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South Africa: Gender Statistics
South Africa: Gender Statistics
Date distributed (ymd): 980915
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Southern Africa
Issue Areas: +gender/women+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains the introduction, table of contents, and
a few selected tables from the publication Women & Men in
South Africa, released in August by the South African government's
Central Statistics Service. The full report is available on the
CSS web site (http://www.statssa.gov.za/women&men/intro.htm).
For regularly updated announcements and press releases about
reports on women's issues in South Africa and other countries,
see South African Women's Net updates (http://www.womensnet.org.za/newweeks/newweek.htm).
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Women & Men in South Africa
Central Statistics 1998
Dr FM Orkin, Head
Published by Central Statistics
Private Bag X44, Pretoria, 0001
South Africa
ISBN 0-621-28061-5
Author: Debbie Budlender, Directorate of Analysis and Statistical
Consulting, Central Statistics (CSS)
Much of this report is based on data from the 1995 October
household survey. The detailed statistical tables from that survey
are available as 'October household survey', CSS statistical release
P0317 (South Africa as a whole), and P0317.1 to P0317.9 (the nine
provinces). These can be ordered from Central Statistics, Pretoria,
in both printed and electronic format.
Introduction
In May 1994, South Africa was reunited under a new, democratically
elected government. The interim constitution under which the new
government operated, and the final constitution which came into
effect in 1997, established non-discrimination as one of the most
important guiding principles for the country. In particular, the
government has committed itself to abolition of the race and gender
inequality which previously characterised the country.
The new government reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality
when it ratified the international Convention for the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1995.
In his March 1996 budget speech, the then Minister of Finance,
Chris Liebenberg, promised that the government would disaggregate
data by gender, introduce targets and indicators of gender equality,
and develop a performance review mechanism in respect of gender.
At the time of the 1995 Beijing Conference on the status of
women a number of countries produced booklets containing basic
statistics on women and men. Although South Africa produced a
narrative report for the conference, it was not yet ready to produce
a 'Women and Men' statistical booklet. This report is South Africa's
'Women and Men' publication.
Gender statistics are urgently required. The Office on the
Status of Women, the Commission on Gender Equality, and the gender
desks within national departments and at provincial level, need
information on the situation of women and men. All spheres of
government need gender-disaggregated information to fulfil their
planning functions. And, as time goes by, South Africans inside
and outside government will want to measure whether policies and
programmes are succeeding in addressing gender inequalities.
For the Central Statistical Service, this booklet also provides
an opportunity to indicate the wealth of information that is available.
While there are gaps in our information about many aspects of
South African society, there is also a lot of data which is not
being fully utilised, or has not been analysed. This report is
an invitation to South Africans to improve levels of utilisation
of what is available, and to make proposals on how the information
base can be further expanded and improved.
What are gender statistics?
Gender statistics extend beyond disaggregation of indicators
into the categories of women and men. They focus on issues of
particular relevance to women and men, girls and boys, and their
different roles and positions in society. Statistics on household
distance from water or fuel, for example, have different implications
for women and men. For it is usually women who spend additional
time collecting these necessities of life when they are not readily
available to a household.
Virtually every aspect of society has its gendered aspect.
Not all issues are measurable, and data are not yet available
on many of those issues which can be measured. Nevertheless, there
are far more gender statistics available than can be presented
in this short booklet.
In making choices about what should be covered, priority has
been given to some of the standard indicators covered in 'Women
and Men' booklets from other countries. This enables comparison
of South Africa's progress with that of countries at similar levels
of development, and with similar problems. However, indicators
have been adapted to measure our special problems. In particular,
many of the indicators are further disaggregated by population
group, or urban and non-urban areas.
Most of the statistics in this booklet are derived from the
Central Statistics' annual October household survey. During the
1995 survey, 30 000 households, selected so as to be representative
of the full population, were visited. Questions were asked both
about the household, and about each of the individual members
of the households surveyed. The results of the survey were then
'weighted up' so as to give figures for the full population.
The weighting of the 1995 October household survey was based
on estimates of the population derived from the 1991 population
census. However, preliminary results from the 1996 population
census, released in June 1997, suggested that we have been overestimating
the size of the country's population by about ten percent (CSS,
1997). One of the more important causes of previous overestimation
was that demographers thought that the fertility rate, particularly
in non-urban areas, was higher than it now seems. This means that
the 1996 census will also probably show a decrease in the proportion
of the population under the age of five years, a decrease in those
of school-going age, and a decrease among those who live in non-urban
areas and what were previously constituted as 'homelands' or bantustans.
Final results from Census '96 will only be available in September
1998. Until then, the CSS does not have enough accurate detailed
information to recalculate weights for surveys such as the OHS.
Figures shown in this booklet, therefore, are based on previous
estimates of the population. To reduce possible error, most figures
are reported as percentages rather than as absolute numbers. Nevertheless,
the expected change in age, geographical and other aspects of
the population profile suggest that even the percentages presented
may, on occasion, be slightly inaccurate.
Contents
Introduction
Population
The Provinces
Families & households: Income, Marital status, Childbearing,
Children
Living conditions: Access to water, Access to wood, Refuse
disposal
Work: Economic status, Hours worked, Work status, Employment
by sector, Employment by occupation, Public service employment,
Trade unions, Wages and salaries
Education and training: Preschool attendance, Educational achievement,
Tertiary education, Skills training
Health: Life expectancy, Facilities, Medical aid, Contraception,
HIV/Aids
Crime: Rape
Decision-making: National assembly, Provincial legislatures,
Public service management,
Judicial officers
Conclusion
Sources
List of Figures
Figure 1: Distribution of the population by province and gender
Figure 2: Urbanisation by province and gender
Figure 3: Income distribution: national quintiles by gender of
household head and non-urban/urban location
Figure 4: Distribution of marital status by age and gender
Figure 5: Form of marriage by population group and gender
Figure 6: Women who have given birth by marital status
Figure 7: Household location of young children in relation to
parents, by population group
Figure 8: Households fetching water for domestic use by population
group
Figure 9: Distance from water source among households fetching
water for domestic use
Figure 10: Households fetching wood for domestic use by population
group
Figure 11: Distance from source of wood among households fetching
wood
Figure 12: Refuse disposal by population group
Figure 13: Economic status of those aged 15 years or more by population
group and gender
Figure 14: Economic status by education level and gender: African
people 15 years and older
Figure 15: Mean hours worked among employed by population group
and gender
Figure 16: Type of employment by population group and gender
Figure 17: People working alone as a percentage of those self-employed
by population group and gender
Figure 18: Employment distribution by economic sector and gender
Figure 19: Employment distribution by occupation and gender
Figure 20: Women in public service employment by level
Figure 21: Employees who are trade union members by population
group and gender
Figure 22: Mean hourly earnings of employees by population group
and gender
Figure 23: Degree holders in each income category by population
group and gender
Figure 24: Children in preschool education by population group
and age
Figure 25: Educational achievement of people aged 25 years or
more by population group and gender
Figure 26: Percentage of 15-24 years olds who have not completed
matric and want to study further by population group and gender
Figure 27: Reasons for non-completion of matric by gender
Figure 28: University and technikon enrolments and permanent staff
by gender
Figure 29: Women and men aged 18 years or more attending skills
training by population group
Figure 30: Life expectancy at birth by population group and gender
Figure 31: Where women under 55 years of age gave birth by population
group
Figure 32: Distance to nearest health facility by population group
Figure 33: Access by adults to medical aid by population group
and gender
Figure 34: Use of contraceptives by population group and gender
Figure 35: HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal clinics
by population group, 1990-1995
Figure 36: Reported rapes per 100 000 of the population
Figure 37: National Assembly representatives by political party
and gender
Figure 38: Percentage of women in each provincial legislature
Figure 39: Managers in the public service by population group
and gender
Figure 40: Judges by population group and gender
Figure 41: Other judicial officers by gender
Figure 8: Households fetching water for domestic use by
population group
Population Group Percentage Fetching Water
African 71%
Coloured 28%
Indian 3%
White 3%
Total 51%
Figure 22: Mean hourly earnings of employees by population
group and gender
Population Group/Gender Rands per hour
African Women 7,67
African Men 8,61
Coloured Women 7,07
Coloured Men 8,63
Indian Women 11,99
Indian Men 16,19
White Women 17,58
White Men 29,13
Figure 39: Managers in the public service by population group
and gender
Population Group/Gender % of Managers in Public Service
African Women 7%
African Men 29%
Coloured Women 1%
Coloured Men 4%
Indian Women 1%
Indian Men 3%
White Women 5%
White Men 51%
This material is being reposted for wider distribution
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States around
African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by concentrating on
providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis
usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.
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