Let’s mobilize to empower women as agents of change
With women empowerment the rallying cry, the world is changing its stance, albeit reluctantly and slowly.
by Irene Charnley
While we are all enjoying globalization, the technological evolution, digital revolution and the opportunities they bring, the ongoing gender discrimination and inequality, as well as gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), are being debated in order to bring winds of change in this booming world.
The current tsunami of GBVF overwhelms newspapers and newsfeeds everywhere. No day passes without new revelations of atrocities against women and girl children surfacing and charges being leveled against men.
The Covid-19 pandemic’s widespread ramifications have brought the world to its knees with the majority of women in the front-line at higher risk. These women, our sisters, are often single parents, wives, and caregivers to family members.
They continue to carry the burden of care in all spheres of society.
Care International, a non-governmental organization, released a report titled Gender Implications of Covid-19 outbreaks in Development and Humanitarian Settings. In its analysis, it shows that the pandemic could disproportionately affect women and girls in a number of ways, with repercussions on education, food security, nutrition, health, livelihoods, and protection.
“Even after the outbreak is contained, women and girls may continue to suffer from ill-effects for years to come,” it reveals.
On the health front, experts also point out the lack of support for women’s needs in times of crisis.
The increase in domestic violence has been another major factor as mental health professionals, mostly women, across the world report a rise in abuse cases as the battle against the pandemic intensifies.
Indeed, as women health workers bear the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic, the history of International Women’s day is rich in stories of courage, perseverance, resistance, change, inspiration, and celebration.
However, there is still much to be done on diverse and important issues such as economic equality, gender equality, political status, and reproductive justice. Here at home and abroad, there is much to do to ensure women attain their basic human rights.
For me, the big question is, what have been South African women’s overall achievements, particularly since we attained democracy 27 years ago?
For years, women have been making incremental strides in corporate South Africa in pursuit of equity in pay, position, and power in the competitive world of business. At the same time, black women have been making inroads into corporate boardrooms, the true bastion of male dominance and influence.
But much more can be done to get more African women, in particular, appointed to the boards of major corporations and leadership positions across all economic spheres.
This is illustrated by the latest reports by the Business Women’s Association of South Africa (Bwasa), titled: Women in Leadership Census, Price Waters and Cooper’s Executive Directors: Practices and remuneration trends report, or Bain & Company’s Gender (Dis)parity in South Africa.
According to Bwasa, only 20.7% of local directors and 29.4% of executive managers are women, with just 11.8% holding chairperson positions. PwC says that currently, out of all the companies listed on the JSE, a mere 3.31% of their chief executives are female.
Politically, at present, women in South Africa comprise 52% of the population and 54% of the electorate.
Overall, our Rainbow Nation has made notable progress and has arguably one of the most gender-diverse parliaments in the world, ranking number three in Africa after Rwanda and Ethiopia, and tenth globally. However, our country still falls short in achieving gender parity.
At the provincial level, women’s representation increased from 30% to 43% after the 2019 elections. Limpopo province has the largest proportion of women, with 53% of seats in the legislature occupied by women, surpassing the South African Development Community’s parity target.
Additionally, women constitute 43% of the Cabinet and 40% of councilors in local government.
Therefore, the demographics with regard to women’s participation in political processes are impressive by all accounts.
Looking at these statistics, the big challenge is how do we become more effective in inspiring change, not only in numbers but also in delivery?
World-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem says: “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
It is therefore important to support the collective energy in being the winds of change. Steinem is correct.
As an executive for many years across the continent, I have observed that we can work as individuals, members of a group or community or organization to inspire greater meaningful change.
We should not minimize the importance and power of an individual woman, be it a mother, a teacher, or a daughter. However, collectively, as members of groups or organizations, we can inspire greater and more meaningful change by voicing opinions and concerns in numbers.
Whatever avenue we choose, we can make a collective difference. We can inspire and achieve change.
To inspire change and push for gender equality, the International Women’s Forum SA helped launch the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund, to respond to the plight of women and children across all 44 districts of our country, who live in fear, and die every day, due to the GBVF pandemic.
For us, the private sector not only has a stake in the prevention of GBVF, and in the social and economic empowerment of survivors, but also needs to demonstrate responsible corporate citizenship in the fight to achieve gender equality.
Gender equality, after all, is a fundamental human right, and I believe that we can never meet the goal of creating a better tomorrow if we are not all fair to women and girls.
Resourcing this goal is a critical collective action for change.
At the workplace, discrimination, harassment, or abuse against women can take place in many forms — it could be an unwelcome sexual gesture by a co-worker, or it could result in different salary benefits for the same kind of work or position. It could mean facing barriers that affect opportunities for employment or growth, or it could mean access to facilities that are easily available to men, but not to women.
As we play multiple roles such as mother, daughter, sister, wife, and a working professional with remarkable harmony and ease and functioning with a spirit of teamwork, it is important to extend our supporting hands to women, especially those who struggle in this stormy and challenging world.
It takes the institutionalization of the mindset to change the attitudes of a society. The “glass ceiling” is noticeably being cracked now but we are still some distance from smashing it all together.
Gender equality is an extremely necessary corporate obligation, and I urge all businesses and business leaders to educate themselves on this fundamental human right.
Let us pray and work together, men and women, boys and girls, for equality, justice, and empowerment. Working collectively will ensure we achieve true freedom and respect and eradicate all the injustice, atrocities, and vulnerabilities affecting women long after Covid-19.
Let us work together to mobilize our communities, neighborhood, and society in journeying with us to empower women to be agents of change.
Charnley is the president of the International Women’s Forum South Africa, a global organization that facilitated the launch of the GBVF Response Fund.
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