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A woman in the informal settlement of Masiphumelele collects drinking water from a communal municipal tap in Cape Town, South Africa, January 30, 2018. For millions of South Africans living in informal settlements, the daily routine of collecting water from water points communal has occurred for many years. South Africa’s poorer citizens are better prepared to adapt to water harvesting and restrictions than residents who enjoy the luxury of running water in their homes. On April 12, 2018, the supply of running water to homes will be closed. The city of Cape Town is currently in the midst of a serious water crisis. It is estimated that the ‘day zero’ when the water in the city runs out is April 12, 2018. Day zero comes when the levels of the dam reach 13.5% and most of the taps will be closed. Currently, the levels of the dams are at 26.3 percent. (Photo: EPA-EFE / NIC BOTHMA)
A new Oxfam report reveals the huge inequalities in income, race, class, education, gender and unemployment faced by black women in this country.
The average South African CEO takes home up to 461 black women from the bottom 10% of the country’s income, while on average a black woman earns a quarter of her white counterpart. This is according to an Oxfam South Africa report published on Tuesday, November 24, which says that black women are at the center of the intersection of inequality perpetuated by race, class, education, gender and employment.
In a statement describing the report, Claiming Power: Womxn’s Income and Employment Inequality in South Africa, Oxfam SA said: “Is report is the result of many years of work to understand poverty and inequality in the South African economy and seeks to expand the global conversation by looking at South Africa’s specific context of inequality and its structural drivers. Through our programming work, Oxfam South Africa has tackled the manifestations of poverty and inequality in South African society. This prompted us to develop a comprehensive exploration of how inequality in the South African economy continually places black women at the bottom, in the job market, and in the broader economy.“
According to the report, the average South African CEO “takes home up to 461 black women from the bottom 10% of income. Labor market inequality is a key driver of the stubborn gender, race, income and wealth inequality in South Africa. “ Even more astonishing is that according to the World Bank, the richest 20% of South Africa’s population controls 70% of the country’s resources.
Opening the launch, Oxfam SA CEO Siphokazi Mthathi said the report was intended to be used as a tool for movement building and mobilization against inequality. He said that one of the things Covid-19 had done was to highlight the accepted orthodoxies that have shaped our economy and society and that now need to be questioned. Our economic system was supported by the unrecognized work of mostly black women.
The Director of the Inequality Program, Dr. Basani Baloyi, explained that one of the things that disproportionately affected the inequality faced by black women was their role as single-parent heads of households, as well as their extended family responsibilities. She said that black women often bear the burden of unpaid care work for their families, preventing them from participating in the economy. It showed that, on average, unemployed women did 323 minutes of care work versus unemployed men who did 154 minutes, and even when both men and women were employed, women were still doing most of the care work: 190 minutes versus 74 minutes performed by men.
On average, households headed by black women had an income of R58,000, those headed by black men had R75,000. Households headed by white women had 258,000 rand, while households headed by white men averaged 396,000 rand.
Baloyi also said that education plays a key role in the type of employment women are likely to get, and research shows that one in 10 black women has a tertiary education, an additional factor affecting racial and class inequalities in South Africa. South Africans with tertiary education generally earned R36 per hour compared to those with only one tuition earning an average of R12 per hour and those with grade 9 education earning R6.
The report says: “Inequalities in the labor market are one of the main drivers of income and wealth inequality in South Africa. Wage inequality represents between 80% and 90% of general inequality. “
The report recommends:
- A living wage and a maximum income limit;
- A macroeconomic policy that favors job creation and the reduction of inequality;
- Fiscal fiscal justice;
- Address political and corporate capture;
- Industrial policies integrated by gender;
- Forced labor protections for democratic, non-sexist and fair workspaces;
- Reverse hostile labor market reforms based on austerity;
- Protections and fair access to safe markets for workers in the informal sector;
- Social protection for all;
- Womxn’s unpaid care work and paid work should be recognized, reduced, redistributed and represented in political decision-making;
- Fair and gender responsive budgeting and planning.
The report is backed by an exposition that shows the difficulties faced by women after apartheid and that hinder their lucrative participation and inclusion in the economy. Uses photography, paintings, installations, stencil art and mixed media to unpack themes of race, class and gender.
The exhibition, which is based at the Worker’s Museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, features works by artists Mary Sibande, Sethembile Msezane, Thandiwe Tshabalala, Lucas Ledwaba and Sydelle Willow Smith, among others. Mthati said the exhibition it was an attempt to engage the report with new audiences.
“Ending the cycle of deprivation and inequality in South Africa is a challenge for all of us. All of our stories are important; all our voices deserve to be heard; and we are more likely to be heard when we speak together as one, ”said Mthathi. DM / MC
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