South Africa’s gender pay gap leaves women behind

The gender pay gap and inequality in the workplace persist in South Africa, with women comprising just 3% of chief executive positions at JSE-listed companies and less than a third of top management positions at private companies. 

This is according to the new Catalytic Strategy gender pay gap report which highlights disparities at work and significant gaps in the labour legislative framework on pay equity. The study was compiled by human resources development, data and analytics firm 21st Century.

According to the report released on Wednesday, 40% of households in South Africa are led by women with financial responsibility for their families. But while women take on more responsibility, including for extended-family relatives, only 14% of women fall into the category of “top earners”.

Female representation within the private sector remains the lowest, with women constituting only 25.3% of top management positions, compared with 36.9% in the public sector, the report said. They make up less than 3% of the heads of firms listed on the JSE.

Women accounted for 43.4% of total employment in the second quarter of 2021, while the labour force participation rate for women stood at 54.3%, compared with 64.9 % for men.

The report is a “fresh and timely analysis” of the history and extent of the gender pay gap in the labour system and the factors that enable its “insidious perpetuation”, former Commission for Gender Equality senior commissioner and lecturer in the law faculty at the University of Kwazulu-Natal Janine Hicks said at its launch.

“The value of this study lies in its unique review of how the gender pay gap manifests itself in South Africa’s dual economy, not only in the formal sector but equally in the informal sector, and not only in the public realm of the workplace but equally in the private realm of the household, where the non-recognition of the economic value and contribution of women’s unpaid labour persists,” she said.

The report flags a “critical need” for legislation to standardise the measurement and reporting of the gender pay gap across all sectors. 

A notable gap also exists in the recognition and quantification of unpaid work, which contributes significantly to the national GDP but needs to be accounted for in economic policies.

The study also highlighted a need for cohesion among existing policies which are implemented inconsistently. Legislation, including the Employment Equity Act and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, has failed to adequately address the complex nature of gender-based disparities, the research found. 

Hicks said there was an opportunity to test the law in court as under the Employment Equity Act, the gender wage gap has been identified as an unfair labour practice. 

“To pay women less for doing substantively the same as their male counterparts is an unfair labour practice. We should see companies being taken to the labour court. We have legislation. We keep seeing these findings year after year, indicating that this gap persists,” she said.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, the world has closed 68.5% of the gender gap. However, at the current pace, it will take another 134 years — equivalent to five generations — to achieve full gender parity.

“What they noted in this report is that we are, in fact, five generations behind our [sustainable development goals] targets for 2035. We can’t wait five generations for things to continue and evolve the way they are evolving. 

“I don’t believe we should sit back and say that slowly, as women become more empowered and step into the workplace, women will gradually percolate up,” Hicks said.

“I believe we’ve got to take this by the horns. I’m a firm believer in the power of the transformative nature of our Constitution. We have specific provisions within our Constitution, in our equality clause, that permits legislative and other measures to advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.”

In addition, the informal sector, where many women are employed in precarious and low-paying jobs without legal protection, remained largely unaddressed in existing policies. 

By bridging these gaps, substantial strides could be made towards achieving gender equality, Catalytic Strategy chairperson Faith Khanyile said, adding: “Our collective goal is to eradicate the fragmentation that plagues current gender policies.”

International Women’s Forum South Africa president Irene Charnley said “systemic and unconscious bias” must be confronted to create a culture of women empowerment and ensure access to jobs and benefits are equally available to them.