Table 2: Estimated shifts in South African inequality measures with improved GII score

Table 2 below shows how these changes would translate in terms of shifts in South Africa’s income distribution. An improvement in South Africa’s GII to that of Switzerland would reduce the income share of the country’s top 10% of earners from 50.5%63 to 44% and almost double the income share of the bottom 20% from 2.4%63 to 4.7%.

Despite the significant hypothetical shift in South Africa’s GII score, the estimated decline in the Gini index to 59.6 would still see South Africa remaining the most unequal country in the world; still outranking Namibia, the second most unequal country with a Gini index of 59.1.1 What this shows, as illustrated by the covariates listed in Figure 13, is that although gender inequality is an important contributor to income inequality, there are a number of social and economic factors which also play a role.

Table 2: Estimated shifts in South African inequality measures with improved GII score

Indicator Current measure Measure with lower GII

Gini index 63 59.6

Income share held by top 10% 50.5% 44.0%

Income share held by top 60%

Income share held by bottom 40%

81.2%

18.9% 77.3%

22.5%

Income share held by bottom 20% 2.4% 4.7%

A higher GII score (i.e. more gender equality) will result in a lower income inequality and a more equitable income share for South Africa as a whole, not just women. Source: World Bank, 2015; UNDP, 2020; Author’s own calculations