“Celebrating 60th Anniversary of the Women’s Charter and 20 Years of Freedom: Together Moving a non-racial, non-sexist South Africa Forward!”

Honourable Chairperson,
Ministers,
Deputy Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,

It was the English modernist writer, Virginia Woolf who said that “for most of history Anonymous was a woman,” however, she has achieved much not for praise but to better the world.

As we gather in this house today to reflect on the 60th Anniversary of the Women’s Charter and 20 Years of Freedom: Together moving a non-racial, non-sexist South Africa Forward, we remain, not only mindful, but forever indebted for the great sacrifices our fore-mothers have had to make to ensure that future generations live in a non-racial and non-sexist country where citizens enjoy equal access and participation in the economy.

The heroic exploits – which are often relegated to the footnotes of history – of these women, and many others who joined forces and marched to the union building on the 9th August 1956 turning the course of history must continue to be told and celebrated.

The struggles that the women marchers of 1956 embarked on is in many ways still relevant today. Those women were not only fighting for political emancipation but economic empowerment, equal representation, access to justice, land rights and others, as articulated in the Women’s Charter of 1954 and reiterated in the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality.

The 1954 Women’s Charter called for the enfranchisement of men and women of all races, the right to vote and be elected to all state bodies; the right to full opportunities for employment with equal pay and possibilities of promotion in all spheres of work; equal pay for equal work; equal rights in relation to property, land rights, marriage and children; and the removal of all laws and customs that denied women such equality among others.

It further demanded paid maternity leave for women, childcare for working mothers, and free and compulsory education for all South African children. The demands in the Women’s Charter were ultimately incorporated into the “Freedom Charter”[1] and used by the Women’s Coalition to lobby their inclusion in the Interim Constitution of 1993.

As we meet today it is important for us to reflect on where we come from, where we are today and the future that we desire to improve the lives of women in South Africa.

A brief synopsis of the past laws demonstrates how the law in its various forms had a significant role in the prejudice against women which is the result of the current challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. For example, the Black Administration Act no 38 of 1927, which regulated most personal aspects of life for black people had a section which deemed black women married under customary law to have the same legal status as a minor under civil law.

This placed black women married under customary law under the tutelage of their husbands.

For many years the consequence of this provision was to deny black women married under customary law contractual rights, direct property ownership rights and the right to inherit from their husbands and other family members. The denial of inheritance rights to black women was further consolidated by section 23 of the Black Administration Act read with Regulation R 2000.

It provided that the estate of a black man must devolve in terms of black custom while regulation R2 000 outlined the male family tree in terms of which such estate had to devolve, the primogeniture rule (the rule that the eldest male son or a male relative inherits at the exclusion of the wife and female children) which has been held to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in the Bhe decision. We come from an era where domestic violence was legalised, whereby a man had the right to chastise his wife under common law.

Bantu education further entrenched the race, gender and class inequalities whereby it encouraged the girl child to pursue home economics and not the maths, science and technology field and thereby excluding them from sectors such as finance, mining and technical fields. Furthermore there was a tendency of discouraging the girl child from going to schools because they were going to be married off. In addition to that, the girl child is often affected by issues of menstrual dignity, teenage pregnancy and early marriage. These are historical impediments that result in the continued disadvantages for women which hinder the progress of the progressive legislation that this democratic government has developed.

The emancipation of women therefore still remains a cardinal goal and an anchor for a free democratic and prosperous South Africa. Given the legacy of women’s oppression generally and specifically African women, our bias is towards the working class and rural women.

Two decades on, there is a marked increase in the representation of women in parliament and government, as well as in the private sector because of the unprecedented body of laws that this ANC government has introduced.

As we speak today women judges constitute about 30% of all the judges. There is even a woman Judge President and a woman Deputy Judge President. Two of the Constitutional Court judges, the highest Court in the land. In the magistracy women constitute about 41% of the total magistracy. Women are also represented in the Judicial Service Commission and the Magistrates Commission.

South African women are not only holding leadership positions in national structures, but also in the international fora. Women are also making inroads into business leadership and heading up global giants such as the head of the ABSA bank some even own conglomerates.

However, the same cannot be said for the private sector which lags behind. Business Women South Africa census report indicates that women make up 52% of the South African population in 2012 but they account for just 3.6% of CEO positions, 5.5% of chairperson positions, 17.1% of directorships and 21.4% of executive management positions.

Comparatively women account for less than 9% of executive management and director positions in Australia. In Canada, women account for 17.7% of executive management positions and 14.5% of director positions, while in the US, women account for 14.1% of executive manager positions and 16.1% of director positions. This demonstrates that women’s active participation in the economy continues to be a challenge globally. Hence for us it is important that we emphasise monitoring and evaluation to ensure that we identify the gaps, address the inhibitors and also influence policy directives.

The South African Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2011 indicates that South Africa has reached the target in terms of the registration of girls at school, the question is whether or not the girl child completes grade 12, and if she does, does she complete tertiary? When completing tertiary, where does she end up? It is important that we track the progress of a girl child from high school to tertiary and the industry to monitor why young girls are not represented in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields.

Thanks to the inclusive policies of the ANC-led government the girl child is not excluded from the school system as a result of pregnancy.

Education, therefore, remains a major catalyst for human development. It is important that the girl child has access to lifelong learning, as well as education and training, which will, in turn, contribute towards improving the quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic South Africa.

This allows the continuation of efforts to ensure that the girl child participates in the government economic empowerment such as Operation Phakisa, Ocean Economy and the National Infrastructure Plan economy.

Recently on the 8th of August we celebrated young women in aviation and the navy. Minister Naledi Pandor also honoured women achievers in science and technology. We must applaud the strides made by the young women in this regard. These are fruits of democracy and shows that nothing is impossible for women if they are given an opportunity. We have to ensure that more young women are skilled in the areas which were previously male dominated, especially in areas such as the aqua marine and shipping industry to demystify the ocean economy for women.

In demystifying we also have to address the unwritten conventions which dominate the work place whereby the young female are subjected to the unwritten law which may challenge their reproductive rights because going on maternity leave and assuming child care responsibilities may be career limiting. These are the unwritten laws that manifest in practice which affect women only.

If women constitute 52% of the population, then the 50/50 policy is relevant as it will allow for an environment where equality is a reality.

A Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) study findings show that public procurement constitutes 10-15% of Gross domestic product (GDP) in developed countries and up to 20% in developing countries. In South Africa it is estimated that around 38% of businesses are owned by women[3], and that the country has made use of preferential procurement policies to create greater opportunities for women to promote their access and visibility in public procurement spending. However, women-owned businesses still face various barriers in accessing government procurement and supply chains.

Recently Stats SA released the outcomes of a 2013 survey of employers and self-employed (SESE) which reported that women constitute 44.6% percent of individuals running small business and these are individuals that do not benefit from procurement services.

This is an economic area that we must still penetrate given that affirmative procurement can serve as an important policy instrument for advancing marginalised groups, such as women-owned businesses.

A study by Business Women’s Association of South Africa confirms that women-owned businesses are still underrepresented in public procurement when compared to their male counterparts, and are unlikely to account for more than 25% of procurement spend[4] in the country. Further the study indicated that over the 2011/12 financial year women-owned businesses were recipients of R16.56 billion in government procurement spending out of a total of R183.3 billion in the research sample (which represents only 30% of total procurement spend in that year), thus accounting for only 9% of the total procurement spend in the sample studied.

The sampling again shows the need to further interrogate and  find out exactly where and how and who are the women beneficiaries.

The purpose of small business and cooperatives should be to ensure that women grow bigger. In order for this to happen an enabling environment should be created through amongst others vigorous skilling, mentoring and access to finance from the Development Funds.

We welcome the establishment of the Small Business Development Ministry led by Minister Lindiwe Zulu as this will serve as a critical cornerstone to allow women to grow into the mainstream economy.

Government has introduced a number of programmes which have a potential for women’s economic participation in the entire value chain.

Some of the programmes include:
The National Infrastructure Plan intends to transform our economic landscape while simultaneously creating significant numbers of new jobs, and to strengthen the delivery of basic services. The plan also supports the integration of African economies.

It will transform the economy, directing national growth and driving job creation by implementing a long-term, government-led infrastructure investment programme. In the process, it will leverage the investment and participation of business, labour and civil society. The total budget for these projects adds up to R3.2 trillion. Over the medium-term expenditure framework period ahead, which ends on 31 March 2015, infrastructure projects totaling R845 billion will be implemented. These investments will improve access by South Africans to healthcare facilities, schools, water, sanitation, housing and electrification. On the other hand, investment in the construction of ports, roads, railway systems, electricity plants, hospitals, schools and dams will contribute to faster economic growth.

The Department of Women will play an instrumental role in ensuring the integration women and girl children in the National Infrastructure Plan, by ensuring that the skills development programme of the country skills and re-skills women and girl children. The department will also engage in public education programmes to facilitate the participation and empowerment of women.

Another programme is Operation Phakisa, the ocean economy, which has been identified by the National Development Plan as one of the key drivers to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality in South Africa by 2030, it involves a number of key areas such as aquaculture, marine transport, offshore oil and gas exploration are crucial in growing the economy, providing much-needed jobs and improving prosperity while ensuring environmental sustainability and integrity, and plans to explore parts of the ocean to find economic potential that could contribute to the country's gross domestic product.

The marine transport and manufacturing activities include coastal shipping, trans-shipment, boat building, repair and refurbishment; offshore oil and gas exploration; aquaculture; and marine protection services and ocean governance. Aquaculture is the farming of fish, crustaceans and aquatic plants. It involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions. This programme will contribute up to R177 billion to the GDP.

The Department of Women will engage in public education to demystify the ocean economy and attract women and girl children. The Aquaculture will be happening in dams closer to communities and thus it is important to ensure that women as part of communities are developed to take advantage of this opportunity. We will develop a measuring stick to measure whether women benefit from the ocean economy.

South Africa will also utilise its location and expertise to increase its share of the global marine manufacturing market, including ship-building and repair, rig repair and refurbishment or boat-building, over 180 delegates from national government departments, provincial departments, civil society, the private sector, labour and academia are participating in the oceans component of Operation Phakisa. The role of my department will be to monitor the representation of women in the delegation mentioned above.

As we speak today we have the Human Resource Development Council South Africa (HRDCSA) The HRDCSA is a multi-stakeholder body that creates an enabling, coordinated and integrated environment to focus on improving the human resource development base and skills of the South African people in order to increase competition and the spread of global production systems, and the need to attain equity and reduce poverty and inequality. This programme is critical for addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

My department will ensure the mainstreaming of gender in this programme which is critical for women to benefit equally from skills development and defining what skills are required for what. For example, Accounting South Africa Journal reported that skills shortage in South Africa’s financial sector has reached critical level, with industries like the accounting sector being among those hardest hit. This is despite the Council of Higher Education having reported that more female students graduating in accounting.

The Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women is strategically located to focus on the socio-economic transformation of women. As SA celebrates twenty years of democracy and sixty years since the pronouncement of the Women’s Charter there has been marked progress in improving the lives of women in South Africa. However, there has also been an increase in the rates of inequality, unemployment and poverty. Following the 2014 general election, the fifth since 1994 the ruling party in government took the bold step to place radical economic transformation as a priority in the fifth administration and established the Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women.

It was not by mistake when President Jacob Zuma located the Department of Women in the Presidency,  that in itself signifies the fact that it is established as a game changer with a strategic imperative of transforming the socio-economic status of women and accelerating gender equality.

Accordingly the programme structure of the department should be designed to achieve that strategic objective for which it was established.

In conclusion, I ask you this august audience sitting in this joint sitting parliament, whether it is correct to benchmark women against men. Why are we not benchmarking women against the best and not men, because men are not an equivalent of the best as Martha Minor once quipped “women wanting to be equal with men lack ambition.”

I thank you.