21 October 2020, Johannesburg – On Friday, the 16th of October, the Telkom Foundation hosted the second instalment of its esteemed virtual debate series. Seipati “Twasa” Seoke reprised her role as host, while Simon Motshweni acted as moderator. Once again, the event revolved around a stimulating and insightful debate between a handful of the learners involved in the Telkom High School Programme. The topic up for discussion was how gender equality dictates that society creates more opportunities for the girl child and women in general.
Patriarchy standing in the way of change
As the learners from the proposition team stated, it is evident that there has been plenty of progress made in terms of creating opportunities for the girl child and women, particularly within a professional setting. However, the reality is that old-school patriarchal views continue to stand in the way of these opportunities being fully embraced.
In many cultures, there is still a strong belief that men and women have different roles to fulfil. The team pointed out how the man is seen as the head of the household, while the woman is responsible for caring for the children and handling menial tasks like cooking and cleaning. Women are under-represented as decision-makers and, in some regions, are not even allowed to own property.
Statistics South Africa demonstrates that unemployment is also higher amongst females, with an unemployment percentage that is 7,5% higher than men. It is not only in South Africa that such a problem exists. According to the World Bank, women own a mere 1% of the world’s wealth and earn significantly less than men despite holding the same positions and performing the same daily tasks.
With this evidence in mind, the proposition team suggests that the only way in which to achieve true equality is to provide more opportunities for growth to women rather than men until the balance is 50/50. Once this balance is attained, action must then be taken to maintain it.
Solving one problem only to create another?
The crux of the opposition team’s argument was highlighting how in solving the issue of female inequality, the country runs the risk of discriminating against males instead. It could be possible that as women escape oppression, men could gradually become the oppressed. In order to avoid this potential outcome, the team suggested that the focus should be on creating equal opportunities for both genders immediately, rather than creating opportunities for one gender in exclusion of another for any duration of time.
Collaborate, don’t compete
The proposition team brought up another excellent point regarding how women are trying to claw their way to the top, often only thinking of their own individual success – which is understandable considering the challenges with which they are faced. However, if the female gender is to experience positive change and opportunities for growth, all women need to work together to achieve this united goal. As young Babalwa Maqubela stated, women must stop competing and start collaborating.
The ever-widening gender gap
As per Sarah Mthintso, the Head of the Telkom Foundation, there is no escaping the fact that there is still gender disparity present in modern times. Despite progress and a number of successful interventions, women are still denied equal opportunities in many respects, including at home, in education, in the workplace, and in society in general. It begs the question – why? After all, there have been a multitude of studies conducted which prove that female involvement, particularly in the workplace, promises positive outcomes. The McKinsey annual study demonstrates that when women play an important role in a business, there is almost always a notable increase in the organisation’s productivity. Sarah believes that this is because women are intuitive and detail-oriented by nature.
Unfortunately, the gender gap continues to widen for many reasons – and often starting at a very young age. Girls tend to drop out of school much more frequently and a lot earlier than boys. This is often the case due to unplanned pregnancies, arranged marriages, or in the event that the girl child must take responsibility for her siblings following the death of her mother. This means that the girl child misses out on education and won’t be qualified to embrace the opportunities that might have come her way had she managed to stay in school.
How can these issues be tackled? South Africa must empower its females at any and every possible opening. There needs to be a culture shift in terms of how the men of our country view and value women, and there needs to be a culture shift in terms of how women view their own worth. This shift starts at home, in the classroom, and in the office. It is a work in progress that every single South African needs to take responsibility for, starting today. In doing so, we build the foundation for a better, brighter tomorrow for the girl child, her sister, her mother, her cousins, her friends. We take one step closer to an equal, inclusive society for all.
For more information the webinar series and about the Telkom Foundation, visit their website on http://www.telkomfoundation.co.za.
