WOMEN IN EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA: SOME IMPORTANT TRENDS AND ISSUES

Abstract

This paper examines the role of women in the South African economy. Particular emphasis is given to issues such as female labour force participation, occupational and industrial distribution, wage discrimination and unemployment. The analysis of female employment is undertaken within the context of some theories of discrimination. The pattern of female employment showed a disproportionate concentration of women in a limited number of economic sectors and occupations. While an increasing number of women are moving into higher occupations, this upward mobility is invariably confined to white women. In addition to extensive job discrimination there is also evidence of wage discrimination along sexual lines. Furthermore, unemployment rates among Black women are considerably higher than those for men and these rates have reached critical proportions in the towns and rural areas of the homelands.