2017
Gender Dimension of the
Informal Economy in South
Africa
DRAFT REPORT
LEAH CHIPEPA
Table of Contents
Page Number
Abbreviations
ii
Executive Summary
1
Introduction
2
Methodology
4
Rational for Gender Dimension
4
Policy and Legal Environment
6
Geography of Inequality
11
Recurrent Forms of Informal Employment
13
Category of Women Workers
15
Women Pre-Dominant Sectors, Enterprises and Occupations 17
Main Decent Work Deficits
17
Specific Challenges Facing Women
18
Causal Analysis of Gender Inequalities
21
Conclusion and Recommendations
26
i
Abbreviations/Acronyms
AIDS
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
CBD
Central Business District
CEDAW
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination Against Women
EESE
Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
ILO
International Labour Organisation
IPAP
Industrial Policy Action Plan
MTSF
Medium Term Strategic Framework
NDP
National Development Plan
NGP
National Growth Path
NIBUS
National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy
UNAIDS
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
SADC
Southern Africa Development Community
TB
Tuberculosis
ii
1. Executive Summary
This report is the output of a review of the gender dimension of the informal economy in South Africa. It
consolidates two reports; 2015 first GAP Analysis on the Legal and Policy Environment and the Enabling
Environment for Sustainable Enterprises (EESE) study; by examining the gender dimensions of
informality in South Africa to provide a comprehensive and complete picture of informal economy
environment in South Africa. The report makes the case for prioritization of gender equality and
mainstreaming gender in interventions, examines the gender dimensions of informality and brings out the
geography of gender inequality in the informal economy: urban and rural areas; metropolitan and township
areas. The report also looks at the recurrent forms of informal employment.
The report identifies 4 categories of women workers in the informal economy i.e. girls 15 to 19 years old;
young women 20 to 35 years old, female-headed households and women with family responsibilities to
classify the areas of activities they are engaged in. Women predominant sectors, enterprises and
occupations are also identified including the main decent work deficits. The report also looks at risk
factors faced such as HIV/AIDS and violence in the informal economy that disproportionately impact on
women. Challenges that are specific to women are highlighted which include: legal and regulatory
constraints, exclusion from policy processes, unfair competition, sexual harassment, lack of access to
credit/finance, lack of financial literacy, and the lack of ownership and control of land, all which hinder
women’s effective participation in economic activities.
The report provides a causal analysis of gender discrimination in the informal economy to unravel the
immediate and underlying causes of discrimination and inequalities. In this regard, five areas are analysed
that contribute to women’s vulnerability in the informal economy such as: level of education and high
illiteracy; health status, poverty, voice and representation, and access to credit. Finally, the report makes
specific and gender focused recommendations on ways and means of mainstreaming gender, and ways of
addressing the strategic needs of women working in the informal economy.
The methodology employed in the assessment included: a review of literature on the informal economy in
South Africa and the reports of the GAP analysis and ESSE study, review of global, regional and sub
regional documents on the informal economy and consultations with relevant ILO staff.
Based on the findings, six specific and gender focused recommendations on ways and means of
mainstreaming gender as well as six recommendations on women’s strategic needs in the informal
economy. Specific and gender focused recommendations include: (i) Addressing gender and gender in the
informal economy; (ii) Conducive legal and policy environment; (iii) Increase in productivity of women’s
informal economic activities; (iv) Formalisation of the informal economy; (v) Reduction of decent work
deficits for women; and (vi) Integration of HIV and TB.
Women’s strategic needs recommendations include: (i) alleviation of the burden of domestic labour and
child care; (ii) improving access to capital for women; (iii) promoting women’s agency, voice and
representation in policy formulation processes; (iv) providing social protection; (v) promoting financial
autonomy; and (vi) removal of institutionalized forms of discrimination to land, property or access to credit
and financial services
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2. Introduction
(i)
Brief Background of Objectives and the ILO Approach
Promoting decent work in the informal economy and facilitating transition from the informal to the formal
economy through appropriate policies and programmes is one of the key priorities outlined in the SADC
Decent Work Programme (2013-2017) adopted by the SADC Ministers and Social Partners responsible for
Employment & Labour. This commitment by member states at the sub-regional level was echoed at the
African Union Assembly in 2015 where African Heads of State reaffirmed their willingness through a
Declaration to speed up the transitioning of the informal economy to the formal economy and to promote
decent work in all economic activities. A similar commitment by African Heads of State as members of the
AU is reflected through their adoption of the Ouagadougou + 10 Plan of Action that seeks among others to
ensure progressive formalization of the informal economy and to extend social protection coverage to the
informal economy, including categories of workers who are often excluded.
At the global level, African member states, including the Social Partners, further reaffirmed their
commitment to address the challenges of informality through their collective adoption (as ILO member
states) of a new instrument. In June 2015, the International Labour Conference adopted the Transition from
the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation (R204), a new labour standard of strategic
importance to the world of work as it concerns half the workforce worldwide and more than three quarters
of non-agricultural employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the first international labour standard to
focus on the informal economy in its entirety and to point clearly in the direction of transition to the formal
economy as the means for realizing decent work for all and for achieving inclusive development. Of
universal relevance, the Recommendation acknowledges the broad diversity of situations of informality
among workers and economic units and provides guiding principles and policy guidelines to facilitate the
transition from the informal to the formal economy which. The commitments expressed at the sub-regional,
regional and global level towards tackling challenges of informality are also echoed at country level as
reflected through DWCP priorities of several countries in the sub-region including South Africa and
Swaziland to mention a few.
The Recommendation No. 204 invites members to design coherent and integrated strategies to facilitate the
transition from the informal to the formal economy and recognizes the need for tailored approaches to
respond to the diversity of situations and the specificity of national circumstances. This calls for coherence
and coordination across a broad range of policy areas, and for a balanced approach combining incentives
with compliance. This calls also, in the early stage of the process, for the establishment of a good diagnosis
of the informal economy at the national level. Such a diagnosis is required for the production of quantitative
analysis, based in particular on statistical data, and more qualitative work to assess, among others, the
factors that drive the informalization process and to identify opportunities that may help to facilitate
transition to formality. By necessity, this diagnosis must mainstream gender and clearly highlight the gender
dimensions of informality and pin point the geography of gender inequality in the informal economy.
it is required for the design and implementation of laws and regulations, policies and other measures aiming
to facilitate the transition and is also a critical contribution to help countries to determine priorities in terms
of sectors, groups of enterprises, groups of workers, policy areas and transversal drivers to focus their
interventions.
(ii)
Purpose and Scope of Assignment
The objective of this assignment is to consolidate the two reports; 2015 first GAP Analysis and EESE study;
by examining the gender dimensions of informality in South Africa to provide a comprehensive and
complete picture of informal economy environment in South Africa. The report will:
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


examine the gender dimensions of informality and bring out the geography of gender inequality
in the informal economy.
make the case for prioritization of gender equality and mainstreaming gender in interventions.
make specific and gender focused recommendations on ways and means of mainstreaming gender
and highlight the strategic needs of women working in the informal economy.
The report will cover the following:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Gender dimensions and the geography of gender inequality of informality in South Africa. This
includes: The identification of the most recurrent forms of informal employment that women are
engaged in; The identification of categories of women workers, such as young women, female
headed households, young mothers and older women with family responsibilities. The type of
sectors, enterprises and occupations where women are pre-dominate and the specific forms of
informality in which they are engaged in; Identify the main decent work deficits and other risks
faced by women workers and economic units in the informal economy. Identify the strategic
gender needs of women working in the informal economy.
A review of the legal and regulatory frameworks, of institutions and coordination mechanisms,
including the NDP, NIBUS, EESE gap analysis and any other relevant reports if any and how
they take account of gender or enhance the transition to formality from a gender lens.
The case for prioritization of mainstreaming gender in informality and as well as efforts for
transitioning to formality and make specific recommendations for the reduction of decent work
deficits for women and for enhancing women’s productivity in the informal economy.
The analysis of micro level determinants of informality such as the level of education, health
status, discrimination, poverty, voice and representation, access to credit, business skills,
economic services or to markets.
Among these different factors of informality, assess notably to which extent HIV and TB
intersects with informality, as well as make recommendations for integration of HIV and TB in
efforts for transitioning from informal to formal economy.
(iii) Output
Production of the draft of the diagnostic report and for its revision according to inputs gathered during the
national multi-stakeholders’ validation workshop and according to the ILO comments.
(iv) Context of the Assignment
In South Africa, there has been increasing attention for the role of the informal sector and of the informal
economy. Thus, the South Africa’s 2013 social and economic blueprint, the National Development Plan
(NDP) targets for job creation in the SME sector depend on the creation of a business environment that
enables the growth and sustainability of existing small businesses, and the formation and formalization of
new, sustainable enterprises to prosper. The 2014 National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS)
is another example. Following the adoption of Recommendation 204 in 2015, a first GAP Analysis - A
Rapid Assessment of the South African Policy and Legislative Environment against Provisions of
Recommendation 204 has been undertaken as well as an assessment report on; Creating an enabling
environment for sustainable enterprises in South Africa. Results from both studies — the Gap analysis
regarding the provisions of R204 and the Assessment report of the enabling environment for sustainable
enterprises — will contribute to the broader diagnosis of informality in South Africa. However, both reports
needed to have a stronger gender analysis.
In addition, informality is surrounded by vulnerabilities including gender inequality; lack of access to;
social protections, economic and health services. Such vulnerabilities put a greater strain on the poor
especially those infected by TB or living with HIV as these conditions affect their productivity and income
3
and pushes them deeper in poverty. In 2015, South Africa recorded 7million people living with HIV, with
about 4million women of which 19.2% were adult (UNAIDS 2015). It is also estimated that more than 60%
of people living with HIV also have TB, which when untreated can cause emotional and financial burden
on the individual, their business and their families and may even lead to death.
3. Methodology
The methodology employed in the assessment included: a review of literature on the informal economy in
South Africa and the reports of the GAP analysis and ESSE study, review of global, regional and sub
regional documents on the informal economy and consultations with relevant ILO staff.
4. Rational for Gender Dimension in Informal Economy
Over the last decade, globally, the informal economy is providing relief to millions of households as an
alternative source of employment and livelihood. In South Africa, like elsewhere in the developing world,
women in the informal economy are disproportionately impacted because of gender discrimination and
inequality. They are generally segmented into jobs that do not have access to legal and regulation of
employment conditions and are particularly concentrated in “invisible” areas of informal work, such as
domestic labour, piece-rate homework, and assistance in small family enterprises, which offer precarious
employment status. Women also experience low pay or no remuneration, little or no access to social security
and maternity protection, and they have limited ability to organize to ensure the enforcement of
international labour standards and human rights. The South African Constitution is very progressive and
sets a very high standard for the protection of women but the reality of the status of women in the economy
does not match. So, the issue of the gender dimension in the informal economy becomes important.
Major international human rights instruments recognize the protection and promotion of equality between
women and men as fundamental concepts. The Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) (1979) makes the case for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
CEDAW calls for equality of outcome and not just equality of opportunity. This means that all necessary
steps must be taken to equip women with skills and knowledge so that they can fully enjoy equality.
The adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, set out a bold agenda for advancing gender equality
and women’s empowerment. In 2015, the adoption by the United Nations of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development reaffirmed the universal consensus on the crucial importance of gender equality
and its contribution to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, all the new
goals articulate gender-responsive targets and, among them, Goal 5, remains a stand-alone Gender Goal. In
this way, the new UN development blueprint places gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
at the core of this transformative sustainable development agenda.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), provides a solid international basis for gender mainstreaming
in the world of work including the informal economy. ILO has designated specific Conventions that aim to
promote gender equality in the labour market; Conventions Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
(No.100); Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No.111); Workers with
Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156); Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.183) and
Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No.189). They are designed to cure women’s disadvantage and
promote gender equality.
To address the decent work deficits that beset the informal economy, ILO, at its 104th Session in 2015,
adopted the standard setting Recommendation 204 (R204), to facilitate the transition of the informal to
formal economy and to offer guidance to member states on how to facilitate the transition. The ILO
constituents in South Africa (both government and social partners) played a key role in the drafting of
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Recommendation 204, with the South African government leading the Africa group on the Informal
Economy Committee.
The African Union Protocol on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the
Unions Declaration on 50/50 gender parity in decision making are commitments by member states to
eliminate gender inequality. Recognizing that women have been left out in the margins, thus perpetuating
gender equality, the African Heads of State and Government declared 2015 as the Year of Women
Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063, as one of the seven aspirations of this
Agenda. The Declaration specifies that all transformative development must benefit women and men, girls
and boys alike. At sub regional level, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in 2008,
signed a Gender Protocol. The Protocol is a unique sub-regional instrument that brings African and global
goals on gender equality and enhances these through targets and time frameworks. The over-arching
objective is 50/50 gender parity.
South Africa’s Constitution has enshrined the protection of citizens to equality, equal treatment, and rights
to fair Labour practices, and rights of access to social security including social assistance, freedom of
expression and association. The Constitution recognizes the need to ensure a detailed understanding and
analysis of the specific and distinct needs of women and that:” unless these specific needs and disadvantages
are addressed, through the kind of legislative, affirmative or corrective or other measures provided for in
the section 9 (2) of the Constitution and in other legal frameworks, it will be impossible to level the playing
field for the achievement of effective gender equality.” South Africa still has some way to go to realize
these rights.
As a signatory to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, South Africa is obliged to
implement good practices in labour standards such as the Decent Work Agenda whose primary goal is to
promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom,
equity, security and human dignity. South Africa has also ratified all the eight core ILO conventions that
apply to workers operating both in the informal and formal economy. These conventions afford protections
to the rights of vulnerable segments of the population and relate to the following; freedom of association
and the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forced or compulsory labour; the abolition of
child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation. South Africa’s
challenge lies in ensuring that they are effectively applied and enforced in the informal economy, and that
gender equality is promoted.
In 2014, South Africa developed a National Development Plan which like other development programs
recognizes women as a specific group and proposes measures targeting them. However, the plan does not
address gender discrimination and inequalities that are inherent in South African society to promote gender
equality such as: ownership and control of productive resources for the majority of South African women,
over-representation of women in low paying jobs, women’s triple roles that impact on women’s
employability and lack of recognition of women’s unpaid labour. Therefore, the triple challenges of
unemployment, poverty and inequality continue to disproportionately impact South African women.
While South African labour law and policy applies to all workers in the labour market, labour legislation
does not afford adequate protections to some vulnerable workers in the informal economy, particularly
those who are not in a clear employment relationship such as home-based workers who are pre-dominantly
women. Studies show that employers treat home-based workers as if they were self-employed and therefore
do not contribute to their social protection, and that these workers are often totally dependent on a single
enterprise or employer for their equipment, raw materials and orders. Hence, there is need to consider the
gender differences of women and men’s jobs that do not have access to legal and regulation of employment
5
conditions and the gendered “invisible” areas of informal work because gender differences in informal
activities, often reflect gender stereotypes and socialization whose underlying cause is patriarchy.
Patriarchy supports women’s subordination on the one hand and male power on the other. Women remain
concentrated in “invisible” areas of informal work, such as domestic labour piece-rate homework, and
assistance in small family enterprises, which offer precarious employment status, low, irregular or no
remuneration, little or no access to social security or protection, and limited ability to organize to ensure
the enforcement of international labour standards and human rights.
Other factors such as certain cultural norms and practices, religion, negative impact of globalization,
poverty, HIV and AIDS, and violence against women, have adverse impact on women’s participation in
the economy, as whole and in the informal economy, in particular, where decent work deficits are
paramount. Other challenges that women face which limit their potential for growth in the business world,
include; policy gaps, lack of an enabling environment, sexual harassment, low education levels and lack of
business skills, lack of access to credit, land and property, poverty and inequalities, low income generation
enterprises and jobs which result in the perpetuation of some stereotypes and practices that continue to
systematically discriminate against women and impedes efforts to empower them.
Women’s triple roles (productive, reproductive and community managing) in South Africa affect their
participation in the informal economy. The way the roles are valued affects the way women and men set
priorities in their lives including their participation or non-participation in programmes or projects. Not
taking into consideration of these roles can make or break women's chances of taking advantage of
development opportunities. The lack of gender mainstreaming which is evident in South Africa’s
development programmes1 shows that women’s triple roles have not been taken into consideration in the
formulation of projects/programmes. Consequently, women continue to engage in “female traditional
areas” that are not only survivalist but also stereotypical and dictated by socio-cultural norms: food
preparation, sewing, handicrafts, selling groceries and running crèches, and for which remuneration is low
or unpaid family labour. Men on the other hand, will be in the activities that attract skills, such as artisan
work, heavy investment, high income earning and technological based and their businesses have potential
for growth.
This diagnostic report aims to highlight the gender dimensions of informality and pin point the geography
of gender inequality in the informal economy.
5. Policy and Legal environment
The relationship between law, regulations and their impact on informality is a key policy issue. Three types
of legal and institutional frameworks are of importance: labour legislation, business regulations and legal
frameworks which secure rights to property, title assets and financial capital. All these three areas have a
gender dimension which must be taken into consideration because of the gender differential of their
impacts. This is essential for enabling both men and women towards formalization.
Gender sensitive labour legislation, regulation and legal framework are critical to promoting gender
equality between women and men in the informal economy in South Africa. Gender sensitivity entails
undertaking analyses that expose the disparities and systemic inequalities (most often faced by women) and
the different conditions that women and men face, and the different effects that policies and programs may
have on them because of their situations. This is essential because the informal sector serves as a point of
entry to the formal sector, and gender issues that disadvantage women, need to be taken into consideration
1 The Status of Women in the South African Economy:2015
6
and addressed, through specific measures targeting women and gender mainstreaming to facilitate women’s
transition to the formal economy.
Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995)
South Africa has a relatively strong policy basis for the promotion of the rights of vulnerable segments of
the population to access decent work and employment. Formulated within the framework of the
Constitution, the national labour legislation has sought to promote and protect the rights of workers.
Amendments to the labour legislation demonstrates national commitments to eliminate poverty through the
promotion of decent work and employment in accordance with ILO Conventions ratified by the country.
(i)
Amendment of various pieces of labour legislation including the Labour Relations Act, and the Basic
Conditions of Employment Act seek to strengthen protections afforded to workers, particularly those
working in vulnerable sectors of the economy and who are often subject to unacceptable conditions of work.
However, recent amendments to the Labour Relations Act do not make explicit reference to women as a
group that is disproportionately affected by decent work deficits in vulnerable sectors of the economy. A
failure to address the gender dimension is likely to result in non-implementation of employee protective
measures stipulated in the ILO Decent Work Agenda as well as Recommendation 204 which explicitly
advance gender equality, prohibit gender discrimination, advocate maternity and social protection, and
promote protection of workers with family responsibilities discrimination.
(ii)
Small Business Act 71 of 1991
The Act has a Small Business Council with an advisory role to the three spheres of government and no
provisions are made to outline what duties and responsibilities will fall on each sphere. This can be an
opportunity to include responsibilities for gender mainstreaming when drawing up the duties and
responsibilities. This will ensure accountability for gender equality promotion within the Council.
In addition, leaving the interpretation of the powers and performance of such duties to the Council to
determine what is “necessary reasonably for or incidental to the performance of representing and promoting
small business interests”, implies that women and men interests will be equally represented and promoted
whereas the opposite is also possible. Socialization allocates men the role of entrepreneur and the same is
not necessarily applied to women. This suggests that women’s business interests and the barriers they face
risk not being taken into consideration and the result will be inequality of benefits between women and
men. For instance, the gender differences in access to finance for business start-ups, along with the use of
profits from the business if not considered as disadvantages that need to be addressed to level the playing
field, the gender gap between women and men will widen and affect the survival, size and growth of the
enterprise. Thus, women’s interest in this regard will better served through addressing the gendered access
to finance and growth of the business; business skills and also an environment that enables women obtain
“non-labour” resources (e.g. land, property and other assets).
(iii)
White Paper on the National Strategy for the Development and Promotion of Small Business in
South Africa
The White Paper recognizes women-owned enterprises as one of the special target groups to ensure
interventions address women’s empowerment and gender equality. Targeted interventions address women
specific issues, on the other hand interventions that are gender mainstreamed, which is what is missing
National Strategy, entails bringing the perceptions, experience, knowledge and interests of women as well
as men. The lack of gender mainstreaming in the National Strategy suggests the absence of an analysis of
issues and formulation of policy options not informed by a consideration of gender differences and
inequalities. Thus, opportunities seeking to narrow gender gaps and support greater equality between
women and men, are likely to be missed. This implies that gendered constructs, roles and power relations
7
which perpetuate gender discrimination and inequalities in the informal economy will continue to affect
women disproportionately.
Social norms will continue to condition which activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as
appropriate to males and females respectively in the informal economy. This means women in South Africa
will remain in low earning survivalist activities. The lack of a gender perspective can widen the gender gap
that does not recognize women’s unpaid labour in time use, where females in South Africa according to
Time Use Surveys spend nearly six times as much time on average caring for people within households
compared to males. This holds important implications for their labour force participation and requires
special measures targeting women strategic needs to increase their labour force participation through the
provision of state childcare-related services that would give women more options of how they engage in
informal employment i.e. home-based work or not. Another measure is for society to find a more equitable
gender-distribution of unpaid work through changed social norms regarding the distinction between
women’s work and “men’s work in the home. This requires awareness and sensitisation campaigns by all
stakeholders.
(iv)
New Growth Path 2010 (NGP)
The NGP is the basic document that guides the Government’s future policy decisions to place South Africa
on a “healthier development path from now heading towards 2030”. The NDP is the vehicle which will
address poverty, unemployment and inequality. Overall, the NDP is gender blind. This implies that the
NDP has ignored or failed to address the gender dimensions of poverty, unemployment and inequality. In
South Africa, there is abundant evidence of feminization of poverty; unemployment is higher for women
in comparison to men and social norms perpetuate gender discrimination. The plan in its current form is a
missed opportunity to set the pace and guide future policy formulation on the need to address women’s
socio-economic empowerment and gender equality.
The NGP describes women as a vulnerable homogenised group, with no reference to their diversity. This
contrasts with the Constitution that recognizes diversity of people who live in the country. This is important
because women are not homogeneous but diverse and so their needs and solutions should reflect this
diversity. For instance, rural and non-urban females are relatively worse in terms of poverty than their
urban counterparts because they live in areas deprived of infrastructure, they have a greater burden. They
spend more time on household tasks due to lack of infrastructure and related services in their communities.
Most difficulties women face in terms of lack of infrastructure include: energy, transport, water and
sanitation, with the implication that time is inefficiently spent collecting fuel, fetching water, cooking and
walking long distances for resources. This adds to the challenges of promoting the role of women in the
economy whether formal or informal.
Under the section on the informal sector, NGP states it will strengthen and consolidate initiatives to support
small and micro enterprise, with a comprehensive strategy laid out by early 2011. The measures listed will
not address the needs of informal women traders as they are addressing “labour-market policies left by
apartheid, which shaped racially based inequality and exploitation.” South African women suffer the triple
oppression of gender, class and race. Gender is not mentioned in these apartheid labour-market policies
even though apartheid also shaped gender-based inequality and exploitation, and its legacy remains.2
Consequently, to address apartheid’s past policies, government’s focus has been primarily on getting
women into managerial and top positions, ignoring issues of equity for the large numbers of women
employed in lower status occupations. To address women’s needs in the informal economy, improving the
policies and practices of local governments in relation to street traders, is important because women are
2 Make your voice count on Gender and the New Growth Path, Gender Links:2011
8
over-represented. The relationship between the local authorities and the traders is often tense because
traders view the by-laws as being restrictive and punitive against traders. On the other hand, authorities
view traders as a nuisance on the streets who promote lawlessness.
The Plan under Public works employment programmes which are referred to as an essential element of
Government’s employment strategy in the NDP, some of these have prioritised women as beneficiaries
hence providing some form of income relief for women. However, as noted by the Commission of Gender
Equality (note 2012), no measures have been put in place to enable women-headed businesses to enter the
formal economy, such as tendering for municipal services and there is no associated business training or
capacity-building measures associated with these temporary employment programmes. The provision of
such measures if targeted at women can help redress their historical disadvantages.
The NDP also makes no recognition of women’s contribution to the economy through unpaid domestic
work, child care and home-based care for the elderly and persons with disabilities. The lack of recognition
and non-costing of women’s unpaid labour and the absence of measures to enable women participate in
income-earning activities, excludes them from productive activities while they subsidize the care economy
through the provision of “free labour.”
(v)
The Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019
The MTSF sets out actions Government will take and targets to be achieved between 2014 and 2019. It also
provides a framework for the other plans of national, provincial and local government. The framework is
almost completely gender blind. It makes no explicit reference to gender throughout the document though
it is implied in decent work. South Africa has a National Strategic Policy Framework for Women’s
Empowerment and Gender Equality (2000) that guides gender mainstreaming efforts in South Africa’s
legislations, policies and programmes to ensure the effective achievement of other political, social and
economic goals. The absence of gender mainstreaming in the MTSF suggests that women and men will
benefit equally, however, evidence shows that governance and institutions are shaped by patriarchy which
affects the way policies and programmes are designed hence they impact women and men differently with
women being disproportionately impacted.
The strategic framework makes assumptions about the aggregate terms: “black industrialists and
enterprises” households, smallholders, rural enterprises etc. These are gendered terms which societal
norms often associate with the male figures. This implies that women are likely to be “invisible” in these
aggregate terms and their needs and interests may not be considered. Studies show that “people” respond
to issues in gender-specific ways because gender is a major influence on their perceptions or access to
resources, responsibilities and alternatives and that resources are not necessarily distributed equitably
among household members, nor is there equitable decision making about the use of these resources.
Ignoring these factors may result in misleading analyses of issues or inaccurate assessments of likely
policy outcomes.
Some measures targeting women are cited in the framework to address women’s historical disadvantages
in the section on “Expanded opportunities for historically excluded and vulnerable groups, small businesses
and cooperatives”. The government will continue to broaden the base of black economic empowerment, for
example through promoting more employee and community share ownership, with an emphasis on
empowering youth and women. It is important to promote women’s agency so that they influence the
process of changing the patterns of ownership and control. Women must be agents of change and leaders
in the development processes that shape their lives.
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(vi)
The National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIUBUS)
The NIUBUS was launched in 2014 and is the first national policy on the informal sector post- apartheid.
This is currently being implemented through the NIBUS road map. Overall, the NIBUS shows commitment
to gender equality throughout the document. One of the guiding principles informing the process is rights
based programming and protection of the vulnerable, including gender mainstreaming – a developmental
focus on gender. Assumptions informing the process include women, youth & persons with disability who
are disproportionately impacted by the most serious decent work deficits in the informal economy.
NIUBUS’ commitment from the onset of the process, ensures that concern for gender equality is brought
into the ‘mainstream’ of activities rather than dealt with as an ‘add-on’. This approach guarantees that an
assessment has been undertaken of the different implications for women and men in the policy action, given
that there are gender differences and inequalities and it cannot be assumed that women and men will have
equal opportunities for participation or will benefit equally from development inputs. NIBUS gives special
attention to women and other vulnerable groups to ensure that initiatives are not presumed to affect all
people in the same manner, as this could unintentionally increase gender inequality.
NIBUS acknowledges that impact level indicators for the success of implementation include: gender, youth
and issues of addressing HIV/AIDS should be mainstreamed into informal upliftment development and
support programmes and interventions. The inclusion of indicators measuring of gender, youth and HIV /
AIDS will assist in measuring change. This is important because what is to be measured, is more likely to
be prioritized and evidence gathered against indicators, can help to make the case that gender issues should
be taken seriously. Indicators can also be used to: enable better planning; actions to be identified; as well
to hold government accountable for its their commitments to gender equality in the NIBUS.
However, a challenge for NIBUS is sex-disaggregated data, which the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) will need to cooperate with other sectors to ensure that all data is disaggregated on sex, race, class
and other disadvantaging factors.
(vii)
Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises
The EESE (2016) is almost completely gender blind. The EESE refers to gender in two places in the entire
document i.e. when referring to the South African Constitution, and the Gender Inequality index. “Women”
on the other hand, are referred to extensively under the social justice and social inclusion section which
corresponds with societal norms that relegate women to the service sector or feminine sectors. This
gendered divide suggests that there is a separation of the economic and the social issues. Such a separation
has many negative effects on women within the policy arena, with women’s issues often relegated to underresourced and under-prioritised social policy. The seems to suggest that women are not dynamic economic
agents but rather are passive recipients in need of assistance. ILO3 regards separating the economic and the
social as lending itself easily to perceptions that equality is a luxury of higher income economies or even
that equality can be counter-productive because of short term costs.
The EESE emphasizes that the promotion of small and sustainable enterprises is a key strategy for
generating decent and productive employment for women and men, but omits the fact that women’s
entrepreneurship can make a particularly strong contribution to the economy and society. In this regard, it
is important to recognise that because women in South Africa face gender-based and systemic barriers to
starting and growing their businesses and they tend to be overrepresented in micro enterprises, in low
growth sectors, a gender-blind assessment is unlikely to address women’s barriers and their potential will
remain unrealized.
3 Guidelines on Gender in Employment Polices, ILO: 2009
10
Barriers such as: lack of financial literacy and information; access to credit; burden of unpaid work; access,
ownership and control over land, and property reduce women’s employability and constrain their ability to
participate on their own terms, restrict options available to them and limit the likelihood of utilising their
full potential. Though some of these barriers may be addressed through legislation, enforcement remains a
challenge. However, some of these barriers are the manifestation of attitudes, assumptions, norms and
traditions that unfairly impact on women and girls, require mindset change.
The EESE highlights three dimensions of gender inequality: reproductive health, empowerment and labour
market participation. Reproductive health is measured by two indicators: the maternal mortality ratio and
the adolescent birth rate. Empowerment is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by women
and the share of population with at least some secondary education. Labour market is measured by
participation in the labour force. While these dimensions are important, others that are key from a policy
perspective and impact on women’s participation in the economy include: access to credit, land and
property; poverty, and unpaid work4.
6. Geography of Inequality
Gender inequality in South Africa is experienced within multi-dimensional intersection of social positions
such as; age, race, sexuality, wealth, educational, social status, spatial (rural/urban, CBD, township,
informal settlement), migration status, care responsibilities and marital status; power and gendered
assumptions that constitute a geography of inequality. The intersections of social positions with gender,
produce gendered outcomes which result in gender discrimination and inequalities in social, political,
professional and economic life. In the informal economy, the geography of gender inequalities has a major
bearing on: the success of failure of a business; determines product or services individuals engage in; access
to credit, finance, land, property; access to financial literacy; access to technology; access to infrastructure;
and access to information and markets.
(i)
Urban informal economy
Street trading is a survivalist activity that has become an inherent part of the urban informal economy and
it is mainly women that operate as street traders. Women tend to be at the poor end of street trading as
independent traders who rarely employ others so they rely on family members to assist with selling on the
street and in many cases young children sell alongside the mother. Child rights represent a major gender
issue given the disproportionate involvement of young girls in unpaid work. Women street traders endure
harsh physical environments, limited or no infrastructure, no shelter, or access to water and ablution
facilities, no child care facilities, poor sanitation, and a lack of storage facilities, this constitutes a gender
issue. Women have specific needs due to their reproductive and community managing roles.
The urban informal is gendered as evidenced by the goods and services sold. Women sell fresh produce,
clothing, cosmetics and food. This suggests that women keep to businesses that are social norm driven and
considered traditionally to be “female” whose earnings tend to be low. Firms with the largest profits are
male-owned (e.g., tombstone/coffin manufacturing, auto repairs, printing, and machine production), firms
that, not surprisingly, involve the largest investments in technology, workforce size, and industrial estate
locations. These enable men to borrow from commercial banks and remain viable.
Male street venders mostly sell non-food items. Studies show that male street traders though they spend
less time selling on the street, they earn more than their female counterparts who spend more time selling,
resulting in women being unable to grow their businesses and unlikely to accumulate funds to enable them
4 The Status of Women in the South African Economy: 2015
11
acquire assets. In addition, because women have limited skills and start-up capital, produces a situation in
which women in low-income neighbourhoods are forced into similar ventures which drive prices and profits
down. The “discouraged worker effect” which this produces can result in women dropping out of the labour
force altogether5.
(ii)
Rural informal economy
Informal agricultural employment is largely rural-based where women constitute most of the casual, piecerate, seasonal labourers due to lack of opportunities in rural areas where economic activities tend to be low.
South African women living in rural areas face high unemployment rates and limited opportunities to
income-earning activities.
Women’s lack of opportunities in the rural has historical roots of the apartheid era where women were
restricted to Bantustans which were impoverished and undeveloped. Though these areas have seen some
levels of development, challenges remain such as: the lack of: infrastructure such as energy, transport,
communication, water and sanitation, adequate health services, training and education. The inequalities in
service provision to rural areas impacts women disproportionately. This gendered outcome contributes to
women’s lack of equal access to loans and credit for farming, marketing and technology, equal treatment
in land and farming reform and widens the gender gap between female and male time spent on productive
activities.
Socio-cultural norms in rural areas perpetuated by patriarchy increases women’s burden. Unlike their urban
counterparts, women in rural areas spend a large percent of time on collecting firewood, and water, walking
long distance to access health services, as well as undertaking unpaid care work, contributing to an unequal
burden between women and men.
Women in rural areas are dependent on land for survival. Women in South Africa own less than 15% of
land. There is a significant gender gap in land ownership because of women having limited participation in
local and traditional administration structures and the lack of land being allocated to single women.6
Women who practice small farming and small informal enterprises with limited control over resources and
limited decision-making power in households, are the least attractive group for investors as they combine
several risk factors.7
Social protection deficit also tends to be severe for women in rural area because of not only of their low
status jobs and income insecurity, but also because of the greater likelihood of their being exposed to serious
occupational safety and health hazards. note” 8 Women agricultural workers, are among the most vulnerable
and unprotected groups of workers.
(iii)
Metropolitan Areas
Informal workers earning a living in metropolitan areas operate under local economic development policy
zones, which are often criticized for being complex to be understood by the traders. This has a gender
implication because most South African women informal workers are illiterate and have low level skills.
Thus, the by-laws governing informal work, often are not understood and result in tension between traders
and municipalities.
5 The Status of Women in the South African Economy:2015
6 ibid
7 Improving Access to Land and Strengthening Women’s Land Rights, UNECA:2013
8 Statistical Definition of Informal Employment, ILO:2002b
12
Metropolitan traders face other challenges: (i)they often suffer from goods being confiscated. This leaves
traders, especially women, with no money to restock goods for sell thus denying them a source of livelihood,
(ii) authorities with no warning impose fines for trading in specific areas, and (iii) local government services
and infrastructure are not designed to cater for informal workers needs but for those in the formal economy
even though the needs of both formal and informal enterprise, are essentially similar. Both need secure
space, with transparent agreements for access to it and which comes with a known and reliably delivered
set of services such as lighting, water, toilets, garbage removal, security and storage. These decent work
deficits pose additional challenges to women, not only for their activities but also to women’s specific
health needs and reproductive functions.
(iv)
Township informal Economy
Home based work is a major feature of the township informal economy. Most women in South African
townships engage in one form of informal work or another that is located at home or close to home because
of not only their spatial setup but also because it suits their needs i.e. reproductive and community managing
roles. Women can look after their families, take care of children and undertake their domestic chores while
at the same time they engage in their productive work. Home-based workers engage in activities that range
from producing their own goods for sale, (designing and manufacturing clothes, food catering and craftwork), cardboard collecting (collection and selling of waste cardboards)9. An ILO (2000) study cautions
the potential conflicts in the use of dwellings for economic activities, especially given tendencies towards
high levels of overcrowding in slum housing and men’s greater power to determine the allocation of space
(as well as resources) within the home.
A significant number of studies have documented the social constraints on women’s ability to work away
from the home, the costs of travelling to and from work, especially where women who live in peri-urban
communities. In this respect, the availability and value of urban infrastructure such as services, transport
are crucial from a gender perspective. Benefits can accrue to women in home-based enterprises, allowing
them to reconcile paid and unpaid work (e.g. child care, domestic labour), improving their flexibility,
reducing overheads (e.g. saving on rent), and reducing expenditure of time and money on travel to work.
7. Recurrent forms of informal employment
There are several reasons that are advanced that steer women towards a form of informal employment,
which highlight the gendered nature of the informal economy. These are: (i) family responsibilities because
women working in various activities in the informal economy care for their children themselves, where
children can accompany them; (ii) Traditional and cultural views persist that care giving is the responsibility
of the mother to manage privately without the assistance of their extended families or domestic workers;
(iii) The lack of affordable and accessible community services, public or private childcare and family
services and facilities; (iv) The flexible hours work hours that enable women to fulfil household chores; (v)
Activities build on traditional domestic skills and which can be performed at home, while carrying out
domestic duties; lack of skills and training; and (vi) sociocultural norms that determine categories of
activities that female and male.
(i)
Home-based workers
This is the most recurrent form of informal employment in South Africa, though they are the most invisible
informal workers. Women home based workers often identify themselves as “not employed” or as
“housewives” even though women spend long hours a day earning income to support their families. Homebased workers are generally characterized as self-employed or independent workers and women are more
9 Women Street Traders in Urban South Africa: 1995
13
likely to be found in the traditional sectors, for example in the clothing and textile industries, and food
industry. Studies show that very few work as contract employees or piece rate workers so they are assisted
mainly by family members or sometimes recruit assistants. According to Budlender (1995), to a very large
extent this type of work is undertaken “not out of choice”. She also asserts that in South Africa home-based
work is characterized by gender, class and race. It is most prevalent amongst African South African women,
particularly women in low income groups in both rural and urban settings. This type of work is often
described as “survivalist” generating a low income. Women are forced to undertake this type of work
because of the need to survive and provide for their families.
(ii)
Street vending
Street vending is a dominant activity in South Africa. Vendors are an integral part of the urban economy.
Africa. They offer easy access to a wide range of goods and services in public spaces. Women comprise
the majority of vendors. They sell everything from fresh vegetables to prepared foods, clothing and crafts.
Most street vendors provide the main source of income for their households. They source their goods from
formal enterprises thus they maintain strong linkages to the formal economy. The form of employment has
low barriers to entry, limited start-up costs, and flexible hours are some of the factors that draw South
African women to the occupation.
Women face a lot of competition from among themselves or from among the male vendors for space and
access to customers. Though street vending can offer a viable livelihood, earnings are low and risks are
high for many vendors, especially those who sell fresh fruits and vegetables, who tend to be women. Other
challenges faced include, having an insecure place of work, lack of storage, theft or damage to stock. Bylaws governing street trade are sometimes said to be confusing and licenses hard to get, leaving many street
vendors vulnerable to harassment, confiscations and evictions. Gender issues of vending include; lack of
water and sanitation, lack of child care facilities are conditions that affect women disproportionately in this
employment.
(iii)
Retail Trading
The retail sector, is also thriving due to the demand created by the less affluent households, whose
household needs are for simple and affordable products that are supplied by the informal sector. Under this
form of employment are the spaza or tuck shops which operate from a residential stand or home. Survey
findings show that most spaz owners are male in the 25 to 49 age group. This suggests that entry to spaza
businesses are move favourable to males whilst they inhibit females.
Most entrants into the sector are often motivated by the business owners’ choice to start their own firm.
Few business owners join an already existing business, which is evidence of some form of family business.
A survey conducted on Spaza owners (A.A. Ligthelm:2016), found that most owners were unemployed
when they started their own business, never held a first job, experienced long-term unemployment with
non-transferable skills, this entrepreneurship pattern suggests that most entrants have limited business
experience when starting their own business. This type of business shows a sociocultural norm that affects
women’s choice of business when it comes to risk taking. Another issue is that of capital. The research
established that sources of capital are likely to be private savings and loans from family and relatives. This
points to the fact that social and cultural norms determine who is likely to get access to finance or indeed
who has savings to finance their business start-up. It is easier for men to obtain the necessary resources to
start a business. This also collaborates patriarchal practices that allocate men the role of bread winner and
women’s role of care givers and nurturers who should not be in productive labour market.
8. Categories of women workers
14
The intersection of age, marital status and gender in the informal economy point to the fact that gender
differences in informal activities often reflect gender stereotypes and socialization. These determine
gendered occupational paths/routes, access to credit, land and property, access to education and training
opportunities, burden of unpaid work, unemployment and decent work deficits. Age affects people’s
livelihoods and poverty, as well as constraints faced by women in terms of labour force participation at
different stages of the life course.
(i)
Girls 15 – 19 years’ old
In South Africa, adolescent pregnancy is a major challenge even though pregnancy and motherhood do not
always result in girls leaving school. However, it does make it substantially more difficult for young
mothers to further their education. This has important implications for future employability and earning
potential as well as on the likelihood that the mother, and her child, may fall into poverty. In turn, this may
compromise her child’s own chances of success at school.
These young mothers mostly engage in survivalist activities that are home based in perishable foods and
fruits so that while they engage in productive work they can also undertake their care work. However, these
young mothers are often “helpers” selling on behalf of an older relative for no pay. They are contributing
labour to the family business. Male counterparts in this age group are likely to be in school. This reflects a
socio-cultural norm where family commitments exclude girls from school especially in rural areas.
Boys who are out of school tend to be street hawkers of non-food products which normally fetch more
money when sold compared to what the females sell and boys can locate their businesses in areas where
they can easily attract clients since they are not confined by domestic chores or reproductive roles. These
roles disadvantage girls and is reflected across the entire life course, females spend more time in household
production or unpaid work than males, with the gap particularly large within the prime ages for child bearing
and child rearing, which make particular demands on women’s time.
(ii)
Young Women 20 – 35 year-olds
According to data10 on educational attainment by race and sex in 2014, for all individuals aged 20 and
above, most of the South African population has either incomplete or complete secondary education.
However, women are more likely to have no schooling in comparison to men. This constitutes a gender
issue based on the differing pattern of reasons for non-attendance. Girls are susceptible to family pressures
and may be sacrificing their education for others in a way that males perhaps are not required to.
Young women who are economically active in this age group, tend to work in hair salons or are owners of
the business. These women’s businesses are located in various places such as: markets, street, taxi ranks,
shopping centre or at home. Food preparation is also a common trade with young women and they sell at
locations close to their homes while their male counterparts work in areas with the largest investments in
technology, workforce size, and industrial estate locations. Young men are not affected by domestic
responsibilities and restricted mobility which limit women’s ability to participate in higher paying activities
farther from home. This points to a gender segregation of occupations determined by social norms.
(iii)
Female-headed households
Female-headed households, according to the Status of Women in the South Africa Economy, tend to receive
a larger portion of their income from government grants and, to a lesser extent remittance, when compared
with male-headed households. The report attributes the relative reliance of female-headed households on
non-wage income may be due, to the history of wage inequality between the sexes. This can also imply that
10 Status of Women in the South African Economy:2015
15
men more than women are economically active because women are disadvantaged due to various factors
such as gender discrimination and inequalities that limit women’s opportunities.
The report further states that grant income makes up 13.3 percent of all income for men, while that figure
is 48.0 percent for women. This means that almost half of all female income came from social grants in
2008. This is partly due to differences in non-grant income between men and women – the average level of
non-grant income was R5099 for men and only R3466 for women in 2012. This suggests gendered earnings
due to women’s low education levels, high illiteracy, legal barriers that constrain women’s access to
resources to grow their business and gender inequalities entrenched by patriarchy that privileges males over
females. an evaluation of impact of grant receipt at the household level, results showed that grant income
plays a vital role in substituting income in both male and female-headed households. However, female
headed households received a greater proportion of their income from a social income transfer compared
with male-headed households.
(iv)
Women with family responsibilities
Women with family responsibilities for this report, refers to women (60 years and older) receiving child
support grants. In 2008, only 1.1 percent of men received this grant compared to 29.2 percent for women.
This illustrates the role of females as primary care-givers within households – while both women and men
are eligible to receive the child support grant on behalf of their children, it is almost always the women
who are responsible for its receipt. In 2012, 3.2 percent males compared to 34 percent of females who
received the grant.11
However, to supplement incomes, older women in South Africa have formed “Grandmothers’ clubs” in
various parts of the country which do not only engage in art and crafts but they also run crèches, nurseries
and after-school centers where community members pay nominal fees for their children to attend. These
centers also grow vegetables for feeding the children attending the centers and the excess is sold to the
community. Older women are also very active in stokvels, burial societies and women’s clubs. These do
not only act as clubs for socializing but also schemes for lending money to members for various things.
They are also a support system for members where information is shared and exchanged.
However, some of the bead work, pottery and baskets produced by the women are also traded over long
distances, across borders in most cases. Grant Smith (2013) identifies three factors to explain this
phenomenon. First, women’s production activity may simply be more international. Second, immigrant
entrepreneurs have a greater foothold in women owned production firms whose products they can sell back
in their home country; by contrast, immigrant male entrepreneurs have only a modest in township presence,
limited to “zozo” construction (informal shacks) and repairs/refurbishment businesses, Third, the spatial
entrapment of women might be playing an inherent role in overcoming the gendering of space by looking
to outside markets.
9. Women pre-dominant sectors, enterprises and occupations
An analysis of “who does what and when” within South Africa shows that women and girls are responsible
for collecting water and firewood, (rural and peri-urban areas) cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children,
the infirm and the sick, producing food, and marketing any surpluses. They also dedicate a lot of their time
to maintaining social cohesion within the community. All these tasks are low-status activities,
unremunerated and unrecognized and have a gendered positioning on women sectors, enterprises and
occupations in the informal economy.
11 The Status of Women in the South African Economy, 2015
16
(i)
Dominant Sectors
There is gender difference in the type of sectors where women and men engage. Men dominate chemical
and metals related work, auto repairs, construction, generating intermediate products more likely to be sold
across intermediate distances. On the other hand, women- dominated sectors (e.g., fashion, pottery, and
food) are the most locally rooted and trade largely within immediate vicinities. This indicates societal norms
of “women’s” and “men’s” work.
(ii)
Dominant Enterprises
Women enterprises tend to be home based enterprises (child-minding, spazas – retail shops run from the
home, shebeens – liquor-selling outlets run from the home, backyard or garage workshops/repairs,
hairdressers, the showing of videos) and a small number of increasingly formalized ventures located on
fixed business premises (small-scale manufacturers, liquor taverns). This suggests that women’s
reproductive and community managing roles are the main determinants in the type of enterprise and where
it will be located.
(iii)
Dominant Occupations
The top ten occupations of informal sector employment by gender according to the Labour Force Survey
(2009) are as follows:
Male
% of total informal sector employment
Farm-hands and labourers 14.35
Bricklayers and stonemasons 10.34
Street food vendors 8.42
Street non-food vendors 5.81
Motor vehicle mechanics and fitters 4.32
Spaza shop operator 3.85
Car, taxi and van drivers 3.78
Painters and related workers 3.15
Carpenters and joiners 3.05
Construction and maintenance labourers 2.18
Female
% of total informal sector employment %
Street food vendors 30.53
Street non-food vendors 13.48
Spaza shop operator 6.02
Tavern and shebeen operators 5.41
Hairdressers, beauticians and related workers 4.43
Tailors, dressmakers and hatters 3.78
Bricklayers and stonemasons 2.84
Healer and sangoma 2.68
Personal care of children and babies 2.62
Shop salespersons and demonstrators 2.61
It is evident that the occupations are segmented along gender norms on what is considered male or female
work. The type of goods involved in the business shows the gendered earnings where women’s income is
less. Street vending has the least entry barrier which requires little start-up capital, this implies a gender
issue in access to funding that women rely on family members or group based schemes to finance their
business compared to men who are likely to access more funds for business start-ups.
10. Main decent work deficits
Social protection deficit is widely acknowledged to be especially critical for women and men in the informal
economy, not only because of their job and income insecurity, but also because of the greater likelihood of
there being exposed to serious occupational safety and risks, and health hazards, gendered violence and
increased susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. Poor women, and especially homeworkers, domestic workers,
agricultural workers, migrant workers, sex workers and those working in (other) hazardous jobs, are among
“the most vulnerable and unprotected groups of workers with no social security, no maternity protection
for female workers and a lack of work/life balance.
Women world-wide including South Africa, is identified as being especially without voice, as they
generally face greater barriers to participating in organizational processes due to their multiple roles and
responsibilities in the workplace and in the home. Within mixed-sex organizations, functions and positions
tend to be influenced by gender owing to patriarchal structures and systems that promote the glass ceiling
which contributes to women being under-represented in decision-making processes.
17
Owing to South African triple oppression of race, class and gender, women remain concentrated in invisible
areas of informal work, such as domestic labour piece-rate homework, and assistance in small family
enterprises, which offer precarious employment status, low, irregular or no remuneration, little or no access
to social security or protection. They also have limited ability to organize to ensure the enforcement of
international labour standards and human rights.
Women in rural and peri-urban areas also are disproportionally impacted by the deficient infrastructure and
a range of time and space constraints on their productivity. Gendered earning differentials keep women in
low-earning activities compared to men, due to gendered inequalities associated with women’s unpaid
reproductive work. Further, the gendered relations of power and poverty position, affect women and men
in different ways such as: in access to credit, land and property, access to markets, access to training and
skills development, access to information, communication and technology etc.
The lack of support for women’s reproductive roles or caring roles through provision of accessible and
affordable child care facilities hinders them from seeking opportunities far away from home. In addition,
the role women play of child care is not valued and unpaid, this supports the socio-cultural norms that
allocate men the role of bread winner and women the care role.
11. Specific Challenges Facing Women in the Informal Economy
Women in South Africa’s informal economy experience specific challenges and most severe decent work
deficits that affect their productivity and viability of their activities. Women’s engagement in the informal
economy is influenced by socio-cultural norms which determine the success or failure of a women in her
business venture. The socialization of both women and men results in the perpetuation of certain stereotypes
and practices that impact on where women locate their business, the type of business, the service or product,
how they will conduct their business and the discrimination they face based on their sex. Discrimination
against women in South Africa is compounded by the legacy of the apartheid system, which resulted in
triple of oppression for black women in terms of race, gender and class or other disadvantaging factors.
Patriarchal systems in South Africa continue to discriminate against and ensure that women remain
subordinate to their male counterparts. Patriarchy constrains women’s advancement and their opportunities
for growth in the labour market. To change the status quo will entail a process of change in which gender
relations are challenged and women’s agency is strengthened to improve their market participation.
(i)
Legal and regulatory constraints
The South African labour law and policies apply to all workers in the labour market, however, the labour
legislation does not afford adequate protections to vulnerable workers in the informal economy, particularly
those who are not in a clear employment relationship. Women are more likely to be in such unclear
employment relationships especially in home-based work and domestic worker occupation which is in a
private residence, though a minimum wage has been legislated. However, most women are ignorant of
where to get re-dress in the event of violations. Women are also likely to be exposed to abuses because
informal employers do not receive medical aid benefits which women need due to their specific health
needs. Often there is no maternity leave which is required by women pre and post-delivery. The nature
of the employment relationship also subjects women to long working because normally the hours are
not stipulated of when work starts and ends.
The Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa (2013) argues that by-laws promote perceptions that
informal economy workers are illegal and a nuisance. These laws allow city authorities to ‘forcibly remove
any nuisance, obstruction or encroachment on streets or any public place’. This view promotes the
18
criminalisation of both street merchants and cross-border traders. This forces informal economy workers to
find creative ways to address their enforcement challenge, some of which might be dangerous such as using
unmapped routes to smuggle goods. Generally, by-laws recognize and favor the large-scale trade sector,
which is dominated by men as individual traders or corporations. These tend to have adequate infrastructure,
access to water and ablution facilities, proper sanitation, and storage facilities. Whereas, the opposite
applies to women traders who operate on the street.
(ii)
Exclusion from policy processes
Despite South African women’s presence in the informal economy, they are often excluded from policy
processes. Reasons highlighted for exclusion include; lack of experience in business, low levels of
education and high illiteracy. These suggest that policy making is gendered and that women’s status is used
to exclude them. This status that is a consequence of gender inequalities in access to education, business
skills and training, access to information and also women and men’s unequal share of the burden of
domestic chores and child care which impacts women’s involvement in activities outside their traditional
roles that are influenced by socio-cultural factors. Consequently, women’s specific needs are not likely to
be taken into consideration in policy formulation.
(iii) Unfair competition
Women in South Africa face multiple forms of competition including from their male counterparts and
large-scale companies. Street traders often experience stiff competition from big economic players.
Women, because they are less advantaged compared to their male counterparts, suffer the most. The
general low level of education and business illiteracy among women, contributes significantly to women’s
disadvantage. It also means they cannot have the same level of access to finance as their male counterparts
to raise capital for their business from commercial financial institutions to enable them compete with male
counterparts. The requirements for bank credit tend to be cumbersome and women are consequently
marginalised. This is a critical factor that limits opportunities for women to grow their businesses and
exacerbates the inequality between men and women in the informal economy.
(iv)
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment from both government and customs officials, particularly at the borders is rampant for
cross border traders. (Brenton, Gamberoni & Sear, 2013). Due to a lack of clarity on what is expected of
women at the border posts, women traders are taken advantage of sexually by corrupt government officials
in return for facilitating the entry of their goods. A worrying trend is that women often do not talk about
the sexual harassment they suffer, fearing they will be party to their own harassment. Sadly, it is also known
that women traders or vendors entice customs or law enforcement officers sexually to ensure their goods
are given preferential treatment in terms of paying taxes (Brenton et al., 2013).
(v)
Lack of access to credit/finance
Overall financial inclusion in South Africa has improved substantially within the last ten years, however,
barriers to credit for women in the informal economy are still apparent in some considerations such as
business financing. A variety of barriers constrain women’s access to credit and finance. Constraints
include; legal impediments, employment and income limitations, exclusion from policy making, decisions
and influence in the financial and economic decision-making, attitudes towards women, lack of information
and exposure to business and finance environments, and business maturity and financial institution policies.
In rural areas, women are further constrained because of the lack of infrastructure and ownership and control
of productive resources such as land and property.
(vi)
Lack of financial literacy
19
The lack of financial literacy of women compared to that of men is also a barrier that prevents women from
being able to access credit. A survey by the Financial Services Board (2014), South African women scored
significantly lower relative to men in areas of financial control, financial planning, choosing financial
products, and general knowledge and understanding of finance. Women, generally have lower levels of
education and high illiteracy which disproportionately impacts on their financial literacy. This lack of
financial literacy can keep women from being able to know what financial products are available to them
and how to utilize financial products to improve their businesses and economic situation.
(vii)
Lack of ownership and control of land
Land is recognized as a primary source of wealth, social status and power throughout history. Women’s
access to land and property especially in rural areas is central to women’s economic empowerment as land
can serve as basis for food and income generation, collateral for credit, and a means of holding savings for
the future. South Africa’s Constitution and several legislations guarantee security of land tenure; however,
land ownership remains elusive for most women. Studies show that there is a significant gender gap in land
ownership though land ownership for female-headed households is higher than land ownership by nonfemale headed households. This implies that tradition and customs still influence women’s access and
control of land.
(viii)
Other risk factors faced by women workers and economic units
 HIV/AIDS
The vulnerability of women in South Africa to HIV/AIDS, is exacerbated by the marginalisation of the
informal economy and the lack of progress in developing a coordinated multidisciplinary response to the
disease among informal workers. Few interventions which directly address HIV/AIDS have been put in
place in the informal workplace, largely because of its conceptualisation as a health issue.
A study conducted in Durban12 revealed that priority in providing holistic business support, including skills
development and financial services, is skewed towards more profitable enterprises which has excluded most
women traders. This gender bias against women has restricted women's productive capacity and enterprise
development and heightened their economic vulnerability to HIV infection and impact. This is compounded
by a lack of functional, representative organisations to convey the concerns of marginalised female traders
to local government.
An ILO study (2003), observed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has grim implications for workers in this
sector, especially given the inadequacy of social protection systems. The study asserts that the formal
workplace usually provides workers with opportunities for reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS by improving
prevention through practical, sustainable and effective interventions. It is argued that these interventions
result in changes in attitudes and personal behaviour, and that organisations facilitate and support these
changes through initiatives that reach workers through their workplaces and/or work activities. Workers in
the informal economy, however, do not as a rule have these mitigating workplace benefits.
 Violence Against Women
Violence on South African streets and public transport disproportionately affects women in the informal
economy due to: the location of their businesses which expose women to inadequate safety and security,
and cumbersome regulations and lack of knowledge on their rights, leaves women vulnerable to abuse. This
12 HIV/AIDS in the Informal Economy an Analysis of Local Government’s Role in Addressing the Vulnerability of Women Street Traders in
Durban:2004
20
kind of violence may result in women refraining from or curtailing their involvement in such economic,
social and cultural activities.
The report on the Status of Women in South African (2015), states that the empowerment of women cannot
be achieved without the socioeconomic transformation of society to accelerate growth and overcome the
triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The report emphasizes that conditions of
unemployment, poverty and inequality are fertile breeding ground for violence and, violence against
women. Violence is also a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between women and
men. This has led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of
women’s full advancement
12. Causal Analysis of Gender Inequalities in the Informal Economy
After 1994, the principle of gender equality influenced policy and legislation in economic and development
-related areas such as access to employment, land, housing, water, health care and public works programmes
among others. Some progress in the empowerment of women has been achieved in the areas of women’s
participation in politics, women judges and magistrates, and women in senior management positions in the
public service. Women have also emerged as business owners and entrepreneurs. However, an assessment
conducted in 2014, showed that despite South Africa’s progressive legislation, women have not advanced
as rapidly in terms of socio-economic empowerment and gender equality, and they remain the hardest hit
by inequality, poverty and unemployment. This led to the establishment, amongst others, the portfolio of
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women to focus on the promotion of women’s socio-economic
empowerment and the advancement of gender equality.
Women’s full participation in the South African economy is hindered by numerous barriers that reduce
their employability, constrain their ability to participate on their own terms, restrict the options available to
them and limit the likelihood of utilizing their full potential. The labour market (formal and informal) is the
key arena in which most individuals engage with the economy. Women in the informal economy are mostly
found in low skilled, low-paying and jobs that are traditionally considered to be female domains due to
several determinants.
(i)
Gender Discrimination
Central to South Africa’s democracy after 1994 was the commitment to equality, including gender equality.
However, twenty years after the dawn of democracy in South Africa, studies show that severe forms of
discrimination and inequality persist in the advancement of women’s socio-economic empowerment and
the promotion of gender equality.
Discrimination disadvantages women’s in access to finance and credit due to: legal barriers, employment
and income limitations, exclusion from policy and decision making, lack of influence in financial and
economic decision making, societal attitudes towards women, lack of information and exposure to business
and finance environments, lack of financial literacy and financial institution policies. These constraints
suggest gendered access to productive resources.
One clear outcome of the above, is that women lag men in the ability to obtain credit and bank loans. This
barrier prevents poor South Africans in general, and women from improving their respective economic
situations. In 2009, it was estimated that only 2.9 percent of women entrepreneurs received assistance from
a commercial bank (African Development Bank 2009). This has led to a large proportion of adult women
in South Africa to rely heavily on savings circles or stokvels, government grants, and borrowing from
money lenders.
21
Immediate causes
The most immediate cause are the barriers that prevent women from enjoying equal rights to socioeconomic opportunities and improving their respective economic situations. As a result, women do not
have access to credit and finance.
Underlying causes
In South Africa, despite having a progressive constitution and legislation, weak governance and
institutions arise out of the customary laws and practices which are patriarchal and discriminate against
women. The policies adopted and institutions put into place are based on customary norms which greatly
disadvantage women to realize their socio-economic empowerment and gender equality, creating an
economic and social imbalance in power between women and men, an imbalance that favors men.
Patriarchal male dominated culture privileges males and supports women’s subordination and other
factors such as certain cultural norms and practices also perpetuate discrimination against women.
Level of Education
Educational quality and female access to education are still concerns in South Africa. The country inherited
a system that privileged the few and disadvantaged the majority. This resulted in a large pool of unskilled
labour. Within each race group, women have been historically relatively disadvantaged in terms of access
to education.
Since women in South Africa are more likely to have no schooling in comparison to the men, gender
differences in levels of literacy, education, skills, and aspirations further contribute to women’s low status
in the informal economy. According to Statistics South Africa (2014), overall male and female rates of
functional literacy in 2014 are similar, with rates slightly higher for men than women (85.1 percent
compared to 83.0 percent). This gap, though, is not evident amongst young people. Functional literacy
rates are higher amongst young women than young men by a margin of 2.7 percentage point. Females are
at a slight disadvantage in the 40 to 59 years’ age group (78.1 percent compared to 79.9 percent for males.,
but amongst those aged 60 years or more they are at a significant disadvantage (51.2 percent compared to
58.5 percent for males. This indicates that older women who enter the informal economy are more likely
to be in low paying activities compared to young women or older men.
Immediate causes
The most immediate cause for women to have low education and higher illiteracy levels is due to lack of
access to education because of historical disadvantages that stemmed from national discriminatory
policies perpetuated by the apartheid system of Bantu education and the homeland system. The policies
of systematic exclusion of black South Africans from educational opportunities had a disproportionate
impact on women who were relegated to living in rural areas that lacked infrastructure and had poorly
trained teachers. Teachers in townships and rural schools, remain are poorly trained, and the matriculation
pass rate remains unacceptably low. Even though, access to formal education is increasing, the quality of
the education varies greatly, largely due to gender inequality and poverty.
Underlying causes
Social norms and societal practices related to women’s and men’s gender roles are the underlying cause for
females not attending an educational institution. Men are allocated the role of bread winner or head of
household while women’s role is relegated to nurturing. These gender roles also cause girls and not the
boys to leave school, when family commitments demand that they do so. One of the most basic outcomes
of education is literacy. This has important implications for future employability and earnings potential of
women and men.
22
Health status
As the bulk of urban informal sector workers live in poor areas, vulnerability to disease and poor health
result from a combination of undesirable living and working conditions. Evidence shows that low earnings
are one of the strongest correlates with poor health. Even though South Africa has relatively good basic
services, inequality in provision means that many poor workers are likely to live in poorly serviced areas.
The association between job informality and poor health is significantly greater for women than for men in
wage employment in South Africa. This suggests a gendered effect of informality on health.
Gendered power dynamics in the workplace mean that women are also less likely to complain about health
and safety hazards, including any violence that they experience. Women also experience more acutely than
men the “double-burden” of income earning work and taking care of the home. While women from all
social classes experience the double-burden, it is likely that women in forms of employment with few labor
protections suffer the most. Long hours at work may extend the time into the evening and night when they
must look after the needs of their own household. Not having legal work protections means that they may
not be allowed to take leave when a child is sick, which is likely to be an additional source of stress. The
lack of labor protections can mean that they are not able to care for themselves adequately either; for
example, by taking time off work to visit the doctor when they are ill.
Further, in South Africa, almost a third of female wage workers are employed in a private household as
domestic workers. Research has shown, domestic workers often face challenging working conditions,
with higher rates of injury and mental stress than women employed in non-domestic occupations. While
domestic work is formally regulated in South Africa, monitoring and enforcement of policies is difficult
and it is possible that this form of employment takes a considerable toll on the health of women in South
Africa.
Immediate Causes
The immediate cause for poor health among women informal workers is due to inequality of health services
provision in South Africa. Most women workers in the informal economy live in poor areas and
vulnerability to disease and poor health result from a combination of undesirable living and working
conditions.
Underlying causes
Weak governance and institutions disproportionately impact women, who because of gender discrimination
and inequality are more vulnerable compared to the men. Thus, inequalities in health services coupled with
poor living conditions and decent work deficits in the informal economy is likely to contribute to poor health
of poor South African women.
Further, the burden of domestic chores and child care due to societal norms and practices prevent women from
focusing on their own health. Women are expected to look after everyone and their health always comes last
on the priority list because women are socialised to be care givers and not care receivers.
Poverty
Poverty in the informal economy is underpinned by historical inequalities of access to resources, education
and facilities in South Africa which are worsened by gender inequalities between women and men.
Women’s vulnerability to poverty pushes them to those survivalist enterprises which represent a set of
activities undertaken by people unable to secure regular wage employment or access to an economic sector
of their choice. The incomes generated from these enterprises, usually falls short of even a minimum
standard of income, with little capital investment, virtually no skills training and only constrained
opportunities for expansion into a viable business.
23
Studies show sexual division of labour with women concentrated in trade, food preparation, dressmaking
and childcare activities. Underpinning this pattern is women’s lack of access to material resources, including
credit and loan facilities, and the overall context of patriarchy. Studies show the disproportionate number
of women being relegated to the lower end of the informal economy. Although not all women-run
enterprises can be characterized as “survivalist” (some studies indicate instances of successful women
entrepreneurs which suggests that women do can expand their businesses), in general, local research
discloses that more women than men are at the survivalist end of the spectrum. This finding resonates with
the reason why women remain poor even when they engage in the informal economy13.
Immediate causes
The immediate cause for women’s vulnerability to poverty is because of social, economic, cultural and
political factors that result in deprivation of: access to health services, low participation in the economy,
low education levels, low knowledge levels, lack of influence over politics and decision making etc.
Underlying causes
The root cause of women’s poverty is gender discrimination and inequality that is perpetuated by
patriarchal dominated culture that privileges women and subordinates women socially, economically,
culturally and politically. In South Africa, African women suffer triple oppression because of race, gender
and socio-economic status which results in women being over-represented in survivalist activities that are
precarious and hazardous and with no social security and maternity protection.
Further, the socialization of both women and men has resulted in the perpetuation of certain stereotypes
and practices that have a negative impact on gender equality and the socio-economic empowerment of
women. Negative aspects of gender discrimination and inequality include; occupational segregation,
violence against women, sexual harassment, low earning paying jobs and the lack of recognition of
women’s triple roles and the unvalued and unpaid labour of the care economy.
Voice and representation
There is no doubt South Africa has made commendable strides since 1994 to improve the status of women
in terms of voice and representation in all sectors. Notwithstanding the numerous progressive legislation,
women have not advanced as rapidly in terms of socio-economic empowerment and gender equality, in the
informal economy where decent work deficits disproportionately impact women.
Due to the historical and systematic exclusion of women from socio-political and economic affairs, and the
over-representation of women in invisible work in the informal sector, women’s voices and representation
remains a challenge. Thus, policies are unlikely to respond to the realities faced by women working in the
informal economy if these women themselves have not participated in its development. This is particularly
important given that gender dimensions of the informal economy do not receive attention as evidenced by
the lack of gender mainstreaming in South Africa’s economic and development-related policies and
programmes.
Ramani et al., (2013) note that debates on formalisation tend to be top down in nature and less understood
by those working in the informal economy due to the mismatch between the interests of governments and
those whose agenda its intends to assist which does not seem to be congruent with the realities of women
who are part of the sector and it also places more demands on women rather than facilitating their livelihood.
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO, 2014) suggest that, for
13
Urban poverty and the informal economy in South Africa’s economic heartland, Christian M. Rogerson
24
formalisation to be meaningful to people working in the sector, it must meet the amongst others organising
labour rights, voice and bargaining power, and for women formalisation must meet their critical needs for
social protection such as maternity benefits, childcare and the prevention of abuse.
Immediate causes
The immediate cause for the lack of women’s voice and representation is due marginalization and
underrepresentation in decision-making. South Africa’s Constitution offers a framework to address this
historical marginalization and legislation has been influenced by gender equality espoused in the
constitution. Traditional beliefs, perceptions and stereotypes which depict women as being inferior have
tended to militate towards their marginalization.
Underlying causes
The root causes of marginalization of women voices and representation in the informal economy arise out
of the customary laws and practices which are patriarchal and discriminate against women that influence
governance and institutions practices to perpetuate certain stereotypes and norms. In addition, policies
adopted and institutions put into place are based on customary norms which greatly restrict women’s
participation, creating an absence of women’s voice and representation.
Access to credit
Generally, women’s access to finance in South Africa is narrowing the gender gap due to various
government initiatives that are in place. However, in the informal sector, women continue to face
difficulties in accessing credit due to high illiteracy, low levels of education, lack of collateral and low level
income earning activities that impacts negatively on their ability to accumulate assets and equity.
Commercial institutions are gender neutral and therefore are not sensitive to the gender constraints faced
by women who are likely to need star-up capital which are considered high risk. Attitude toward women
also mitigate against women by male decision makers who often consider the realities of women’s lives as
adverse and use the multiple roles women play as a justification for declining business credit. In a situation
of scarce resources, investors will often go with what they know i.e. men.
Women are often not aware of the financial and non-financial support available to them to enhance their
business aspirations due to lack of information and exposure to business and finance environments. Whilst
women and men face difficulties when setting up businesses, the playing field tends to level out when
businesses reach maturity and can provide sufficient evidence to reduce the perception of risks associated
with gender.
Immediate causes
Women in South Africa are disadvantaged in access to credit which has led them to rely heavily on savings
circles or stokvels, government grants and borrowing from money lender.
Underlying causes
Gender discrimination and inequality disproportionately impacts women’s rights to access productive
resources creating an economic and social imbalance in power between women and men, an imbalance that
favors men. Women are subject to laws which discriminate against them in relation to property or land
ownership, succession, and family law, and these laws undermine women’s economic opportunity, welfare
and autonomy. Further traditional norms and values prevent women from leveraging formal financial
options to finance their businesses.
25
13. Conclusion and Recommendations
Recognizing the role women play in the informal economy, both in production and poverty eradication
policies and programs must purposefully engage with women’s strategic needs because economics is about
the power to access, own and control resources (Agenda 1997). Women’s relationship to resources and
their ability to secure resources is at the heart of gender inequality in the informal economy. In this regard,
measures are needed that will not only redress the historical and systemic exclusion of women in South
Africa’s economy but also factors that perpetuate women’s discrimination and inequalities in the informal
economy and prevent women and men from enjoying rights to decent work.
General Recommendations:
(i)
Addressing gender and gender in the informal economy
Assumptions that society makes regarding gender still influence women’s access to the labour market, the
extent of their participation or what sector, enterprise to engaged in. Thus, it is important for policy makers
to address gender by addressing gender stigmatisation and marginalisation in the informal sector;
historically inherited social and religious norms; as well as societal expectations about women that constrain
their economic lives as consumers, workers and producers, must be addressed women’s triple roles and the
burden of domestic labour and childcare. The South African Constitution, Section 9 (2) emphasizes the need
to have a detailed understanding and analysis of the specific, distinct needs and disadvantages of women,
that must be addressed, through the kind of legislative, affirmative or corrective or other measures provided.
This suggests the use of affirmative action principles as one of the many ways to attain gender equality to
redress historical disadvantages (race, social, cultural and religious norms).
If development in South Africa is to have positive impacts on women and men, there is need to ensure that
gender-sensitive initiatives have a chance of transforming social and economic exclusions, including
gendered inequalities, on the ground. For example, anti-poverty programmes which emphasize employment
generation will not be effective unless they concentrate on increasing low-income women’s competencies
and employability, while considering the gendered nature of the care economy as well as gendered power
relations at domestic, community, local, national and international levels. Promoting women’s
entrepreneurship will not succeed unless women’s lack of access to property rights and capital is addressed.
Ensuring low-income women’s access to micro-credit will bear little fruit unless appropriate training is
provided to address functional illiteracy, better infrastructure and social services are developed, and
assistance is provided to ease care burdens.
(ii)
Conducive legal and policy environment
An enabling working environment for South African women and in the informal economy is critical to
facilitate the growth of their businesses and promote their safety and socioeconomic rights. National and
municipal by-laws and regulations should also aim to address the plight of women who are
disproportionately impacted in the informal economy as recognized in the ILO Recommendation 204.
Further, South Africa’s robust gender sensitive constitution provides the basis for all legal and policy
instruments to promote gender equality. However, challenges remain in South Africa to realize the
aspirations of gender equality in the informal economy due to legal and policy inadequacies.
Enforcement of the ILO conventions on gender equality and the application of Recommendation 204 in
South Africa’s laws and policies will go a long way in addressing the legal and regulatory barriers that
perpetuate decent work deficits in the informal economy such as the lack of social protection, access to
credit, land and property. Measures required to address barriers include: promotion of enterprises of all
sizes; opportunities for education and other forms of learning and skills development; policies that address
occupational safety and health; labor inspections; minimum wage policies; and access to justice;
26
progressive application of labour laws and standards, beginning with the most viable enterprises but the
essential requirement should be to ensure compliance with basic human rights concerning freedom of
association, freedom from forced labour and child labour and freedom from discrimination.
(iii)
Increasing productivity of women’s informal economic activities
Not all informal sector activities have growth potential, the sector is highly heterogeneous, with different
segments having different possibilities for expansion, and major part of the sector consists of precarious
activities for survival. strategic choices must be made when defining objectives, actions and instruments in
order to support survival activities whose potential for economic growth is very limited, but on the other
hand, their alleviating effects on poverty are indispensable; to enable a limited number of micro-enterprises
to accumulate capital through substantial productivity gains. Other measures include: targeted support
strategies to improve access to credit, technology, training and marketing in order to strengthen the
productive capacity of micro entrepreneurs, small producers and artisans. strengthening or the creation of
group-based self-reliance schemes at national level; strengthening of national programmes and institutions
to target support services more effectively to the informal sector at the national, provincial and district
levels; and building and strengthening alliances and networks among small producers’ and microentrepreneurs’ organizations at the national, provincial and district levels and national targeted programmes
at the provincial and district levels.
(iv)
Formalisation of the informal sector
It is widely acknowledged that formalisation is one aspect of a comprehensive jobs strategy which is a
longer-term measure of addressing the challenges of the informal economy. A major criticism has been the
top down nature of discussions and the tendency to exclude those working in the informal economy leading
to differences between the interests of governments and those who are supposed to be helped for women
whose harsh realities are disproportionate to that of men. Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing
and Organizing (WIEGO, 2014) suggests that, for formalisation to be meaningful to people working in the
sector, it must meet the following requirements: organising labour rights, voice and bargaining power, legal
identity and standing, economic rights and social and protection rights. For women formalisation must meet
their critical needs for social protection such as maternity benefits, childcare and the prevention of abuse.
(v)
Reduction of decent work deficits for women and for enhancing women’s productivity
Solutions to address women’s challenges in the informal sector must be supported by appropriate legal
instruments and policies informed by women’s voices and needs. Though South Africa has made strides in
women’s participation in decision making in some sectors, women in the informal economy are overrepresented in the low income, hazardous jobs which do not give them voice because of the invisible nature
of their activities which are home-based and under-valued and unpaid for domestic chores, including child
care.
It is imperative that instruments and policies consider women as workers who have the right to decent work
with accompanying benefits. Policymakers must consider new and innovative strategies for women’s
economic empowerment which embrace alternative finance models well-suited with women’s realities,
driven by different values and building on their existing strategies. Economic empowerment strategies
should also entail capacity building and mentorship programmes; finance and business literacy as well as
other soft skills such as confidence building and assertiveness training. Women must be involved in
determining capacity-building needs from the beginning up to the development and implementation of
capacity-building solutions. This will ensure these initiatives are responsive and address the pertinent
matters of concern to women. There is also need for proper shelter and electricity and water supply,
including amenities such as toilets and storage facilities. These are facilities that are easy for the
municipality to supply, as part of proper market facilities.
27
(vi)
Integration of HIV and TB
HIV is not just a medical problem, the respect for the dignity and human rights of everyone vulnerable to
and affected by HIV is an important part of the HIV response. However, stigma, discrimination and gender
inequality continue to undermine efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and
support. ILO Recommendation 200 recognises the role of the workplace as a key entry point for facilitating
access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. It stresses the need for action by employers,
trade and labour unions to promote healthy workplaces. The ILO Recommendation 200 states key points
to be considered in programmes on HIV and AIDS: eliminating stigma and discrimination; protecting
human rights; and facilitating access to HIV prevention; treatment, care and support for workers, their
families and their dependants. Due to the gendered nature of the HIV and TB epidemics, specific measures
need to target South African women in the informal economy who are in the “unseen” sectors. This entails
working with different stakeholders such as faith-based organisations, NGOs, community based
organisations, educational institutions etc. to reach women wherever they can be found.
Women’s Strategic Needs
(i)
Alleviation of the burden of domestic labour and childcare
Unpaid care work is the missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes, especially in the
informal where women are disproportionately impacted. Lifting the constraints on South African women’s
time implies reducing the burden borne by women. Care should not be considered only as a burden and this
central activity for well-being should be redistributed between men and women, as well as between the
family and the State: States’ failures to provide, regulate and fund domestic and care formal services
increase the burden for communities, families and especially women. Thus, increasing public and care
services, is critical for the informal economy women.
(ii)
Improving access to capital for women
Policies should create measures to guarantee access to appropriate financing, including those that will help
women meet collateral requirements. At the same time, finance for women should promote values that are
different from those generally promoted by commercial banks which focus merely on making a profit. For
such models to be successful, it is important to consider the interests of women and work closely with them.
Lessons can be drawn from existing, self-reliant community finance models such as ‘stokvels’, which many
people, particularly women in South Africa, have relied on for years. The intention should not be for
government to take these over but to support and explore how these can be used for business purposes.
(iii)
Promoting women’s agency, voice and representation in policy formulation processes
ILO Recommendation No. 189 on Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (1998) advocates
adequate representation of these enterprises and their workers – including those in the informal economy –
and calls on organizations of employers and workers to extend membership therein. This suggests that
policy can never respond to the realities faced by women working in the informal economy if these women
themselves have not participated in its development. This is particularly important, given the historic and
systematic exclusion of women from socio-political and economic affairs in South Africa. Deliberate
measures need to be put in place aimed at building women’s capacity for policy engagement including
strengthening women’s agency to boost their confidence and guarantee that the voice of women is heard.
(iv)
Providing Social Protection
Extending social security to the informal economy requires innovation because incorporating them in
existing mainstream schemes has not yielded much success where this approach has been tried. Thus,
innovative social security schemes such as group and community-based or micro-insurance schemes aimed
at providing or securing the basic needs of their members, including child care, mutual health funds, death
28
benefit funds, and thrift savings schemes for emergencies, are more sustainable. These micro-insurances
can be extended where none exist.
Maternity protection for women can be established through voluntary contributory schemes. However, to
encourage women to contribute to the scheme will require extensive campaigns, education and mobilization
because the majority of women hardly enough to survive so the benefits of the scheme will need buy-in
from them and its planning and implementation must involve women themselves. In this regard,
stakeholders such as faith-based organizations, community based organisations, NGOs, stokvels and other
groups need to work together to plan and execute the scheme.
The extension of Occupational Safety Health (OSH) services by the public health care system; training
individuals within the target group to identify OSH problems; emphasis on low-cost improvements in
working conditions. Within the community, there are resources and structures that can be used to carry out
promotional, educational and preventive services (public health care centres, NGOs and the informal sector
operators themselves). OSH training must hence be simple and practical. Facilitating dialogue between
local authorities, public health workers, NGOs concerned with health issues, and informal sector units and
workers could help identify and promote priority improvements. Organization among informal sector
workers helps to address problems concerning their working conditions, since they are able to take selfhelp initiatives, and the organization provides a link between the workers and the institutional structure that
provides services.
(v)
Removal of institutionalized forms of discrimination to own land, property or access to credit
and financial services
Gender inequality in access to land and property is substantial due to discriminatory inheritance practices,
unequal access to land markets and gender-biased land reform. South Africa has made some progress in
legislative reform, but implementation is hindered by sociocultural norms and women’s lack of knowledge
of their entitlements. Continued efforts are needed to promote gender sensitive legislation, enforce existing
legislation, make justice systems more accessible and responsive to women, and provide legal aid to women
seeking to claim their rights. Land reform processes, such as land redistribution and resettlement schemes,
can play an important role in addressing inequalities in access to land and property. Use gender-impact
analyses in the development of macro and micro- economic and social policies in order to monitor such
impact and restructure policies in cases where harmful impact occurs.
(vi)
Promoting financial autonomy
In addressing the financial independence of women, Governments and other actors should promote an
active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes so that
before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on women and men, respectively. Other
measures include: facilitating women’s access to and control over capital, credit and other resources,
technology and training; devise mechanisms and take positive action to enable women to gain access to full
and equal participation in the formulation of policies and definition of structures through such bodies as
ministries of finance and trade, national economic commissions, economic research institutes and other key
agencies, as well as through their participation in appropriate international bodies; undertake legislation
and administrative reforms to give women equal rights with men to economic resources, including access
to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, credit, inheritance, natural resources and
appropriate new technology; promote gender-sensitive policies and measures to empower women as equal
partners with men in technical, managerial and entrepreneurial fields.
29
General Recommendations Matrix
Interventions
Government Actions
Private sector Actions
Immediate Term interventions
Addressing
gender in
economy
gender
and
the informal
Mainstream gender in key economic and development-related policies
and informal economy initiatives/programmes
Provision of subsidized public facilities and child care and recognition of
women’s triple roles in planning
Integration of HIV/AIDS and
TB
Conducive legal and policy
environment for a flourishing
informal economy
Gender sensitization sessions through forum such as
Business South Africa (BUSA)
Public private partnership for childcare and other
facilities to ease women’s burden of domestic labour
Facilitate functional literacy training for women
Collaboration on financial literacy training programmes
Provision of business advisory services and information to women
through faith-based organizations, stokvels, societies, and other places
where women can be reached
Support efforts of business advisory services and
information to women
Extension of HIV/AIDS and TB programmes to informal economy
through working with multiple intermediaries such as Treatment Action
Campaign (TAC), stokvels so as to reach women wherever they are
Intermediate Term interventions
Review of legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure gender sensitivity
so that they do not discriminate against micro, small and medium-scale
enterprises owned by women in rural and urban areas;
Work with government on an outreach programme to
cover the informal economy workers through provision
of sensitization materials
Institute preferential public procurement treatment for women through
quotas
Provision of sensitization on legal and regulatory
frameworks using various channels and forums
Development of gender strategies to ensure women
benefit equally from services and products
Development of simple registration procedures and less red tape and work
with other stakeholders to disseminate these
increasing productivity of
women’s informal economic
activities
Provide opportunities for education and other forms of learning on
business skills, marketing, financial literacy etc. through existing groups
such as stokvels, community-based organizations, faith-based
organizations, women’s NGOs and other forums where women can be
reached
Support and facilitate establishment of cooperative enterprises where
appropriate, to support the transition from the informal to the formal
sector, especially in rural areas;
Increase the proportion of women extension workers and other
government personnel who provide technical assistance or administer
economic programmes;
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Support skills development to help grow new
enterprises
Area of Interventions
Reduction of decent work
deficits for women and for
enhancing women’s
productivity
Formalization of the informal
economy
Long term interventions
Government Actions
Facilitate a voluntary contributory scheme to ensure social and
maternity protection
Private Sector Actions
Support schemes to make them affordable
Strengthen or facilitate creation of innovative micro-insurance
schemes at group and community-based levels
support for women entrepreneurs by offering them individual
tax structures and insurance and pension schemes which take
women’s work patterns into account.
Facilitate at provincial and local level provision of business sites,
premises and infrastructure to facilitate compliance with rules and
regulations.
Provision of accessible targeted funds to women, training and
market access incentives to help generate new enterprise growth
and contribute towards formalization of businesses, especially
those of women
investments in regional centers of excellence and business
incubation hubs to foster training and learning processes that
focus on women’s education and professional growth
Women’s Strategic Needs Recommendations
Areas of Interventions
Alleviation of the burden of
domestic labour and childcare
Improving access to capital
for women
Promoting women’s agency,
voice and representation in
policy formulation processes
Government Actions
Immediate Term
Provision of subsidized public facilities and child care centres
Institute gender analysis of relevant policies and programs with
recognition of women’s triple roles in policy formulation and
interventions
Institute affirmative action in land redistribution and reform to
promote gender equality in ownership and control over
productive resources
Collaborate with other stakeholders such as women’s
departments in trade unions, NGOs, community organizations,
faith-based organizations to organize and mobilize women in
different sectors and link them to existing business networks
Promote Women’s leadership training programmes that
include master trainers to roll out training at national,
provincial and local levels through working with existing
service providers to ensure voice and representation in policy
formulation
Providing social protection
Interventions
Promoting financial
autonomy
Private Sector Actions
Public private partnership for childcare and other facilities to ease
women’s burden of domestic labour
Design of women specific products to ensure development, growth
and sustainability of women’s enterprises
Provision of internships and mentorships to develop women’s
skills in leadership
Facilitation of networking forums to share and exchange business
information and opportunities
Increase the participation of women, including women
entrepreneurs, in advisory boards and other forums to enable
women entrepreneurs from all sectors and their organizations to
contribute to the formulation and review of policies and
programmes being developed by economic ministries and banking
institutions;
Facilitate establishment of a voluntary contributory scheme to
ensure maternity protection
Support schemes to make them affordable across the board
Extension of Occupational Safety Health (OSH) services by the
public health care system; training individuals within the target
groups to identify OSH problems; emphasis on low-cost
improvements in working conditions
Collaborate with government to ensure access to OSH services
Intermediate Term
Government Actions
Work with multiple stakeholders to provide financial, training
and market access incentives to help generate new enterprise
growth and to support targeted formalization of businesses,
Private Sector Actions
investments in regional centers of excellence and business
incubation hubs to foster training and learning processes that focus
on women’s education and professional growth
Long Term
Removal of institutionalized
forms of discrimination to
own land, property or access
to credit and financial
services
Institute affirmative action t to promote gender equality in
ownership and control over productive resources
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Designing women specific products to ensure development, growth
and sustainability of women’s enterprises