Paper presented at the conference on “ Ageing Africa: Beyond Madrid +10” , 17-20 October 2012, Cape Town, South Africa

1. Gender, race and ageing in South Africa. Monde Makiwane, Catherine Ndinda and Hanna Botsis Paper presented at the conference on “Ageing Africa: Beyond Madrid +10” , 17-20 October 2012, Cape Town, South Africa

2. Background to ageing in South Africa • The proportion of persons 60 and older in South Africa is projected to almost double in the next 30 years (2000-2030), from 7 per cent to 12 per cent. • Females tend to live longer than males. More than six out of ten older persons in South Africa are females. • The female proportion rises to more than two out of three amongst the 85 years or older age group. • Wide racial disparities: African females are least educated and less likely to have access to paid jobs. • In South Africa, race, gender and class intersect in complex ways to shape elderly people’s experiences and development outcomes

3. Background (contd.) Reality of household headship in South Africa • Young men, who are more likely to be better educated and employed, are generally the heads of smaller households ON THE OTHER HAND • The less educated older women, the majority of whom are outside employment, head larger households. THUS • Older women carry a larger dependency and care burden in the households they head while being more disadvantaged.

4. Background • Misleading analysis of dependency rate • Elderly are not the biggest beneficiaries of multi-generational HH’s • Grant-earning grandmother is the main form of support for many HHs. • Intersectionality of race and gender (Crenshaw 1993)

5. Background (contd.) • Social location is constructed along multiple axes of difference. • Importance of geographical location, race, gender, and class. • Structural inequalities seen through demographic shifts. .

6. Methodology • Data drawn from the General Household Survey 2010 • Older persons defined as 60 years or above • National representative sample. • The sample stratified by province and area type (urban/ rural) • Indian population not included in the analysis

7. Source: General Household Survey, 2010 Table 1: Sex distribution by age and race

8. Age-sex distribution • More elderly females than males amongst persons older than 60 • By the age of 80, Coloured women is more than double • African women 3X elderly African men • Among Whites up to the age eighty is almost equal that of females

9. Source: General Household Survey, 2010 Marital Distribution by Age, race and gender

10. Marriage patterns • Highest marriage rates are among White males • Lowest among Black females • Females of all races are more likely to experience widowhood than males • Highest widowhood among African females, and comes much earlier

11. Source: General Household Survey 2010 Level of Education by Age, Gender and Race

12. Education • Majority of the African and Coloured population of sixty or more years of age have few years of formal schooling. • Women are less educated in every age category. • African males with secondary school education is double females with the same level of qualification • White males with secondary school education (37.3 percent) is more than double that of White females (15.5 percent) • Stark gender differences between men and women of the same race at matric and above

13. : Proportion of older persons who are in wage employment

14. Wage employment • Labor participation rates of the elderly in South Africa are low • The proportion of males are more than double the number of females • African females (91 percent) are the least represented in the labour market among the elderly above 60 years. • Income earning capacity determines the poverty levels amongst the elderly and their quality of life amongst other things.

15. Discussion • Lower the sex ratio reflecting higher mortality among males • High ‘Never married’ appears to be a phenomenon mainly amongst African women and men. • African females have lowest educational attainment • The higher levels of skill among White men and White women largely explains their higher percentages in employment and income earning in old age

16. Conclusion • High burden of care hipped on poor women in SA • Women least prepared: lowest education attainment and financial recourses • Many heads of large households and caring for a third generation. • Policy interventions addressing re-skilling and life-long learning among the elderly need to target the most disadvantaged group

17. References • Makiwane M. and Chimere-Dan O. (2010) “The People Matter”: The state of the Eastern Cape Population. A report prepared for the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development, Unpublished • Benjamin, S. (2007). The Feminization of Poverty in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Story Told by the Women of Bayview, Chatsworth. Journal of Developing Societies Vol 4 (7), 7-10. • Berer, M. (1996). Men. Reproductive Health Matters, vol 4 (7), 7-10. • Binstock, R. (2006). Gerontological theory: the search for the Holy Grail (book review). The Gerontologist, 46 (1) , 139-144.

18. References (contd.) • Corsi, M., Lodovici, M., Botti, F., & DÍppoliti, C. (2010). Active Ageing and Gender Equality Policies: The Employment and Social Inclusion of Women and Men of Late Working and Early Retirement Age. Milano & Roma: IRS- Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale & Fondazione Brodolini. • Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics. In U. o. Forum, Feminism in the Law: Theory, Practice, and Criticism (pp. 116-139). Chicago: University of Chicago Legal Forum.

19. MMakiwane@hsrc.ac.za