Tag: women’s rights

Gender equality is a basic human right, yet progress towards equal rights for women remains elusive globally.

Any society that restricts the economic participation of half of its members is doomed to failure, and women make up roughly half of the population in any society. Regression studies reveal that equality before the law is second only to inflation in terms of its contribution to GDP per capita growth.

In South Africa it is well known that women suffer the brunt of our many socio-economic issues. This is largely how females are viewed across South African culture, rather than as a matter of law. According to the Economic Freedom of the World index, South Africa scores 1.0, the highest possible score, according to the gender adjustment variable.

Before the introduction of the South African Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, women had no formal recognition as equal citizens. As shocking as that may sound, only in 1996, did the bill of rights rectify this.

Should women empower women or is it a man's job, you may ask. Can the disempowered empower themselves? In a world that belongs to men, as James Brown once sang, women are still critical players in the creation of balance & growth. It is proven that companies with women at the helm perform better. However, when so many doors remain closed to women (African women particularly), who needs to take responsibility for changing the status quo?

Read our exclusive cover story entitled EMPOWERING WOMEN | WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY? by Deon Oberholzer, CEO of Gestalt Growth Strategies as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the February/March 2018 edition of BusinessBrief.