In South Africa, women face significant challenges with unemployment and inequality in the workforce. According to a recent survey by Stats SA, women continue to experience higher rates of unemployment, underemployment, and lower participation in the workforce compared to men.
The disparity is partly attributed to the fact that women are more inclined to assume household responsibilities, childcare, and other duties that limit their prospects in the job market. When comparing men and women, it has been observed that fewer women were engaged in the labor market from 2014 to 2024. Additionally, for women, labor force participation rates increased across all education levels except for those with tertiary qualifications, with a one percentage point decline.
Over the past ten years, labor force participation among different groups has increased significantly. For instance, the participation rate among women with less than a matric qualification increased from 40.0% to 43.1%, a 3.1 percentage point jump. Similarly, among graduates, the rate increased from 85.7% to 87.2%, a 1.5 percentage point increase.
It’s concerning that men consistently reported higher absorption rates than women from 2014 to 2024, with gender differences ranging from 9.0 to 12.5 percentage points. This highlights the disparities that need to be addressed.
The absorption rate for women remained below 40.0%, declining by 1.1 percentage points from 36.9% in the second quarter of 2014 to 35.8% in the second quarter of 2024. The highest absorption rate for women was 38.3%, recorded in the first quarter of 2017.
