SECONDARY RESEARCH

Inequality in Mentorship and Career Advancement in South Africa 

• "Most [South African] female early-career academics perceived that lack of mentoring, balancing work and family demands... [and] lack of training opportunities to develop professional skills...had negatively impacted their career."  (Dr. Phyllis Kalele,  2022) https://www0.sun.ac.za/scistip/news/female-early-career-academics-in-africa-need-more-mentoring-opportunities/ 

• "A survey revealed that the greatest barrier to women's leadership across all sectors
  is socio-cultural expectations, followed by lack of mentorship opportunities." (Michelle Austin, 2023) https://african.business/2023/12/trade-investment/a-new-africa-the-journey-to-effective-womens-leadership 

• "Mentoring has been recognized as a valuable development strategy and an affirmative action tool that can be used to support and promote women and groups that have been viewed as previously disadvantaged." (M. Mcilongo a & K. Strydom, 2021) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021014249 

 

Gender Disparities in South African Workplaces:

• "Despite legislative changes like the Employment Equity Act of 1998 granting women equal employment opportunities, women in South Africa still face challenges in reaching leadership positions."

• "Women hold only between 23.5% and 34.5% of top management and senior management positions, indicating ongoing gender imbalances."

• "South African workplaces require female leaders to challenge patriarchal systems and foster
  inclusive leadership cultures that embrace transformation." 

• "Societal beliefs and values perpetuate women's marginalization, with historical laws and
  customs reinforcing gender inequality." 

• "Understanding Africa's unique history provides valuable insights into addressing gender imbalances in the workplace and improving female career experiences." (Barkhuizen, Emmerentia N., Masakane, Gwendoline, & van der Sluis, Lidewey, 2022) http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2071-07632022000100016

•  South Africa’s Q2 2023 Quarterly Labour Force Survey revealed that there are at least 2 million fewer employed women than men.

• Despite educational achievements, women are underrepresented in South Africa’s labor market across age groups. 

•  According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report, South Africa ranks 111th out of 146 countries in wage equality for similar work.

(SA Government, ‘South Africa on Quarterly Labour Force Survey quarter three 2023')

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Educational Disparities and Gender-Based Violence:

• "The latest General Household Survey reveals that 23% of South African girls between the ages of seven and 18 are kept out of school due to a lack of funds compared to 16% of boys."

• "Gender-based violence is slanted toward girls, with an estimated 22.2% of school children being victims of violence and girls being more vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment."

• "the use of digital education could...help to mitigate learning losses among
  the seven million South African girls who miss out on approximately 25% of their schooling each
  year due to being absent every month as they lack menstrual management materials." (BizCommunity 2023) https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/498/241495.html

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Advocacy for Continuous Learning and Career Development:

• "In responding to how continuous learning has helped to progress in their career, the majority (95.48%) of women believed that more learning opportunities have enhanced their career progression."

• "34.59% of the respondents believed that inability to aspire for career development affected their career progression or it is a major barrier for them." (Dosunmu & Dichaba,  2019) https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/3602 

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Tenacity of South African Girls: 

•  “South Africa’s young women are more educated, more tenacious … and more unemployed ” (Surianarain & Shai, 2023) https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2023-08-31-sas-young-women-are-more-educated-more-tenacious-and-more-unemployed/ 

• Young South African women outperform male counterparts academically, with 112 women holding the same matric for every 100 men.

• Women with degree equivalents or higher exceed young men by 50%.

• Two-thirds of SA Youth platform users are young women actively seeking opportunities, highlighting their competence and tenacity.

(SA Government, ‘South Africa on Quarterly Labour Force Survey quarter three 2023')

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PRIMARY RESEARCH

Whilst investigating into statistics and testimonial videos, we concurrently conducted our own primary research, with our target demographic, in order to authentically grasp the core needs of the community we strive to assist. From our interviews, our pivotal discoveries encompassed both statistical insights and testimonial videos.

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- 100% have future aspirations to further their education.

- 75% felt financial constraints were a key barrier to their education.

- 62% felt a lack of opportunities to learn, connect and network.

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