WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE IMFO SEMINAR EAST LONDON ICC 7-8 FEBRUARY 2013

1. WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCEIMFO SEMINAREAST LONDON ICC7-8 FEBRUARY 2013

2. OUTLINE Purpose of the presentation Concept Diversity Progress on women empowerment Women Achievements Challenges Proposals to address the imbalances

3. PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTATION The purpose of the presentation is to clarify the concept diversity; Analyse progress on women empowerment; Look at the achievements made by women; The challenges they face; and Proposals to address the imbalances.

4. CONCEPT DIVERSITY • The concept diversity encompasses acceptance and respect (University of Oregon); • It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences; • These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies; • It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment; • It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual; and • Diversity is a commitment in recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.

5. PROGRESS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT • To a certain extent government has moved towards women empowerment though a lot still needs to be done when looking at the challenges; • The creation of the Ministry for women, children and people with disabilities to address inequalities of the past; • In parliament and in municipal councils women are fairly represented; • Gender equality is one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals where the Masimanyane's executive director Lesley Ann Foster presented the country ‘s report to the UN's Cedaw committee; • Lesley Ann Foster acknowledged that the South African government has made significant efforts to address gender equality issues through the ratification of the Cedaw convention and its Optional Protocol, which was introduced in 1999; • “Despite these efforts, the lived realities of women, their quality of life, and their status within society has not seen a significant change,” she added; • The women in leadership census found that women hold only 4.4% of chief executive officer/managing director positions, 5.3% of chairperson positions and 15.8% of all directorships in South Africa;

6. PROGRESS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CONT… • The report indicated that in the country's public service, women hold 35% of all senior managerial positions; • In the finance field however, very little has been done, this is manifested by the positions held at senior level which are male dominated, i.e the Minister of Finance, Finance DG, Accountant General and Auditor General; • Where women are dominant in the finance field is in junior positions; • The table below reflects the status of women representation at CFO level in all the provinces:

7. PROGRESS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CONT… • The table clearly shows that equity and gender equality is not the order of the day at local government; • The table reflects that Gauteng and Western Cape are the worst and Limpopo is doing well; • The overall picture reflects that men are 73,59% and women 26,41%; • What I have also observed is that representation in terms of race is also not taken care of at local government; and • This implies that local government has not reached a stage where they can applaud themselves in being a rainbow nation.

8. WOMEN ACHIEVEMENTS • The historical significance of 9 August, National Women's Day, goes back to 1956 when 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the extension of passes restricting freedom of movement during the apartheid government; • The women were led by the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw) including four women: Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams De Bruyn; • Throughout the demonstration the huge crowd displayed a discipline and dignity that was deeply impressive (Walker 1991:195); • Commemorative events for 9 August each year are intended to remind the country about women's rights issues and the struggle for women's emancipation; • The formation of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities; and • The advancement by women of a male dominated field of science was acknowledged by the Minister of Science and Technology;

9. WOMEN ACHIEVEMENTS CONT…. • In this event Professor Relebohile Moletsane walked away with the Distinguished Woman Scientist Award; • Dr Rapela Maphanga from the University of Limpopo won the Distinguished Young Women Scientist Award; and • I am not aware of any awards made to women in the financial field especially in the local government arena.

10. WOMEN CHALLENGES • The South African history has left women with many challenges to overcome; • Most obstacles to the development of women can be related to poverty, violence and abuse, and inadequate access to education, employment, health care, and legal representation; • The parliamentary debate on 27 August 2012, reached a general consensus among parties that while great strides had been made towards achieving gender equality, women, especially vulnerable women still faced a number of challenges, including poverty, unemployment and violence; • Women have in the past been regarded as housewives and this has presented a challenge in that, male colleagues often resist a female supervisor; • The Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana cited that government is concerned about the under-representation of women at the executive level in the South African corporate space; • Women still have to prove themselves that they are worthy to be in a senior executive level; • Women are treated as second best as male colleagues are of the view that they can do better than women;

11. WOMEN CHALLENGES CONT… • Most women at junior positions do not find comfort in being led by a woman, they are still of the view that men can do better; • Most women are still feeling inferior and cannot express themselves in a male dominated environment; • Some women lack the self confidence of presenting and believing in themselves; • Women are paid lower salaries than male colleagues who possess the same skill and qualification in the private sector; • Balancing work and family life; • Local government has however manifested itself in appointing young inexperienced women in senior positions; and • Nepotism is still rife in local government.

12. PROPOSALS TO ADDRESS IMBALANCES • More awareness programmes should be developed to educate women who fear to venture into the corporate financial environment; • Reskilling of women for the finance field; • Coaching and mentoring of women in junior positions to be able to enter executive positions; • Seminars of this nature where women would be able to share their successes and challenges, encourage each other to be independent finance leaders; • Women should be given an opportunity to explore their potential without negative criticism; and • Government should be more vigorous in enforcing affirmative action as currently very little is being done in the corporate space.

13. ENKOSI THANK YOU DANKIE KEYA LEBOGA