Portfolio and Select Committees on Women, Children and People with Disabilities

1. Portfolio and Select Committees on Women, Children and People with Disabilities CGE Briefing on State of Nation response 29 February 2012

2. CGE Mandate SA Constitution: S187 of the Constitution require the CGE to promote respect for, and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality CGE Act No 39 of 1996: The CGE mandate is to monitor and evaluate legislation, policies and practices of the state, statutory bodies and private businesses, as well as indigenous and customary laws and practices; research and make recommendations to Parliament; receive and investigate complaints of gender discrimination; and conduct public awareness and education on gender equality. CGE has powers of subpoena and litigation. Vision: The CGE vision is a society free from gender oppression and all forms of inequality

3. General comments • CGE has welcomed the State of the Nation address by His Excellency, President Jacob G Zuma • CGE response brings a gender lens to bear on the commitments and initiatives outlined in the President’s address • Fundamental issues raised relate to whether government departments understand the gender dimensions of these developmental issues, and apply principle of gender mainstreaming to their policy and implementation, to ensure women benefit from the state interventions and promises outlined by the President • Reflects on President’s observation that 2012 marks the 16th anniversary of the Constitution, and whether the guarantees of equality and non-discrimination are fully enjoyed by women, noting the particular challenges and struggles still experienced by women, in the social, political and economic realms.

4. Engendering Departmental Service Delivery • The CGE would argue that a fundamental shift is required at the level of state departmental analysis of developmental challenges and community needs, to ensure they design policies and programmes that respond to particular gendered dimensions. • CGE sense is that departmental understanding of gender equality has shifted and been watered down to a women’s empowerment, or social development project – regarding women as a vulnerable group requiring protection • Gender mainstreaming requires: • a gendered analysis of the different situations of women and men in relation to the policy or developmental issue at hand, • gearing policy and programmatic responses to respond to these, • allocating specific resources to implement these measures, • putting in place appropriately engendered targets and M&E measures, and • collecting gender disaggregated data and statistics to track progress. • In addition, this requires departments to ensure that necessary skills are put in place at policy and budget levels to manage such approaches, supported by training and awareness to shift patriarchal and prejudicial attitudes towards gender equality

5. Engendered challenges requiring state response: Job creation and economic growth • Illiteracy and unemployment levels are highest among women • BUSA, EEC, BWA findings, supported by CGE research and hearings reveal: • Women prevalent in part-time, low status, insecure, poorly paid work and the informal economy • Women grossly under-represented in senior management positions in both private and public sectors – despite EE provisions, and despite constituting half of the workforce and 52% of the population. Employers are failing to meet EE targets. • *What interventions are required to ensure women benefit from job creation and economic growth measures outlined by the President, and to prevent gendered patterns of inequality and discrimination from persisting? • New Growth Path and Vision 2030 are key policy drivers, yet are gender blind • New Jobs for women? Bulk of jobs referred to are in infrastructure development - industrial/mining/engineering sectors – key offenders ito poor gender transformation and addressing “scarce skills” issue • Measures required to ensure women-headed small businesses access Job Fund and loans referred to – ringfencing quotas, business management training and mentorship measures – to ensure women benefit from BBBEE and state procurement opportunities

6. Social development • CGE welcomes infrastructure developments announced by the President – all set to ensure greater access by women to water, sanitation, electricity and housing, and improve quality of life • Key issues in addressing poverty and enabling women to advance – provided that interventions address engendered challenges and dimensions to these service-delivery issues – are our state departments up to this? • These issues are engendered – women worst affected by inadequate access to energy, sanitation and water; bear the responsibility of ensuring family access to these resources; are invisibilised in planning processes; and policy and budget responses are silent on their needs. • CGE gender and water/sanitation study to surface key issues in this sector, and undertaken gender and energy hearings to identify particular challenges encountered by women in accessing and managing these critical resources – with a view to ensuring responsive state policy. • President’s commitments to ensuring sustainable, clean energy sources are particularly welcomed – potential to liberate women from demands on labour and health • Recommend women’s representation and participation in Presidential Infrastructure Summit to surface and address these issues

7. Education • CGE congratulates state on universal primary education enrolment rates attained, and implementation of no-fee schools and feeding schemes – all measures have ensured girl child’s access to education • CGE cautions against focus on enrolment vs attendance – MDG study reveals worrying poor attendance and drop-out rates among girls, affected by gendered dimensions of domestic responsibilities, GBV at schools, inadequate sanitation at schools, teenage pregancies. • State departments need to tailor policies, interventions and budgets to ensure girls’ right to education is not compromised • Further, significant measures are required to ensure inclusion of gender equality in school curriculum – CGE study findings on shortcomings in structures, promotion, capacity building and resources.

8. GBV • CGE welcomes the announcement of reduction in reported serious crime, but raises concern regarding state failure to implement Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Acts: • failures in implementation of legislated measures – docket dumping; statistic and classification manipulation; inappropriate targets and inadequate M&E; reduction of SO Courts; drop in conviction rates; attitudes and mindsets of officials….. • inadequate reporting to and oversight by Parliament; • inadequate inter-departmental collaboration and support; • failure to develop departmental directives, guidelines and regulations to address inconsistencies; • failure to develop training courses and submit annual reports; • inadequate costing and budgeting …. (TLAC “Right and Real”) • CGE has reported to Portfolio Committee, is engaging with Social Development and Security Clusters, and will report back to these Committees on findings

9. Access to land • Gendered nature of access to land requires urgent attention – key issue to address women’s security of tenure and alleviate poverty • President notes that 8% of state land redistribution target has been attained – CGE MDG study reveals that men constitute 90% of land reform beneficiaries – perpetuating persistent inequality • Historic Issue of recognition of women’s title to land requires urgent redress

10. Conclusion • The CGE has welcomed the President’s address – this speaks to key societal and developmental challenges impacting on women • Requires state departments to ensure entrenched inequality and discrimination impacting on quality of life of women are surfaced and addressed in policy and budgets, so that promises outlined in the President’s address are enjoyed by the majority of South Africa’s population. • CGE bears a constitutional and legislated mandate to monitor and ensure that state interventions promote the attainment of gender equality – through our various interventions we are already engaging with key state actors on these issues. • This is supported through Parliamentary oversight, and particularly the interventions of these Committees, to demand appropriate measures and response by state departments and enforce accountability for gender equality.