ANC Women's League sets bold redress targets

The women's league has often been criticised for sacrificing the "real" issues affecting women and that its role is generally relegated to a "desk" of the ANC, except at election time.

However, the representation of women in Parliament and in the ANC's top leadership structures has swelled, a feat for which the league has taken credit after its push for gender parity in all ruling party structures.

The league wants 50% of the 150 000 jobs to be created through the New Growth Path's jobs fund over the next three years to go to women, who make up 52% of the population. 50% of all tenders and contracts awarded by the state-owned enterprises should be given to women, the league proposes.

The discussion document champions a review of economic empowerment codes such as the Mining Charter to ensure that their targets include women, who should constitute 50% of the beneficiaries of procurement and enterprise development.

Issues to be tackled

The discussion paper calls on the ANC's policy conference to address the growing "feminisation" of poverty, address the income gap between men and women, tackle the "skewed nature" of the private sector where male domination is reinforced, speed up the implementation of gender-based policies in general, and also change the environment so women are able to access their rights.

The discussion document also urges the ANC to push for the creation of a "transformation charter" for the media, while also endorsing the establishing of a media appeals tribunal.

The women's league highlighted setbacks to gender practices in the ANC - bemoaning the "erosion" of the gender parity position in leadership positions in branches and at local government level.

The party held a special national executive committee meeting to endorse this yesterday. Proposed policies would be finalised at the ANC's national conference in Mangaung in December.

Director of the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, Lisa Vetten, said it was heartening that the ANC Women's League was driving the economic empowerment of women, but said it cast doubt on whether gender inequalities in SA could merely be addressed through access to economic opportunities.

"One has to go back to examine what is understood by gender equality. The league's understanding seems to be one of parity rather than something more substantive," she said.

Vetten said the women's league needed to look at more realistic approaches.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge