The gender pay gap is a symptom, not the whole problem
- Mahlatse Rabothata
South Africa has made . Yet these gains have not translated into equal economic outcomes. Participation alone is not synonymous with economic empowerment; it must also provide access to decent work.
Recent figures indicate that women still earn approximately . Women also remain significantly underrepresented in senior leadership, holding only t. These disparities demonstrate that greater inclusion has not eliminated structural inequalities.
The gender pay gap should therefore be understood as a rather than the problem itself. A working woman’s earned income is shaped by an intersection of , and the of . , meaning that for every man who is economically inactive due to homemaking, more than eight women are in the same position. Although unpaid care work reproduces the workforce and sustains economic activity, it remains largely invisible in economic policy and undervalued precisely because it falls outside the market and is disproportionately performed by women.
Closing the gender pay gap therefore requires . It requires expanding access to decent work, investment in the social infrastructure that supports care, and creating genuine pathways into leadership. This Women's Month, we should celebrate progress while recognising that economic empowerment means more than participation; it means ensuring that women have access to decent work and equal opportunities.