FEMALE ICONS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR BY JESSIE TAYLOR
Cabinet leading the way in gender parity
W
hile women in South Africa may still be underrepresented in politics, they do hold their share of responsibility when it comes to South Africa’s Cabinet. Appointed in March this year, half of the posts are held by women – representing the dynamics of South African voters. According to the latest Gender Series Volume IX: Women Empowerment report by Stats SA: They are more likely to hold mayoral positions than women (68% vs 32%) and parliament seats (54% to 46%). At the local government level, males were more likely to occupy councillor positions than females. This is despite more women appearing on the voter’s role during elections. “More women than men registered to vote and turned out to vote in the general and municipal elections in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Limpopo KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape were the provinces with the highest share of women registered to vote in the most recent local government elections.” However, progress is being made in some areas. The latest Gender Series report showed that Cabinet had reached parity, as 50% of the seats comprised women. Women’s seats in Parliament increased from 33% in 2004 to 46% in 2019. “Politically, there is significant progress towards gender equality in Parliament with the number of women in parliamentary seats having increased since 2004,” the report said.
36 | Public Sector Leaders | August 2023
