenting possible options for implementing gender-sensitive measures and strategic interventions that address the differentiated implications of the AfCFTA on both men and women such that the AfCFTA delivers more transformative, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development in Africa.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75159835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women Participation and Empowerment in the Cooperative Organisations in South Africa","authors":"S. N. Mahlaba, K. D. Ige, N. G. Tshabalala","doi":"10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2022/v11n1a10","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Development agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs), and government organisations around the world aim to advance women in all spheres of their lives. Cooperatives have been recognised as an imperative mechanism to increase capital initiatives and development within disadvantaged communities. This study examined the role of cooperatives in empowering women to throw some light on how active participation and membership in cooperatives can empower women to improve their skills, social needs, and ambitions to eliminate poverty and create jobs. Survey research was employed in the study. One hundred and ten (110) members responded to a questionnaire to decipher respondents’ perceptions of the level of participation, empowerment, capacitation and perceived benefits. The findings of the study demonstrated that capacitation, empowerment and participation influence change on the benefits of membership in a cooperative as they provide an affirmative impact on development and individual growth. However, the study also revealed that women lack skills and training, sound management, and continuous government support. The study, therefore, recommended continual support from the government and the private sector by providing financial support, training and workshops for women in cooperatives to empower themselves and contribute considerably to job development and poverty reduction in local and regional areas.","PeriodicalId":45357,"journal":{"name":"Gender Technology & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85682166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}