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Assessing gender gaps in employment and earnings in Africa: The case of Eswatini

Gender effect on eating habits of Nigerian school children

Gender, Conflict and Peace-Building in Africa : A Comparative Historical Review of Zulu and Igbo Women in Crisis Management

  • Authors: Ani, Kelechi Johnmary , Uwizeyimana, Dominique Emmanuel
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Gender , Women , Peace
  • Language: English
  • Type: Journal article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/495258 , uj:44959 , Citation: Ani, K.J & Uwizeyimana, D.E., 2021. Gender, Conflict and Peace-Building in Africa : A Comparative Historical Review of Zulu and Igbo Women in Crisis Management. , ISSN: 1929-4409/21
  • Description: Abstract: The male gender has often dominated the quest for societal security. Analysis and studies on security management and peace-building tend to advance the role of the male folk more than their female counterparts. This study traced the role of historic Zulu women in societal security management and compared it to the Aba Women's War that is popularly referred to as the Aba women riot. The study used the African developmental feminism theory to anchor its analysis. It maintained that these women rose at critical times to challenge the forces that planted insecurity in their societies. It found that they engaged in both strategic and reactive peace-building. The study also reveals the similarities and differences in Zulu and Igbo women intervention in conflict and security management. Finally, the researchers recommended considering the widespread nature of insecurity in many remote parts of Africa that have consistently led to the death of women and children. There should be a re-awakening of female security regiments in many African societies, and they should be trained to secure their lives and properties through community policing efforts.
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Gender, Conflict and Peace-Building in Africa: A Comparative Historical Review of Zulu and Igbo Women in Crisis Management

Girl-child streetism and possible interventions in the Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Authors: Olanirian, Sunday Olawale , Perumal, Juliet
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Gender , Streetism , Girl children
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/483834 , uj:43924 , Citation: Olanirian, S.O. & Perumal, J. 2021. Girl-child streetism and possible interventions in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Streetism is a growing problem worldwide and Africa is one of the continents of the world with the highest population of street children. United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) refers to street children as children for whom the street, more than their family, becomes their real home. The recent statistics released by the UNICEF revealed that States in the North-east and North-west regions of Nigeria have female primary net attendance rates of 47.7 percent and 47.3 percent, which shows that more than half of the girls in those parts of the country are not in school. This paper examined streetism from the gender perspective, with a view to drawing the attention of the government, civil societies, and other stakeholders towards responding to the menace of steet girls. This study was carried out by conducting document analysis and careful study of various secondary data sources obtained online. Google scholar, Scopus and African Journals Online (AJOL) were used to retrieve journal articles, news items and other electronic materials written on the complexities of streetism as it affects girl children in the Sub-Saharan Africa. High vulnerability to violence, rape, sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage pregnancy are the major problems found in the literature to be of peculiarity to street girls. Special programmes such as street education and literacy, as well as vocational skills acquisition programmes for street children were suggested as possible interventions to respond to the menace of streetism in the SSA.
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Assessing gender equality in the South African Public Service

  • Authors: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S.
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Gender equality , Recruitment
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/453151 , uj:39997 , Citation: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S. 2020. Assessing gender equality in the South African Public Service.
  • Description: Abstract: Gender equality is a fundamental requirement for a progressive 21st century society and economy; yet, South Africa still grapples with challenges affecting the attainment of equality across genders, 25 years after our first Freedom Day. It should be noted, however, that this contemporary era has seen robust approaches taken to uplift previously disadvantaged persons, such as women, in employment and other spectrums of life. Modern day South Africa was borne out of historical inequalities that were based in racially-biased policies and practices. Coupled with ancient beliefs that have left a residue of patriarchal opinions on gender equality, the pre-1994 era has caused South Africa to face imbalances that need redressing. Historical factors have also placed South Africa at loggerheads with global developments related to male-domination of workplaces and societies, something that requires urgent intervention in South Africa. In this article, gender equality in the South African public services sector is analysed through the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). As the custodian of public service polices, the DPSA has adopted and implemented the Strategic Framework on Gender Equality within the Public Service as its gender equality compass and barometer. This article analyses gender equality informed by the tenets of the said Framework as a conduit for building and sustaining a non-racial, non-sexist, and equal modern South Africa. The recommendations of the article include an intensified and fully-fledge public service practice pertaining to gender equality, as well as improved upward mobility for women in top management positions. Such improvement includes mobility resulting from recruitment and promotion augmented by normal processes such as political appointments.
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Gender differences in the relationship between innovation and its antecedents

  • Authors: Steyn, Renier , De Bruin, Gideon
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Innovation , Psychometrics
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/456662 , uj:40463 , Citation: Steyn, R., & De Bruin, G. (2020). Gender differences in the relationship between innovation and its antecedents. South African Journal of Business Management, 51(1), a1675. https://doi.org/ 10.4102/sajbm.v51i1.1675 , ISSN: (Online) 2078-5976
  • Description: Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this study was to go beyond measurement invariance and assess whether innovation and its antecedents relate to each other in the same way for men as for women when using measurement invariant instruments. Design/methodology/approach: The sample represents 52 South African organisations, with 60 employees from each, amounting to 3143 respondents, of which 56.4% were men and 43.6% women. Four instruments, of which the measurement invariance across gender has been determined, were included in the study. The relationship between innovation and its antecedents was assessed by performing both correlation and regression analyses for men and women separately, and comparing the findings. Thereafter, gender was introduced as moderator between innovation and its antecedents. Findings/results: The results reveal that the relationships between innovation and its antecedents do not differ practically across gender, nor does gender moderate the relationship between these variables. Practical implications: Although gender and gender diversity are often associated with innovation, this research reveals that gender does not alter the way the antecedents to innovation influence innovation at an individual level. Originality/value: Through applying quantitative and sophisticated methodologies this research contributes to an evidence-based debate on gender in the workplace.
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Gender dynamics in the choice of pre-service teacher training via an open and distance learning mode

  • Authors: Olaniran, S. O. , Perumal, J.
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Pre-service teacher training , Open and distance learning
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/455397 , uj:40305 , Citation: Olaniran, S.O. & Perumal, J. 2020.
  • Description: Abstract: Open and Distance Learning (ODL) based pre-service teacher training is gaining prominence in Africa but little is known about the gender perspective to the choice of ODL programme. While there is broad consensus about the need to train new teachers through ODL because of the shortage of qualified teachers, there is a dearth of research about the complexities of being a female pre-service teacher in an ODL programme. This study employed survey research design to examine how gender influences the choice of ODL based pre-service teacher training. Three hundred and sixty-two (362) female pre-service teachers in a South African based ODL institution responded to the anonymous web-based instrument which was designed on Google form and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that female students are motivated to enrol in an ODL pre-service teacher training because of factors such as flexibility of studies, family demands, and work-study opportunity- that accrue from such a programme. However, the study found that a significant number of the female pre-service teachers are struggling to utilize e-learning technologies. The study, therefore, recommends special training programmes for female students with a significant part of such training facilitated by female education specialists and technologists.
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Gender equality in the sport sector : the case of selected Southern African countries

  • Authors: Vyas-Doorgapersad, Shikha
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Gender equality , Women in development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/424788 , uj:36343 , Vyas-Doorgapersad, S.: Gender equality in the sport sector : the case of selected Southern African countries.
  • Description: Abstract: Africa is a patriarchal society where men dominate those sectors that are considered masculine. Sport is traditionally considered a masculine activity, hence it still creates gender segregation; side-lining women from participating in sport activities and being represented in sport management structures. The aim of this article is to explore the status of gender equality in the sport sector in the Southern African context. The following 10 countries constitute African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Following a multidisciplinary research perspective, the author conducted a literature survey, document analysis, and desktop review of the challenges and realities of gender equality in the sport sector covering selected AUSC Region 5 countries in Southern Africa. Utilising a qualitative research approach, this article explores the need for gender equality in the sport sector. The findings confirm that although there is a gender-biased approach in the sport sector that can lead to social and economic development of society, it can be a platform to empower girls and women; however, a stereotypical mentality, socioeconomic barriers, and cultural norms still restrict female participation and representation in sport-related activities and processes. This article discusses these challenges and offers solutions for improvement. The article discusses that there are transformative changes in the world that force social inclusion of women in all aspects of life, including sports. These transformative changes require governments and sports organisations to reform their policies to make them more gender inclusive. This is an aspect of ongoing debates in country-specific contexts.
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Intersections of Queer Art and African Indigenous Culture: The Case of Inxeba (The Wound)

  • Authors: Pauwels, Matthias
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Marginality , Queer art
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/447168 , uj:39185 , Citation: Matthias P. 2020. Intersections of Queer Art and African Indigenous Culture: The Case of Inxeba (The Wound).
  • Description: Abstract: This article assesses some recurrent criticisms, based on respect for traditional culture, levelled at art works that thematise non-heteronormative gender positionalities in South Africa. More specifically, it reconsiders the stormy, local reception of the South African movie Inxeba (The Wound), a queer love story set in the context of the male initiation rites of the Xhosa community. The article focuses on criticisms of the movie based on the alleged misrepresentation and misappropriation of indigenous cultural practices. It aims to reflect on the complicated knot of problematics that queer artists and activists have to navigate in South Africa, including entrenched heteronormative traditions, but also multiculturality and racial privilege. New ways of negotiating these problematics are proposed through the development of a more complex topographical account of the intersections of multiple forms of marginality, as well as through the application of multiculturalist theories regarding ways to assist oppressed minorities in traditional cultures.
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Renegotiating gender identities and sexual bodies : Zimbabwean migrant women’s narratives of everyday life in South Africa

  • Authors: Batisai, K. , Manjowo, L.
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Sexuality , Migration
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/462571 , uj:41251 , Citation: Batisai, K. & Manjowo, L. 2020. Renegotiating gender identities and sexual bodies: Zimbabwean migrant women’s narratives of everyday life in South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: A wide range of literature reveals that women in many African societies have historically been faced with the challenge of patriarchy and lack of freedom in their households – a challenge also mirrored in institutions like education, the economy, law and politics. This gendered position produces gendered inequalities which lead women to experience poverty more severely than men. Feminisation of poverty has over the years resulted in the feminisation of migration which implies the change in women’s migratory identities and roles, where women are increasingly migrating as independent migrants rather than to rejoin male family members. Often, women migrate due to a desire for greater autonomy and a decrease in social restrictions on their productive and reproductive bodies. They also migrate to enhance economic opportunities and seek new survival strategies in their endeavour to cater for their family needs and those that pertain to their being. It is against this backdrop that this article explores the experiences of migrant women and the strategies they employ as they, against all odds, renegotiate and reconstitute their gendered identities and sexual bodies in order to survive the complex realities of living in a ‘foreign’ space. The article focuses on 15 Zimbabwean migrant women’s experiences of feminised poverty that pushed them out of the boundaries of their homeland; and the sexual and gendered livelihoods that emerged as part of their survival strategies in South Africa. As the article engages with Zimbabwean migrant women’s experiences prior to and after moving to South Africa, it is at work to illuminate how sexuality and migration shape and reshape one another...
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Revisiting gender and housing : housing as seen through the eyes of women in social rental housing in Gauteng, South Africa

  • Authors: Sobantu, Mziwandile
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Gender , Housing , Housing delivery
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/430482 , uj:37108 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.15270/52-2-790 , Citation: Sobantu, M. 2020. Revisiting gender and housing : housing as seen through the eyes of women in social rental housing in Gauteng, South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Across time and place housing has played a central role in building families and communities as well as shaping the social and economic fabric of society. Hohmann (2013) posits that because of their role in the social and economic development of societies, professions such as social work, law and engineering are increasingly attracting interest in housing discourse and practice. In South Africa the African National Congress-led government has made huge strides in providing mass housing since 1994. However, many criticisms have been directed against the way in which it has been implementing the individual housing subsidy programme, popularly known as the RDP, which was later replaced by the Breaking New Ground (BNG) in 2004 (Noyoo & Sobantu, 2019; Sobantu, Zulu & Maphosa, 2019). Since the BNG was implemented, not much perceptible progress has not been realised in terms of improved housing access for women and other vulnerable populations (Pithouse, 2009; Noyoo & Sobantu, 2019; Sobantu, 2019; Sobantu et al., 2019). Among other criticisms, Fish (2003:405) points out that the RDP housing programme was “not appropriately geared to address the needs of female-headed households…[and] ignores the demographic data that 20-45 per cent of households in informal settlements are women.” Gender blindness in providing social welfare services such as housing assumes that men and women have equal opportunities to access housing and that they also experience housing or lack of it in a similar way. This paper examines the meaning and the importance of housing from the empirical perspectives of women who are beneficiaries of social rental housing in South Africa.
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The implementation of gender equality within the South African Public Service (1994–2019)

The lived experiences of postgraduate female students at the University of Kwazulu Natal, Durban, South Africa

Assessing gender equality in the South African sports sector

  • Authors: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S. , Surujlal, J.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Gender , Gender equality , Sports management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/289620 , uj:31426 , Citation: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S. & Surujlal, J. 2018. Assessing gender equality in the South African sports sector. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITY STUDIES Vol 10, No 1, 2018. , ISSN: 1309-8063 (Online)
  • Description: Abstract: Sport has generally been a male-dominated domain which appears to discriminate against women by preventing their advancement to high-level positions in sports organisations. The article conceptually utilises the Gender and Development approach as a theoretical framework. The rationale behind this approach is that in a patriarchal society, there are stereotyped mentality, social practices, and cultural traditions confining women to household tasks only; role-conflict between men and women; and gender challenges in terms of work-family-balanced tasks that restrict women from advancing their careers outside their delegated and expected home-based tasks. This approach therefore aims to empower, incorporate, integrate, and mainstream gender in the sport sector. The article contextually utilises a comprehensive literature survey, document analysis, and a desktop review of the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa to identify gender gaps. Through document analysis, the gender gaps will be discussed in the South African sports sector at strategic and policy levels that suppress women from holding decision-making and strategic positions. Authors believe that women alone are not responsible for the lack of gender-based representation in sports management. Male counterparts hold equal responsibility to encourage, promote,...
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Challenging gender equality in South African transformation policies ‒ a case of the white paper : a programme for the transformation of higher education

  • Authors: Akala, B.M.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Gender , Policy , Higher education
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/289748 , uj:31443 , Citation: Akala, B.M. 2018. Challenging gender equality in South African transformation policies ‒ a case of the white paper : a programme for the transformation of higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education. Volume 32 | Number 3 | 2018 | pages 226‒248. http://dx.doi.org/10.20853/32-3-1521 , ISSN: 1753-5913
  • Description: Abstract: Using a post-structural lens, I make arguments against homogenising people’s conditions and circumstances. In particular, I acknowledge that the post-1994 reform agenda intended to streamline the previously fragmented and segregated higher education landscape under the apartheid regime. Black women, who are the main target of this article suffered triple marginalisation ‒ race, social class and sexism. The aim of the article is to show the tensions that exist within the White Paper: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (DoE 1997). The said tensions have stifled the attainment of gender equity and equality; effectively widening the gender fissures in post-1994 South African higher education. I argue that we should not take for granted phrases such as “equal opportunities” and “equal access” in policies. Instead, we should seek their meaning and achievement inter alia in earnest for the targeted group. Therefore, I postulate that gender and gendering is complex and very fragmented. For this reason, formulating transformation interventions on the premise of equality for all does not necessarily guarantee gender equality or gender equity. With this in mind, a “one-size fits all” approach to redressing gender equality is implausible and does not suffice in addressing salient gender injustices. I propose a multifaceted approach, which encompasses a realistic and holistic outlook on the divergent needs of black women in particular and women in general as a possible solution to the current challenges.
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Financing the gender imperative for procurement in the City Of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

  • Authors: Kithatu-Kiwekete, A.K.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Economic equity , Gender , Johannesburg
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/289612 , uj:31425 , Citation: Kithatu-Kiwekete, A.K. 2018. Financing the gender imperative for procurement in the City Of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.
  • Description: Abstract: An important role that municipalities can play in procurement is for the local sphere to offer opportunities to realise economic equity for enterprises owned by women and other previously disadvantaged groups. Municipal procurement can be used to address equity concerns by opening up economic prospects for particular categories of people. Gender mainstreaming may be achieved by the conspicuous inclusion of enterprises that are owned and operated by women, which often operate on the periphery of procurement. Integrating gender into municipal procurement enables women-owned businesses to participate, benefit, and in turn enhance gendered participation in Johannesburg’s local economic development (LED). This article expands the conclusions from an earlier study that was concerned with e-procurement. The article uses a qualitative analytic approach to assess how gendered procurement for the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (CJMM) has not been conducted to benefit womenowned businesses. These are compared against the municipality’s procurement policies, procedures, and reports to highlight the gender gap in municipal procurement. The article deduces that a gender gap persists in the CJMM’s municipal procurement processes, which excludes women-headed businesses from benefiting from larger contracts. The article offers suggestions for improvement. The article recommends that future research is needed that will use gender-disaggregated data to analyse municipal sector procurement for LED. The article concludes with key recommendations to enhance gender equity in municipal procurement.
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Is the Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) of University Students dependant on gender?

Vulnerability and resilience of female farmers in Oku, Cameroon, to climate change

  • Authors: Azong, Matilda , Kelso, Clare J. , Naidoo, Kammila
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Vulnerability , Cameroon , Gender
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/276054 , uj:29522 , Citation: Azong, M., Kelso, C.J. & Naidoo, K. 2018. Vulnerability and resilience of female farmers in Oku, Cameroon, to climate change. In African Sociological Review, 22 (1): 31‐53.
  • Description: Abstract: The experience of climate change is filtered through ones existing cultural, social and economic vulnerabilities. The rural poor in natural resource dependent communities in various African countries are likely to be negatively affected by climate change. In many cultures female farmers are considerably worse off than their male counterparts. This study makes use of a life history methodology in order to examine the particular nature of the vulnerability experienced by rural women in Oku in the Bamenda Highlands region of Cameroon. Gender is linked to vulnerability through a number of factors. These include access to and control over land, division of labour, marriage relationships, access to education and responsibility for dependents. Participants’ life histories show how vulnerability in the region develops over time and is both complex and non‐linear. Nevertheless, the participants expressed how they used their agency, both individual and collective, in coping with vulnerability. They narrate different adaptation strategies employed including livelihood diversification, and changing farming practices. Understanding the role of gender in shaping women’s vulnerability is useful in informing the design and implementation of adaptation policies. This article makes an empirical contribution to the discussions on the need to engender climate change research, policy and actions.
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Gender and ICT in east and West Africa for sustainable development goals : a comparative study

  • Authors: Vyas-Doorgapersad, Shikha , Kithatu-Kiwekete, A.
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Africa , Gender , Gender equality
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/227212 , uj:22990 , Citation: Vyas-Doorgapersad, S & Kithatu-Kiwekete, A. 2017. Gender and ICT in east and West Africa for sustainable development goals : a comparative study.
  • Description: Abstract: In 2015, the global community, via the United Nations, adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to provide strategic direction towards the elimination of global poverty, safeguarding the environment and ensuring improved levels of wellbeing for all. The transition from the previous international goals offers the opportunity to emphasize and engage with gendered concerns, that is, the nexus should propel the agenda for gender. Specific questions are raised to determine whether gender and information and communication technologies (ICT) work towards the SDG. How can gender and ICT contribute to the SDG narrative, particularly in East and West Africa? These issues are analysed through a desktop review, using case studies, country reports, national, regional and continental policies. The findings reveal that inroads have been made to promote gender equality in ICT but these must be scaled up under the new dispensation of SDG. With this in mind, policy recommendations for improvement are offered.
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