SA Elections 2009 – Gender parity versus gender equality

Date: January 1, 1970

The two stories demonstrate that while the country is moving ahead when it comes to gender parity in government, this may not necessarily translate to gender equality.

This article may be used to:

debate the role of female politicians in communicating the gender agenda;
discuss indicators of real gender mainstreaming;
show that stereotypes about women continue to shape the women’s rights agenda;
discuss gender parity versus gender equality; and
discuss voices and sources.

Articles analysed

“Gender talk exposes true plight of women”, City Press, 5 April 2009
“More women to serve in Parliament,” The Sowetan, 28 April 2009
“Gender parity ‘still low’ in top government structures,” Business Day, 12 May 2009

Training Notes

“More women to serve in Parliament,” is about the major political parties in South Africa party lists. The story makes it clear that the new South African Parliament will have almost an equal mix of women and men. The ANC and Cope are flagged as parties which have faired very well in assigning seats to women in the national assembly.

“Gender talk exposes true plight of women” provides a summary of a debate held leading up to the April 22 election, which was focusing on gender. This debate was organised by the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre and Women’s Net and it brought together women form all major political parties together to discuss their organisation’s commitment (or their lack thereof) to gender equality, as laid out in their manifestoes. The parties that were represented were the following: African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance, African Christian Democratic Party, Independent Democrats, United Democratic Movement, Women Forward Party, Congress of the People and Freedom Front Plus. The debate sought to get party representatives to explain and clarify their position regarding gender equality. The article sought to show how even amongst women themselves, there is often a limited understanding of gender issues as was shown by the party representatives during this debate. Some of the representatives even showed a wholly poor understanding of gender as well as their own parties’ positions regarding gender equality.

The contradiction in the above two stories can be used to illustrate that gender equality in numbers may not necessarily equate to understanding and applying principles of gender equality. Although SA is well on track in terms of numbers, the lack of understanding by parties on the issue is concerning. This is even further re-inforced in “Gender parity ‘still low’ in top government structures,” This article summarises the key points in a press release by Gender Links, an NGO. The press release states that gender parity has not been achieved in the highest levels of the ANC-led government. And that after the elections, there are still gender gaps in women’s representation in the higher tiers of politics. The article also quotes Gender Links stating the under-representation of women and blacks within the DA’s political structure; and that even though it is run by a female this does not translate into parity within the main opposition party.

Sources

The first article only sources one voice, Phillip Dexter, COPE’s head of communications. The article is missing voices from parties to talk about the issue of having more women in parliament and in particular underscoring the fact that having more women in Parliament is actually a move towards achieving the 50% target of women in decision making by 2015 set by the 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

The main sources in “Gender talk exposes true plight of women” are the representatives of the various political parties. There were ten voices counted, which both directly and indirectly quoted. All of the sources above are women, as all of the party representatives who attended the debate were women. However, voices of those who were in the audience are missing. The only voice is that of the party politicians and that of ordinary women is missing even though the issue range of issues under discussion is most likely to affect these ordinary women. The article (as do the parties) also stereotypes issue of gender equality when they only access women’s voices. The absence of men’s voices at such debates can be seen as a missed opportunity for society to get men involved in the gender debates in order to also own their own role in the transformation of society.

The fact that there were only women are on the panel discussing gender, on the one hand is good because its women discussing an issue important to them, but it is also a subtle stereotype because it perpetuates the view that gender issues are women’s issues. The article could have countered this stereotyping by accessing men from the audience at the debate. In this way, men would have been able to interrogate some of the ideas pout forward by the panelists.

The final article is single-sourced, summarizing the key points in a press release by Gender Links. The press release states that gender parity has not been achieved in the highest levels of the ANC-led government. And that after the elections, there are still gender gaps in women’s representation in the higher tiers of politics. The article also quotes Gender Links stating the under-representation of women and blacks within the DA’s political structure; and that even though it is run by a female this does not translate into parity within the main opposition party. The story highlights the improvements towards gender parity but it also discusses some of the things that were overlooked and need to be reconciled.

Discussion questions

Does gender parity in politics translate to gains on the ground for most women?
What areas of women’s agendas remain most neglected among government agendas?
Is it fair to expect women, based on their gender, to push gender and women’s rights agendas? Are women necessarily the only ones capable of articulating the agenda of women’s rights?

Training exercises:

Chart the road to gender parity in your country. Where are we and where are we going? Chart progress on women’s rights as well, interviewing gender and women’s rights organisations on the subject. Is there a correlation between gender parity and real gains in gender and women’s rights in your country?
Review the progress of other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2008), which legally binds them to achieving gender parity in decision-making structures by 2015. Who’s in the lead and who’s being left behind?
Interview members of your community in a Vox pos format – what do they have to say about the progress of women’s rights?

Other Training Resources

Gender, elections, and media

Gender and Governance

Business Unusual: Gender and the economy

From the Gender and Media Diversity Centre

Beyond numbers: Gender in political awareness
Key issues: women in governance in Southern Africa

Click here and search theme "Politics" for more related research on the GMDC database.

Click here and search theme "SA Elections 2008"" for more related VRC case studies.

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Open letter to JZ on women’s rights

Gender parity in politics is a far cry from equal rights for women