Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?

Throughout history, industries have evolved, from the invention of hand axes by our ancient ancestors to the Internet of Things, which has profoundly influenced every aspect of life. Despite these advancements, women still encounter numerous obstacles in making ends meet. The crux of this study is t...

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Main Author: Baneng Naape
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mashhad: Behzad Hassannezhad Kashani 2025-05-01
Series:International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics
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Online Access:https://www.ijmae.com/article_220922_fc6a1f26600c579b9659ae0f77f54a11.pdf
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author Baneng Naape
author_facet Baneng Naape
author_sort Baneng Naape
collection DOAJ
description Throughout history, industries have evolved, from the invention of hand axes by our ancient ancestors to the Internet of Things, which has profoundly influenced every aspect of life. Despite these advancements, women still encounter numerous obstacles in making ends meet. The crux of this study is to highlight key areas where meaningful gender equality can be achieved. This consists of, among other things, working hours, access to social protection, and occupational segregation. We find substantial gender disparities in the labour force, both in terms of the number and quality of jobs. Although there are more women in the working-age population than men, men's participation in the labour force significantly surpasses that of women. Consequently, a higher proportion of men are in paid employment compared to women. In terms of employment conditions, we find that gender gaps have reduced, indicating that men and women now work under similar terms and conditions compared to a decade ago. Similarly, we find that gender disparities in political representation have somewhat narrowed in the last decade. Given the challenges that women face in navigating the labour market, a crucial intervention should focus on enhancing the employability of women. Employability refers to the skills and attributes that make individuals more appealing to employers and empower them to successfully navigate the job market and workplace. Other interventions should aim to promote a work-family balance for women by providing them with access to adequate social protection measures, considering that the majority of unpaid family care responsibilities fall on women.
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spelling doaj-art-613bd6ef66da48829fa5ce39522d401a2025-08-20T02:37:48ZengMashhad: Behzad Hassannezhad KashaniInternational Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics2383-21262025-05-0112578079310.5281/zenodo.15635431220922Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?Baneng Naape0Department of Economics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaThroughout history, industries have evolved, from the invention of hand axes by our ancient ancestors to the Internet of Things, which has profoundly influenced every aspect of life. Despite these advancements, women still encounter numerous obstacles in making ends meet. The crux of this study is to highlight key areas where meaningful gender equality can be achieved. This consists of, among other things, working hours, access to social protection, and occupational segregation. We find substantial gender disparities in the labour force, both in terms of the number and quality of jobs. Although there are more women in the working-age population than men, men's participation in the labour force significantly surpasses that of women. Consequently, a higher proportion of men are in paid employment compared to women. In terms of employment conditions, we find that gender gaps have reduced, indicating that men and women now work under similar terms and conditions compared to a decade ago. Similarly, we find that gender disparities in political representation have somewhat narrowed in the last decade. Given the challenges that women face in navigating the labour market, a crucial intervention should focus on enhancing the employability of women. Employability refers to the skills and attributes that make individuals more appealing to employers and empower them to successfully navigate the job market and workplace. Other interventions should aim to promote a work-family balance for women by providing them with access to adequate social protection measures, considering that the majority of unpaid family care responsibilities fall on women.https://www.ijmae.com/article_220922_fc6a1f26600c579b9659ae0f77f54a11.pdfeconomic empowermentgender differenceslabour force
spellingShingle Baneng Naape
Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics
economic empowerment
gender differences
labour force
title Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
title_full Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
title_fullStr Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
title_full_unstemmed Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
title_short Labour Market Participation: How Do Men and Women Compare in South Africa?
title_sort labour market participation how do men and women compare in south africa
topic economic empowerment
gender differences
labour force
url https://www.ijmae.com/article_220922_fc6a1f26600c579b9659ae0f77f54a11.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT banengnaape labourmarketparticipationhowdomenandwomencompareinsouthafrica