The role of Women in Business

By Gadija Kaprey Cozyn & Sarah Jacobs Kajee

In celebration of Women’s Month, this month our blog post focuses on Women in Business. Let’s take a look into the role of women in business in South Africa, and the challenges we face.

Women account for more than 50% of the South African population (O’ Neil, 2021). Approximately  38% of South African households are either fully or partially financially supported by women and  an estimated 34% of  small-to-medium enterprises (SME’s) are managed and led by women (Makhaya, 2017; Parry, 2020).  Aside from being primary breadwinners, many women also have additional domestic responsibilities and find themselves wearing multiple hats while still facing inequality. 

 In 2018,  SCORE, an association dedicated to assisting small businesses, reported that 62% of female entrepreneurs  are dependent on their business as their primary source of income. SCORE further elaborates that this challenges the assumption that female entrepreneurs are more likely to run lifestyle businesses which provide a supplemental income, as opposed to serving as a primary source of revenue (SCORE, 2018).

SCORE’s Director of Communications, Betsy Dougert stated that women-owned businesses are just as successful as businesses owned by men, despite facing greater financing challenges.  The 2018 Business Trends report by SCORE found that 47% of female respondents started businesses within the last year, compared to 44% of male respondents, proving that women are in fact more likely to step out of their comfort zones and take the plunge of starting their own businesses (yeah to us!) (Small business trends, 2020).

Women face many challenges in the workspace due to their gender role. Earlier this year, the Department of Statistics South Africa (STATSSA) reported that while men are more likely to be paid in roles of employment regardless of their race, women are often found to be filling unpaid roles of employment. The proportion of unemployment amongst men is significantly lower than women with the unemployment rate amongst females at 36,8% in the 2nd quarter of 2021, compared to 32,4% amongst men (Figure 1) (STATSSA, 2012).

As a minority in the entrepreneurial landscape, women face unique challenges in the workplace, which include unequal pay, inequality, being undermined by colleagues, lack of capital assets and fewer access to business networks. According to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), the female labour-force has seen a 38% increase since the 90’s and only makes up 47% of the employment rate internationally (OECD, 2010).

Covid-19 has impacted all businesses, big and small. Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) described the increase in unequal burden of care by women as “shecession”, explaining that the longer this burden continues, the greater the impact on the female labour force long tem. There has been  consistent traction in the growth of women’s economic empowerment over the last  nine years, however the negative impact of Covid-19 on businesses may mean that businesses will likely only start to recover in 2030 (PWC, 2021).

Women form a valuable part of society. As their employment rates continue to fall, it is critical now more than ever to play your part and support small female owned businesses. 

“If every woman helped another, no-one would be left behind”

Gadija Kaprey Cozyn

We share some useful tips on how YOU can play your part in supporting women in business (Figure 2)

If anything, women have proved to be just as, if not more resilient and driven than men, overcoming the many challenges that we are faced with by being female. The rise of the female entrepreneur over recent years has been both inspiring and insightful as we watch more female owned businesses flourish across South Africa. To each and every one of you reading this today, well done! Keep on rising, keep on growing and let’s not forget to continue to support one another.

References

Makhaya, Trudi. “Reality of Being a Female Entrepreneur in SA.” SME South Africa, 15 Aug. 2017.

O’Neil, Aaron. “South Africa – Total Population by Gender 2018.” Statista, 28 July 2021.

Parry, Bianca. “What South African Women Told Us about Being the Main Breadwinner.” The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2020.

‌20 Amazing Stats on Women Entrepreneurs from SCORE. “20 Amazing Stats on Women Entrepreneurs from SCORE – Small Business Trends.” Small Business Trends, 18 June 2018.‌

PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Women in Work Index 2021.” PwC.

Statistics South Africa,  South African Labour Market Is More Favourable to Men than Women | Statistics South Africa. 2021.OECD. Closing the Gender Gap ACT NOW. 2010.