Johannesburg - It’s official – there is little discrimination between men and women in Joburg.
There is roughly an equal number of men and women in the city, and while both have almost equally completed matric, women in their teens, twenties and thirties outperform their male counterparts by significant margins in terms of results, and consequently women are more likely to advance through the education system.
These are the findings of a study conducted by Jak Kosef, City of Joburg director of social development.
There is also a higher prevalence of bachelors degrees among younger women compared with their male counterparts – but why this does not translate into a higher share of income cannot be explained.
Women fare well in the workplace as well, with a total of 50.2 percent of the labour force made up of men, compared with 49.8 percent women.
From their early twenties onwards, males have access to a larger share of income in the city, and only at the ages of 60 and above do women equalise their share through pensions.
Females generally head larger households, which are slightly more likely to comprise rented flats than their male-headed households, and less likely to be in shacks or informal settlements. They are also more likely to own properties, while men tend to rent their dwellings.
Females are less likely to have access to the internet at home, but compensate via other means, so that only 1.2 percent fewer female-headed households have access to the internet than male-headed households.
There is also no significant discrepancy in the ownership of material goods.
The City of Joburg has developed a Women Development Strategy to promote women’s interests. It has established six commissions: economic empowerment; safety; health; arts, culture and heritage; housing, access to land and transport; and environmental management infrastructure and services.
According to City of Joburg member of the mayoral committee responsible for health and social development, Nonceba Molwele, much has been achieved in all these areas.
One of the most important steps has been the establishment of 14 woman empowerment zones. These are areas across the city where programmes such as skills development and entrepreneurial programmes have been established.
They include sewing, uniforms, flower-making, food gardening, recycling, upholstery, fashion design, and baking in areas such as Diepsloot, Rabie Ridge, Westbury, Randburg Matholesville, Cosmo City, and Orlando, among others.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
* Safety: High crime and danger spots have been identified; domestic violence, men’s and gender awareness campaigns have been launched.
* Arts and culture: Heritage day projects, exhibitions.
* Health: Pap smear screening, promotion of reproductive health and walking.
* Access to housing, land and transport: Consumer education on allocation of houses, title deeds, application processes.
* Environmental management and infrastructure: Waste management, recycling. - The Star