Tag: structural inequality

The proposal for a universal basic income grant (BIG) has been on the table for almost 20 years. It was first recommended by the Committee of Inquiry (Taylor Committee) into a Comprehensive System of Social Security for South Africa in 2002, after a number of civil society organisations had petitioned for it on account of persistent poverty and structural inequality.

In markets there is inequality of wealth because there is inequality of production. Some people produce more than other people. Not all labour is equally valuable. Structural inequality relies on politics. The state may put roadblocks in front of some people in order to benefit others. This sort of economic inequality relies more on political pull than on productivity.

Made in South Africa: A black woman’s stories of rage, resistance and progress is a vibrant collection of essays in which Lwando Xaso examines, with incisive clarity. Some of the events shaped her experience of her homeland South Africa – a country with huge potential but weighed down by persistent racism and inequality, cultural appropriation, sexism and corruption; all legacies of a complicated history.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added a host of new challenges for South African frontline workers, but those arguably hardest hit are female employees within essential industries, who had to still physically show up for their jobs - throughout all lockdown levels - while juggling the lion’s share of unpaid domestic work at home.