Gender differences in the South African labour market (1995 – 2007): A descriptive review

Dori PoselSchool of Development Studies, UKZN

June 2011

Main objectives:

1) To describe how women’s economic status in the labour market has changed in the post-apartheid period.

- Labour force participation (employment and unemployment)

- Returns to employment (earnings)

2) To highlight some of the implications of gender differences in labour market status.

Quantitative study:

Data

• October Household Survey (OHS), 1995 – 1999

• September Labour Force Survey (LFS), 2000 – 2007

~ Nationally representative household surveys conducted by Statistics South Africa; typically 30 000 households interviewed.

A period of 12 years can be more confident in identifying real changes (rather than “noise”, mismeasurement etc).

1. How has women’s economic status changed, 1995 – 2007?

i) Changes in employment and unemployment:

Figure 1: Employment by gender: 1995 - 2007

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Num

bers

(100

0's)

Women

Men

Female employment grew by more than male employment over the period (accounting for 56 percent of the total rise in employment).

Share of employment by gender, 2007

Women

Men

But: men still form the majority of the employed.

Figure 2: Share of employment by gender, 1995

Women

Men

Women’s share of employment increased.

Unemployment

Economic growth has not been jobless, but the increase in employment has been smaller than the increase in those who want employment.

1995 to 2007:- 3.1 million increase in jobs.But:- 3.6 million increase in those who want employment but who are

unemployed.

Increase in unemployment rates.

Although women’s share of employment has risen, women have also been more vulnerable to unemployment than men.

Figure 3: Searching unemployment by gender: 1995 - 2007

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Num

bers

(100

0's)

Women

Men

Women dominate the non-searching unemployed, hence gender differences are particularly pronounced when comparing expanded unemployment.

Figure 4. Expanded unemployment by gender: 1995 - 2007

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Num

bers

(100

0's)

Women

Men

Over the period: The increase in women’s unemployment has been larger than the increase in male unemployment gender differences in the risk of unemployment have widened.

Figure 5: Employment and unemployment among women: 1995 - 2007

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Num

bers

(100

0's)

Employment

Expanded unemployment

In recent years: unemployment levels have been flattening out or even falling. But the increase in employment remains too slow to significantly affect unemployment rates, which remain very high.

Figure 6: Employment and unemployment among men: 1995 - 2007

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Num

bers

(100

0s)

Employment

Expanded unemployment

ii) Earnings:

Figure 7: Real monthly average earnings by gender: 1995 - 2007

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Ran

ds (

2000

pri

ces)

Women

Men

Average monthly earnings for women in 1995 = 64 per cent of men’s earnings; by 2007 = 72 per cent.

Figure 8A: Earnings distribution for employed African men and women: 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

None

R1-R200

R201-

R500

R501-

R1000

R1001

-R15

00

R1501

-R25

00

R2501

-R35

00

R3501

-R45

00

R4501

-R60

00

R6001

-R80

00

R8001

-R11

000

R1100

1-R160

00

More

than

R16

000

Perc

enta

ge

Male

Female

Figure 8B: Earnings distribution for employed White men and women: 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

None

R1-R200

R201-

R500

R501-

R1000

R1001

-R15

00

R1501

-R25

00

R2501

-R35

00

R3501

-R45

00

R4501

-R60

00

R6001

-R80

00

R8001

-R11

000

R1100

1-R160

00

More

than

R16

000

Perc

enta

ge

Male

Female

The composition of those in the top earnings decline, 1995 and 2007:

Figure 9A: Racial and gender breakdown of top earnings decile: 1995

African male15%

Coloured male3%

Indian male5%

White male57%

Coloured female1%

Indian female1%

White female12%

African female6%

Figure 9B: Racial and gender breakdown of top earnings decile: 2007

African male26%

Coloured male6%

Indian male5%

White male30%

African female13%

Coloured female5%

Indian female2%

White female13%

Considerable fall in the share of White men among top income-earners.

Percentage of women in the top earnings decile: increased from 20 per cent in 1995 to 33 per cent in 2007.

The composition of those in the bottom earnings decile, 1995 and 2007:

Figure 10A: Racial and gender breakdown of bottom earnings decile: 1995

Coloured male3%

Indian male0%

White female2%

Indian female0%

Coloured female6%

African male39%

African female46%

White male4%

Figure 10B: Racial and gender breakdown of bottom earnings decile: 2007

African male35.2%

African female58.3% Indian male

0.2%

White male0.6%

Coloured male1.4%

Indian female0.2%

White female0.9%

Coloured female3.2%

Increase in the share of African women among the bottom earners, from 46 per cent in 1995 to 58 per cent in 2007.

Women’s share of low-paid work has increased considerably.

Table 1. The gender gap in earnings Percentage by which women's earnings are lower than men's earnings

2000 2007

Unadjusted

37% 32%

Controlling for age, education, race, hours worked, province of residence and geo-type

39% 35%

Controlling for age, education, race, hours worked, province of residence and geo-type + industry of employment and broad occupational type

29% 29%

2. How have women’s living arrangements changed?

Figure 11: Percentage of working-age women married/cohabiting: 1995 - 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Per

cent

age

of w

orki

ng a

ge w

omen

African

Coloured

Indian

White

Figure 12: Percentage of working-age women living without men (aged 15 and older): 1995 - 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Perc

enta

ge o

f w

orki

ng a

ge w

omen

African

Coloured

Indian

White

Figure 13: Percentage of working-age women living without any employed men (aged 15 and older): 1995 - 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Perc

enta

ge o

f wor

king

age

wom

en

African

Coloured

Indian

White

3. Implications

Source: October Household Surveys 1997 and 1999; General Household Surveys (GHS) 2004 and 2006.

Figure 14. Gender differences in poverty rates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1997 1999 2004 2006

% li

ving

in p

oor h

ouse

hold

s

Male

Female

Poverty line = R322 per capita per month (2000 prices)

Children are far more likely to be living with their mothers than with their fathers:

Table 2A: Presence of mothers in the household, South Africa 2006 Percentage of children living in households where:

Mother resident

Mother alive, but absent from the

household

Mother dead

Children 7 – 12 71 21 8 Children 0 – 6 82 15 3 Source: General Household Survey 2006. The data are weighted.

Table 2B: Presence of fathers in the household, South Africa 2006 Percentage of children living in households where:

Father resident Father alive, but absent from the

household

Father dead

Children 7 – 12 37 44 19 Children 0 – 6 39 51 10 Source: General Household Survey 2006. The data are weighted.

Feminisation of the labour force in post-apartheid South Africa

• Women’s share of employment has increased, but their share of unemployment has grown even more dramatically.

• The average (unadjusted) gender gap in earnings has fallen, but a persistent gender gap in earnings remains (of about 29 per cent).

• Falling marriage rates + growing share of women living in households without (employed) men means that a rising share of households are reliant on women’s earnings.

• Gender differences in employment, unemployment and earnings help explain why women are more vulnerable to poverty than men.

• Children are considerably more likely to live with their mothers than their fathers, so gender differences in poverty have implications for poverty risks among children.

Gender differences in benefits among the wage employed, 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Contract Paid leave Medical aid contribution

Perc

enta

ge

Women

Men

Appendix: Working conditions and gender