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Cabinet officials

Strengthening Systems for Gender Equality in South Africa

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has announced plans to strengthen and monitor systems that promote gender equality and women empowerment in South Africa over the next five years. At the launch of Women's Month 2025, the Minister outlined crucial developments aimed at institutionalising gender-responsive governance, including the Promotion of Women's Rights, Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill. This bill will provide enforcement mechanisms and ensure that women empowerment takes place across all spheres of governance. The department is also working on a socio-economic empowerment index to track empowerment and participation across socio-economic sectors.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Promotion of Women's Rights, Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill will be enacted to institutionalise gender-responsive planning, budgeting, procurement, and service delivery across all organs of State.
  • The bill will provide enforcement mechanisms to address the long-standing issue of lack of enforcement.
  • The Women's Economic Assembly has been tasked to study the anatomy of government expenditure and supply chain patterns to break free from entrenched barriers to market entry.
  • New indicators of economic progress are needed to enable government to measure what matters, including indicators that recognise both paid and unpaid care work (the care economy).
  • South African women currently hold 43.5% of seats in Parliament, occupying 171 out of 400 seats, up from 28% in 1994.
  • The appointment of Justice Mandisa Maya as South Africa's first female Chief Justice is a historic achievement.
  • The signing of the Public Procurement Bill and the Land Expropriation Act demonstrates government's commitment to gender-responsive redistribution of land and productive assets.
  • The R20 billion annual Transformation Fund has been established to support emerging women industrialists and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
  • The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) Act has now been passed, and the process of establishing the National Council is underway.

Statistics:

  • 43.5% of seats in Parliament are held by South African women, occupying 171 out of 400 seats.
  • The number of seats held by women in Parliament has increased from 28% in 1994.
  • The R20 billion annual Transformation Fund has been established to support emerging women industrialists and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
  • The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) Act has now been passed.

Sources:

  • SAnews.gov.za, (2025), "Strengthening systems for gender equality in South Africa: Minister".
  • AllAfrica Global Media, (no date), distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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