Abstract
This research study has investigated the extent to which gender mainstreaming legislation and policies have been implemented in South Africa to promote and impact women's empowerment in relation to their representation, participation and influence in municipal government.
The objective of this study was to ascertain the reasons why women are still underrepresented in leadership roles and lag behind in decision-making at the district level of municipal governance. The study, through three indicators, examines the extent of women’s political equality and representation, their position, participation and the extent of their influence – or power – as a result of gender mainstreaming legislation in the CoCT. In this way, the study will address the objective of the study.
The research objectives have investigated why women continue to be underrepresented in positions of leadership and lag behind in decision-making at the district level of municipal governance. The research has given particular attention to the way the municipal councils’ incorporated gender mainstreaming into their decision-making processes, and what impacts there have been, if any.
Over the last 100 years, women in South Africa have been subject to marginalisation and systematic exclusion in many sectors of society. Despite the progressive gains that have been made, women are still underrepresented in municipal government at the ward level and as leaders, falling behind as decision makers. The rationale for this research has given particular attention to understanding the developments pushing municipal government to position itself as an equitable actor for good governance and the way its municipal governance decision-making has fared.
Limited evidence exists to assess the inclusion of women in municipal government in the interceding years. There are gaps in the literature, and these include the lack of a comparative analysis of nationalistic discourses of feminism from a pan-African, postcolonial perspective at the municipal government level. There is also not enough research on the collective efforts of women in the politics of South Africa’s municipal governance trajectory, or in relation to intersecting oppressions on race, class and gender in a contemporary municipal government democratic setting. Given this, feminist theories and intersectionality have been used as theoretical frameworks and for critical evaluation.
This study made use of a qualitative methodology and was primarily desktop-based and used primary and secondary sources. These comprised academic literature, internet sources, such as government websites, strategic frameworks, annual reports, policy documents, applicable legislation and news. In addition, the South African Municipal Government Association (SALGA) reports, gender equality policy documents and reports from the City of Cape Town and Mangaung Metropolitan Municipal were used for this comparative study.
There were no major ethical considerations as the study did not involve human participants or sensitive information. The research conducted adhered to the rules and regulations of the University of Johannesburg, regarding research, the reputation of the institution and individuals discussed.
The findings of the study indicate that there are challenges to gender fairness. First, women are less likely to be employed in comparison to men in the formal economy and also less likely to able to secure work within the wider economy, including in the public sector, specifically at the municipal government level. Second, women do not receive the same or fair remuneration in comparison to their male counterparts. Third, women are not able to progress in their careers once in municipal government structures, into leadership roles that grant women equal access to become decision makers like their male counterparts. This explains the low proportion of women to men in leadership.
The finding of the study also suggests that the number of women in decision-making positions has fallen behind due to organisational structures that reinforce male dominance and marginalise women in municipal government workplace structures. The lack of women’s equal representivity in municipal government structures can be seen to be connected to patriarchy and male bias, which excludes and marginalises women; the institutional culture is stronger than the process of changing this culture. Furthermore, even if women succeed in getting into office, other institutional factors, too, may affect women’s success in office. These factors include patronage politics, patriarchal social norms, and semi-authoritarianism.
To fast track progressive change, the ANC-led government crafted legislative, policies and programmes that were aimed at reversing the racial, economic and social injustices perpetrated against Africans prior to 1994. Gumede (2013) suggests that these policies and programmes were meant to benefit previously disadvantaged black South Africans, women and persons with disabilities in order to dismantle the legacy of the apartheid regime, founded on exclusion and economic injustices.
The ANC-led strategy for economic development favoured international and municipal capital, benefiting other layers such as the ‘African petit bourgeoisie’ and the working classes. This was demonstrated through policy amendments and the implementation of the certain laws that re-affirmed African nationalistic ideology in state transformation. These are the Labour Relations Act; the Employment Equity Act; the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (BBBEE).
BBBEE policies were meant to bridge South Africa’s economic inequality gaps and empower all African people, including women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas. The findings of this study concur that the BBBEE policy has made a parochial impact in regard to women finding employment, earning equal salaries to those of males and also securing equal representation in executive positions alongside their male counterparts.
Further findings suggest that women in South Africa remain confronted with intersectional oppressions, which that can be seen to be connected to historical patriarchal norms and institutional values compromising the policy gain of South Africa’s democratic epoch.
This study proposes that intersectional oppressions in South Africa’s post-apartheid context, requires an examination of intersecting inequalities at the municipal governance decision-making level. While change for women has been structured, it has neither fully transformed the frameworks and legislation that transcend women’s challenges, nor has it successfully addressed the needs of many disadvantaged women.