Opinion / Columnist
Toxic Inequality??
21 Sep 2013 at 09:39hrs | Views
Feminists, pressure groups and gender lobbyists roundly vilified President Mugabe's decision to include just the three women in his new cabinet. From an inequality standpoint, it's easy to view the gender "snub" as discriminatory microcosm that's prevalent in society.
The past is undoubtedly littered with exclusionary strategies adopted by males to maintain some sort of gender dominance.Even trade unions headed by the likes of Tsvangirayi inadvertently supported a form of institutional marginilisation by excluding women from their organisations. This is not to say progress has not made been made.
In a broad sense,guided by national and regional instruments such as the National Gender Policy and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol of 2008, Zimbabwe continues to make headway in addressing gender disparities. Women's representation in Parliament more than doubled from 17 per cent following the 2008 general elections to 35 per cent in the elections on 31 July 2013,the only African country to do so.
Narrowing it down,in the past 15 years,pay gaps between men and women are virtually equal,women are better positioned to command a similar wage as their male counterparts. Infact i would argue the current structural fiber supports jobs suitable for women i.e. social roles, nurses,retail(formal and informal)
Implementation counts more than numbers at this point in time.Laws and acts facilitate the structure and fairness necessary to tackle the issue. That's already in place. The other two variables are organisational responsibility and society harnessing the power of female ideas.
In reference to the later,women should more to provide insight that goes beyond female emancipation standpoints.
Organisations face the biggest challenge when it comes levelling the labour playing field. The labour participation rates stand at a 9:1 male to female ratio. For every 10 jobs advertised,just one is secured by a female. Therefore any approach should place more responsibility with service providers.It is time employers think strategically about gender inequality following the Government's initiatives.
The Government can go a step further and make it mandatory for employees to publish gender pay information and gender employment patterns.Inequality pursuers could be penalised as a way reduce labour market failures. Above that, the state should continuously engage firms through informing,advise,guidance and training.
The point is not that we should weep for female cabinet underrepresented,that's not the way forward. Gender equality is not a top down issue.Moreover,employment opportunities are limited to an extent that it's impossible to effectively narrate a descriptive that leaves women at an irredeemably disadvantage.
Bhekinkosi Ngubeni is a qualified economist email him bheki213@yahoo.co.uk
Source - Bhekinkosi Ngubeni
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