Abstract
The South African taxi industry has traditionally been male-dominated. As a result, society continues to consider it as an exclusively male profession. However, in an era that has witnessed the accelerated emancipation of women through their recruitment in traditionally male dominated industries; the taxi industry is also witnessing the growth, although slow, of female taxi drivers. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 female taxi drivers and from Rustenburg, and observations it was found that female taxi drivers experience various levels of discrimination and gender inequality in this industry. The study also indicates that women working in male-dominated industries, experience men’s resistance to their presence in the industry. These resistances are experienced through challenges to access and mobility which is also encountered as an unbreakable ‘glass ceiling’ for women; and gender insensitivity in taxi association dynamics. One of the findings of this research is a lack of solidarity among women as they struggle within a male-dominated industry. The report argues that these challenges hamper women’s ability to progress in the industry. In conclusion the report maintains that gender relations in the minibus taxi industry can be understood by grappling with patriarchy entrenched in the industry which is maintained through the established male culture in order to exercise power against women and women’s struggle to transform the working spaces.
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)