South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has warned that none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations will be achieved if the fifth goal concerning gender equality is not realised in the country.
Pandor was speaking on Wednesday during a keynote address at the Annual Forbes Africa Leading Women’s Summit 2023 in Pretoria – an occasion which also coincided with the UN-designated International Women’s Day.
According to the minister, it was about time the world woke up to “empower women and girls everywhere so that they can reach their potential.”
Despite the long road that lay ahead, Pandor said women were increasingly entering the workplace, and constituting 43.8 percent of the labour force and contributing significantly towards the economy.
“The increase in remuneration and access to jobs because of the decrease in gender discrimination, are contributing factors to the proliferation of women in the labour force,” she said.
However, only 32 percent of the women occupied a managerial position in South Africa, she said.
In addition, she said more women were members of unions and cited the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which is led by a woman, Zingiswa Losi.
Pandor said she believed achieving gender equity in decision-making positions – both in government and the private sector – was crucial to the country’s development.
NM/jn/APA