-
The Just Cities for Women Bulletin 2016
In 1994, South Africa emerged as a constitutional democracy full of promise for a better life for all South Africans. A system of developmental local government was established which is ‘intended to have a major impact on the daily lives’ of South Africans. Both men and women have an equal responsibility and thus should be given equal opportunities to ‘find sustainable ways to meet their social, economic and material needs and improve the quality of their lives’ [15]. Over 20 years after the ushering of democratic era where does South Africa stand with regards to its treatment of men and women particularly at the local government level? How are men and women represented at local level whether in political office or at management level? Does such representation highlight a persistent imbalance between men and women? If so, a question arises - How just are our cities? What do the numbers say?The Just Cities for Women Bulletin will periodically publish data and indicators on these questions and many other issues relating to the role of women in cities in order to inform public debate and policy-making.
Key trends:
Women constitute the majority of the population at 51.2 percent of the total. 54 percent of registered voters are women and women are more likely to vote than men. 11.4 percent of adult women have tertiary education compared to 10.8 percent of men. Women are under-represented in local government political positions with only 39 percent of political posts held by women. Women are grossly under-represented in senior professional positions at the local government level, occupying only one quarter of general management posts. Less than one-in-ten municipal managers and only 31 percent of CFOs are female. Most residents of poor households are female and most poor households are headed by women. State housing subsidies (RDP housing) advantage women slightly. [15] Ministry of Constitutional Development and Provincial Affairs. 1998. White Paper on Local Government Pretoria: DCD.
-
Overview statistics
Indicator Female Male Source Population 27.5 million 26.2 million [1] Metropolitan Population 10.2 million 10.1 million [1] Urban population 15.1 million 14.6 million [1] Unemployment rate 30.6 % 37.3 % [2] Median salary R3 033 p/m R4 000 p/m [1] Adults with tertiary education 11.4 % 10.8 % [2]
[1]Statistics South Africa. General Houshold Survey 2014 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.
[2]Statistics South Africa. Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 1st quarter 2015 [Unit dataset]. Pretoria, 2015.
-
Women are under-represented in local government political positions.
At local government level 39% of political posts are held by women.
Political office Posts held by women [3] Local councillors 38.8% Mayor 38.6% The map below shows the location of municipalities which have a female mayor. Although there are relatively few female mayors in the south of the country this region has both female mayors of metropolitan municipalities.
Context Source Almost 40% of political posts in local government are held by women. [3] 54% of registered voters are women and they are more likely to vote than men are. [3],[4] Three quarters of women routinely indicate their intention to vote compared to 71% of men. [5] Women’s level of trust in local government matches that of men. 53% say they have little or no trust in their local government. [5]
[3]Statistics South Africa. Non-financial census of municipalities for the year ended 30 June 2013,[Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2014.
[4]Independent Electoral Commission, 2015.
[5]Afrobarometer Survey, South Africa Round 4 [dataset],IDASA, Pretoria, 2011.
Women are grossly under-represented in senior professional posts in local government.
One quarter of general management posts in local government are held by women. However less than one-in-ten municipal managers are female.
Professional posts Post held by women[13] Senior management posts 26.5% Chief Financial Officer 31.0% Municipal Manager 9.7% Municipalities with women as both CFO and Municipal Manager 1.7% Female CFO’s and Municipal Managers tend to be located in smaller municipalities. The location of municipalities with either a female CFO or Municipal Manager is shown below.
Source Municipalities with female CFOs or Municipal Managers are spread across the country with the exception of some parts of northern kwaZulu-Natal and eastern Free State. [6]
[6]Statistics South Africa. Non-financial census of municipalities for the year ended 30 June 2013,[Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2014.
Summary of gender representation in local municipalities.
Audited municipal misspending (UIW) exceeds the value of free services provided to the poor.
Source In 2013/14 R17-billion of municipal finances was associated with misspending by local government. [7] The value of Free Basic Services provided by local government in the same year was R16-billion. [8] If misspent revenue was directed to Free Basic Services women would receive R1-billion more in benefits than males each year. [9] In 2013/14 R17-billion of municipal finances was misspent and the value of Free Basic Services was R16-billion.
[7]"Misspending" is taken to be the sum of Unauthorised, Irrelgular and Wasteful (UIW) expenditure for the year. Data from: Auditor General of South Africa. General Report on the Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2013-14 [Dataset],Pretoria, 2015.
[8]National Treasury, Municipal Finance Management Act [MFMA datasets], Pretoria, 2015.
[9]Own estimates.
Up to half the equity in formal housing is held by women.
Two-thirds of households headed by women are in dwellings that are owned and fully paid off. Less than half of male headed households are in the same position.
Source Women have full equity in 3.2 million formal houses that are located on their own stands. [10] 40 percent of South African households are headed by women, however female-headed households are more likely to live in a house that is fully paid off (64% versus 46% for men). [10] Dwellings headed by women are also more likely to be formal structures on a separate stand (65.6% of female-households versus 61.7% of male-headed households). [10] Relatively high levels of home ownership among women is most evident among poor. Among the poorest ⅕th of the population more homes are owned by women than by men. By contrast, among the richest ⅕th of households women make up less than one-third of home owners. [10]
The relative size of each block in the graphic below indicates the extent of overlap between gender and tenure types.
Table showing dwelling tenure by sex of household head. Figures refer to the percentage of dwellings in each gender group.[10]
Male Female Rented 25 14 Owned, but not yet paid off bank/financial institution 2 2 Rented from other (incl. municipality and social housing institutions) 10 4 Owned, but not yet paid off to private lender 1 1 Owned and fully paid off 46 65 Occupied rent-free 14 13 Other 1 1 Do not know 0.2 0.2 [10]Statistics South Africa. General Houshold Survey 2014 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.
Most residents of poor households are female and most poor households are headed by women.
Female home owners tend to be older and poorer than their male counterparts.
Source 53% of the people living in the poorest quarter of households are female. Similarly 53 % of poor households are headed by women. [11] Approximately 73% of both male and female-headed households own a refrigerator. [11] 83% of male and female-headed households own an electric stove. [11] Male-headed households are twice as likely to have a motor vehicle (38%) than female-headed households are (18.7%). [11] 4% of female-headed household have a dishwashing machine compared to 8% of male-headed households. [11]
The income profiles of households with male (red) and female (green) heads are contrasted below.
The differences between the profiles of men and women household heads is largely explained by diverging marital profiles. The single largest marital status category among women is that of ‘widow’. By contrast most male household heads are ‘legally married’.
Table showing marital status of household head in households where the dwelling has been fully paid off. Figures show, by gender, the percentage of household heads falling into each martial category.[11]
Male Female Legally married 54 13 Living together like husband and wife 14 5 Divorced 2 5 Separated, but still legally married 1 2 Widowed 6 38 Single, but have been living together with someone as husband and/wife before 2 3 Single and have never been married/never lived together as husband/wife before 22 34 Unspecified 0 0 [11]Statistics South Africa. General Houshold Survey 2014 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.
State housing subsidies (RDP housing) advantage women slightly.
Approximately half of all households living in formal houses are headed by women.
Source 1.6 million households say they received a RDP-type subsidy [12] 52% of these beneficiaries are women [12] 6.4 million dwellings are paid off brick structures on their own stand [12] 49% of paid-off brick houses are owned by women [12]
Twenty percent of female home owners benefited from a state housing subsidy. Only 18% of male home owners received this benefit.
Table showing the proportion of home owners living in dwellings that benefited from a state housing subsidy.[12]
Male Female Received housing subsidy 18 20 No state housing subsidy 81 79 Do not know 0.0 0.1 Unspecified 0.5 0.3 [12]Statistics South Africa. General Houshold Survey 2014 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.
There is a small differences between men’s and women’s perceptions of safety.
With the exceptions of sexual offences and domestic violence, men and women have similar perceptions of their safety.
Source 86% of men and 85% of women feel safe walking in their home areas in the day. [6] 35% of men and 33% of women feel safe walking in their area at night. [13] 3% of male respondents and 2% of females reported being assaulted in the past five years. [13]
[13]Statistics South Africa. National Victims of Crime Survey 2013/14 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.
Almost two thirds of households (63%) are brick structures on their own stand.
Over three-quarters of fully paid off dwellings are brick structures on their own stand. Another 12% are informal structures.
Table showing, by sex of household head, the number of households in each type of dwelling that is and fully paid off. [14].
Values in ’000 Male Female Brick/concrete block structure on own stand 3270 3194 Traditional dwelling 336 529 Flat or apartment in a block of flats 38 33 Cluster house in complex 26 14 Town house (semi-detached house in complex) 24 38 Semi-detached house 51 56 Dwelling/house/flat/room in backyard 30 29 Informal dwelling/shack in backyard 52 33 Informal dwelling/shack not in backyard 410 230 Room/flatlet 12 13 Caravan/tent 0 0.3 Other (specify) 7 3 Many of the houses owned by women are in tribal areas where home ownership is not accompanied by title to the associated land. However in areas where land ownership is granted (and the property can be used as surety) women still show significantly higher ownership rates.
Table showing dwelling tenure by sex of household head in urban and non-tribal rural areas. [14]
Male Female Rented 29 20 Owned, but not yet paid off to bank/financial institution 3 2 Rented from other (incl municipality and social housing institutions) 12 6 Owned, but not yet paid off to private lender 2 1 Owned and fully paid off 38 52 Occupied rent-free 16 16 Other 1 1 Do not know 0.3 0.3 [14]Statistics South Africa. General Houshold Survey 2014 [Unit dataset], Pretoria, 2015.