Date: 01/11/2002
Source: Ministry of Housing
Title: Launch of Women for Housing


ADDRESS BY HOUSING MINISTER SANKIE MTHEMBI-MAHANYELE AT THE LAUNCH OF WOMEN FOR HOUSING AT KWA-DUKUZA HOTEL, Johannesburg, 1 November 2002

Programme Director
President Thabo Mbeki
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

The exclusion of women from the mainstream economy was a cause for concern when the democratic government came into power in 1994. Housing and construction were two of the worst sectors from which women were deliberately excluded and there were no immediate plans to address the situation by the previous government. The housing policy that was adopted by the democratic government spelt clearly the need to address the problem of gender in fields of housing and construction in our country.

For eight years we have laboured tirelessly with our partners in the private sector to try and normalise the situation within the sector. Women for Housing was established to be a dedicated entry to the housing and related fields for women of South Africa.

Experience over the past several years has demonstrated the need for an organisation to support and advocate for the empowerment and integration of women into the housing delivery process. Women for Housing was established specifically for this purpose and to facilitate opportunities for women within the housing sector. The aim is to provide women with both the tools and the ongoing support they need to become successful economic participants, decision makers, and housing consumers.

The organisation we are launching today has identified a critical facilitation role for a non-profit organisation and seeks to undertake this role. As a volunteer network it has been influential in increasing the opportunities available to women in the sector, and is currently developing its capacity to play a much wider role.

There is no doubt that the programmes identified by the organisation in the past few years have succeeded, to a large extent, to bring women to the housing industry. The network now extends across the housing and construction professions, housing finance institutions, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and academic institutions. The organisation has managed to gather experience, skills, networks, and the influence to realise the empowerment of women within the field, thus bringing back women back into the mainstream economy.

The advent of a new beginning in South Africa brought about the development of a new national plan for addressing the housing crisis, new programmes to promote entrepreneurship and small business development, and significantly widened the scope of possibilities for women in these areas. Non-profit organisations in South Africa were transforming during this time and new development organisations were forming. Organisations similar to Women for Housing simply did not exist - thus, Women for Housing was established. It is accepted within South Africa and internationally that women must be consciously involved as economic participants, as decision makers, as housing consumers, as housing agents and contractors in order to build sustainable viable settlements. The Government has recognized these roles for women and has committed to pursuing the promotion of women and women owned businesses through its housing policies and programmes.

It is also clear that there are significant opportunities available to women in the sector and that Women for Housing is a necessary tool for both influencing women to enter the housing related professions and to link women with the increasing number of opportunities available in the sector.

We should be proud to be launching an organisation that has blissfully accepted the task of increasing the interaction between women working in different aspects of housing through its network, thereby increasing awareness of the various roles women are playing and the sharing of their experiences. The organisations other task is therefore to provide a common ground from which women advocate for opportunities, share their achievements, and engage in healthy debate.

Women for Housing seeks a high level of diversity in all respects. The Board of Directors, members and constituents are diverse in their socio-economic, educational, racial, religious, and professional backgrounds. The organisation seeks to share amongst its members experiences, skills, and emotional support. It recognizes that each person has something to share and to learn.

In short, Women for Housing is developing the following areas of activity:
Linking women to opportunities, projects and resources;
Facilitating educational opportunities and training for women in the housing sector; Lobbying government and other stakeholders;
Research and advocacy;
Facilitating access to finance for women;
Providing support for career and business development;
Promoting economic development through marketing women with housing related skills.

As we continue with the transformation of our country at all levels, smashing the stereotypes about women as the biologically weaker sex for construction work remains one of our priorities. We have to expose the various misconceptions of women as new entrants in the sector. Apart from the glaring proof of women as successful builders in informal and rural areas, women in the formal construction sector have demonstrated that they can and will excel as builders and owners of companies. They have proven that they are exceptional professionals, exceptional financiers, exceptional managers in the public, private and NGO sectors. Women for Housing organisation is maintaining a database of women contractors and housing practitioners and assisting them to access the 10% identified within the provincial housing budget as an amount set aside to promote the peoples housing process. This quota is directed at women developers and contractors to access as an assurance that allows, for a start, 10% of the subsidies to go to women developers. This Government policy was taken by the Minmec of the 5th March 2001, although provinces such as Mpumalanga had already exceeded the quota at the time. Mpumalanga had already allocated 19% at the time while Free State and Limpopo provinces were also following closer.

Women have managed to get a fair share of the R19,9 billion that we have invested in the construction of 1,4 million houses in the low-income sector. Our records also show that more than 52% of the 400 000 old municipal houses that we have transferred to the people who have been renting them for many years, have been transferred to female-headed households.

Furthermore, we continue to produce women developers with great construction and administration skills through the peoples housing process. Women have constructed more than 90% of the 23 000 houses delivered through the peoples housing process. The peoples housing process has also influenced the mushrooming of small and medium enterprises related to housing delivery. These are mostly owned and run by women.

But I want to add that the role of Women for Housing as an organisation goes beyond the mere assistance it offers to the women. We have identified the need for the organisation to help us identify women in the various fields of housing and construction and establish a database that will help us with the more accurate information about gender issues in our sector. Women for Housing should come up with this information so that we are able to monitor the women empowerment programme for housing.

I thank you.