In 2011, ghana not only joined the ranks of lowermiddle income countries, but had one of the fastest economic growth rates 14. An overview of inequality, poverty and growth in sa this section examines the state of inequality and poverty in sa today, describes how inequality has changed over the decade since the democratic transition in 1994, and. According to the gini coefficient, as well as other inequality measurements, south africa ranks as one of the most unequal countries in the world. Violet murunga, mph, is a senior knowledge translation officer at the african institute for development policy afidep in nairobi, kenya a member organisation of the southern voices network for peacebuilding. Figure 1 trend in income inequality, using the gini index, 199192 20056 source. Wealth in africa is also highly concentrated, with the top ten per cent owning close to 78% of all assets. Tackling the root causes of gender inequalities in the post. In discussions of south africa, severe economic disparities are often highlighted. World values surveys of ghana 2012, nigeria 2011, rwanda 2012, and zimbabwe 2012.
East africa, the sahel, and north africa have the lowest levels of inequality in africa, but these are still relatively high in global comparisons. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in. Citizenship is a contentious notion as its meaning is somewhat fluid and defined in a flexible manner depending on location, context, among other factors. Gender inequality and maternal and child healthcare utilization in subsaharan africa article pdf available january 2014 with 1,792 reads how we measure reads. The gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality in a country. Gender inequality and entrepreneurship in the middle east and north africa a statistical portrait december 20 this draft report presents a descriptive overview of womens economic activity in the mena region based on statistical sources.
These gave participants from government and civil society the opportunity to. A fundamental national challenge briefing paper april 2014. This is in fact, not very much than it is now asserted in different countries. This shows that the inequality of women at work to men is a global issue. Gender inequalities in south african society south africa s national policy framework for womens empowerment and gender equality, which was drafted by the national office on the status of women, was the focus of two hearings held in durban last month. It focuses on gender equality and womens empowerment. Poverty, growth, and inequality in subsaharan africa. The report describes a continent limited in its potential by serious problems. And changes in constitution make the african image brighter in terms of womens freedoms and opportunities. Regional inequality and secondary education in ghana.
The status of gender equality in south africa i am one of the fortunate few who have had the privilege of seeing a country peacefully transform from one plagued by illegitimate authority, discrimination and neglected human rights to one that is solidly entrenched in democracy. Economic gender inequality would be less of an issue if men simply followed the example of women, writes chris mcevoy. Gender inequality, otherwise known as sexism, refers to the imbalanced or unequal treatment and perception of individuals based on their sexes. At present, in africa mostly violated and then comes the rest of the world where gender inequality is perceived to bloom. Sep 09, 2014 across the 26 markets in asia pacific, south asia, the middle east and africa included in the survey, south africa ranks third behind new zealand 77. Gender inequality in education is a serious problem in tanzania since independence in 1961. There are estimates that just over twenty two million people in south africa live in poverty dbsa, 2005a. Firstly, income inequality has widened considerably between the poorest and the richest quintiles. It made me wonder how people too stupid to understand the need for transformation in south africa could afford to shop at. Gender inequality manifests itself in all aspects of human life. South africa is acknowledged as having the highest gini coefficient in the world. Through the economic recovery program, launched in the early 1980s, ghana has made. Poverty and inequality in subsaharan africa 257 chen and ravallions data show a 12. As such, it is concerned with the instrumental effects of gender equality in education.
Namibia, comoros, south africa, angola, botswana, lesotho and swaziland count among the continents top ten most unequal countries and the. Gender inequalities in south african society south africas national policy framework for womens empowerment and gender equality, which was drafted by the national office on the status of women, was the focus of two hearings held in durban last month. Subsaharan africa faces particular challenges when it comes to tackling growth and inequality together, but for our current evidence on income. But african countries other than these seven do not have higher inequality than developing countries elsewhere in the world.
In the two sections that follow we seek to explain the systematic changes in income distribution and poverty in africa, taking both macro section iii and micro section iv perspectives. Inequalities country report ghana africa inequalities portal. South africa is losing the next generation of workers and leaders, while the very wealthy fear for their property and lives in the face of one of the worlds worst epidemics of serious crime. Did the walk match the talk under the prsp approach. Americas asia and oceania europe middle east and n. There is still lower enrolment rate for girls and higher dropout rates than their male counterparts in tanzania. This blog piece was initially published on africa upclose, a blog of the africa program at the wilson center. Sep 22, 2015 subsaharan africa faces particular challenges when it comes to tackling growth and inequality together, but for our current evidence on income inequality in the region suggests some fascinating. The issue of gender inequality in nigeria linda anyalebechi medical library college of medicine chukwuemeka odumegwu university teaching hospital, amaku awka abstract the paper is a foray of issues in gender inequality in nigeria with a view to proffering solutions. From 1987 to 1993 headcount poverty slightly declined to 44. For the region as a whole, however, inequality is high, because of the wide varia.
Gender inequality in south africa south africa ranks fourth out of 87 countries covered by the 2012 social institutions and gender index of the organisation for economic cooperation and development. Jul 28, 20 economic inequality is a major obstacle to growth in south africa haroon bhorat is a professor of economics and the director of the development policy research unit at the university of cape town. The report is submitted for discussion to the oecd mena womens business forum annual meeting on. Working draft gender inequality and entrepreneurship in. Africa should be a low inequality continent according to the kuznets hypothesis because african countries are poor and agriculturebased, and. When the world celebrates womens day, this country celebrates national womens month. Gender inequality is not new in traditional african society. This study explored factors causing gender inequality in education in korogwe districts secondary schools. High inequality in africa is something of a paradox. The africa human development report 2016 afhdr was prepared by undp africa experts.
Prepared by daouda sembene1 authorized for distribution by ngueto yambaye june 2015 abstract poverty reduction strategy paper prsp countries in subsaharan africa have shown. The roots of gender inequality in developing countries. Abebe shimeles and tiguene nabassagaa a abebe shimeles a. According to world economic forum, south africa is ranked the 17th out of 6 countries in terms of gender equality. Gender, social cohesion and everyday struggles in south africa. Africa, while providing a selective survey of poverty reduction strategies implemented in both prsp and nonprsp countries in the continent. Hence, the primary contribution of this paper will be to provide a profile of poverty and inequality in south africa over the period 19952005. This report explores some of the linkages between growth, poverty, inequality and the labour market in postapartheid south africa.
The eradication of all forms of inequality was probably the most important aspiration for people predemocracy. It benefitted from the overall guidance of abdoulaye mar dieye, the undp africa regional director, with a special contribution to and direction on the theoretical framework from selim jahan, the director of undps human development report office. Gender inequality has been a topical issue in academic debate in nigeria. Reflections on poverty and inequality in south africa. Economic inequality is a major obstacle to growth in south africa. Therefore, the concentration of poverty lies predominantly with black africans, women, rural areas and black youth. Inequality in africa 4 i nequality in africa is complex. Overall, southern africa is the most unequal part of africa figures 3 and 4. Injustice given to the women seems to be increasing. This blog piece was initially published on africa up.
Aug 29, 2017 gender inequality still prevalent in south africa. Previous attempts based on crosscountry panel data indicate ethnic fractionalization as a robust determinant of income inequality in africa milanovic, 2003. Poverty and inequality in south africa have racial, gender, spatial and age dimensions. Economic inequality is a major obstacle to growth in south africa haroon bhorat is a professor of economics and the director of the development policy research unit at. The impact of gender inequality in education on income in. Of course, measuring inequality is multidimensional, which particularly applies to south africa. Jul 19, 2018 contemporary south africa has been described as a country with extreme inequality and we are, in fact, a total outlier in terms of income inequality. Development, poverty and inequality in ghana ghana has made substantial development progress in recent years and has long been thought of as a star performer in subsaharan africa coulombe and wodon, 2007. A recent study on inequality in southern africa by osisa and namibias labour resource and research institute larri1 confirmed the urgent need for immediate and structural interventions to deal with the 1 jauch, h and muchena, d eds 2011. One dimension of gender inequality that has been neglected in the current mdg framework, has been the underlying drivers of gender inequality or discriminatory social institutions social norms, laws and practices that restrict women and girls access to opportunities, resources and power. The report takes a datadriven approach and relies heavily on rich household survey data for the period 1993 to 2008. The author argues that in order to establish a publicly accountable means of assessing levels of gender equality, a complex method is needed.
This paper is also concerned with the relationship between gender inequality and income per capita in developing countries. Blogs african institute for development policy afidep. Results of the 2014 mastercard index of womens advancement show that gender inequality towards women at work remains. Contemporary south africa has been described as a country with extreme inequality and we are, in fact, a total outlier in terms of income inequality. Two key mechanisms dominate debates over the relationship between inequality and growth. This paper discusses methodology issues for measuring gender equality and inequality in south africa. Economic inequality is a major obstacle to growth in south. Tackling the root causes of gender inequalities in the. Inequality and economic outcomes in subsaharan africa. Gender inequality persists in the south african workplace. Of the 10 most unequal countries in the world, 7 are in africa. Africa should be a lowinequality continent according to the kuznets hypothesis because african countries are poor and agriculturebased, and.