Stats SA sounds alarm on widening gender gap as women continue to fall behind in labour force
The latest concerns follow the release of the quarterly labour force survey for the three months through June.
Farmworkers are transported to work on the back of open trucks with no open safety measures. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Stats SA has sounded the alarm on the widening gender gap as women continue to fall behind in the labour force.
The latest concerns follow the release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the three months through June.
The second quarter statistics saw unemployment breach the 33% mark to sit at a worrying 33.3% with women carrying a heavier share of the burden.
Stats SA said many women are concentrated in lower-skilled or semi-skilled roles, while the number of men in managerial positions is almost double that of women.
The unemployment rate for women was 35,9%, compared to 31,0% for men - a gap of 4,9 percentage points.
This reflects persistent gender imbalances in unemployment, labour force participation and the sectors in which men and women are employed.
Stats SA said no matter the level of education, women in South Africa face significantly greater challenges in securing employment than men.
Statistician General Risenga Maluleke said the gender gap is the widest between men and women with only a matric certificate.
“All I can say is that August tells a story for our women in the country, and women like young people are trudging it hard in the labour marks. Black women are more vulnerable than any other population or sex cohort.”
Nearly a third of all employed women work in community and social services, followed by the trade industry, finance and private household employment.
In the Q2 survey, 2,4 million people cited being a “homemaker” as their reason for not being in the labour force - almost 90%of whom were women.