Addressing Gender Inequity in the Artisanal Industry | Insights from the Installation, Repair, and Maintenance (IRM) Initiative in South Africa
Gender inequity presents significant barriers to the socio-economic upliftment of women and non-binary persons in the artisanal industry*. Research has sought to highlight the cumulative impact of exclusion (as the confluence of patriarchal norms, gender roles, the gendered pay gap, workplace exclusion, discrimination, and bias shows) and its consequences on women. However, this has not translated into any discernible policy or practical interventions. The failure to address the multitude of exclusionary practices and experiences speaks to the untransformed nature of the artisanal space — a largely white, male-dominated and often exploitative industry that continues to exclude Black women living under conditions of poverty.
In South Africa, the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) programme, in partnership with the National Business Initiative (NBI), has sought to embed the Gender Equity & Social Inclusion (GESI) framework in its programmatic interventions as part and parcel of the Installation, Repairs & Maintenance (IRM) Initiative. The IRM Initiative comprises demand-led skill training and workplace learning, delivered through blended learning approaches, and aligned to entry-level employment opportunities across a range of sectors in the South African economy.
*Note that the artisanal industry in South Africa and in this article refers to business activities including but not limited to manufacturing, plumbing, electricians, general maintenance, domestic appliance repairers, autobody repair, cell phone repair.
The Contours of Exclusion
Systemic exclusion refers to the structural barriers preventing marginalised people from fully and freely participating in a segment of society and the economy. In this instance, the exclusion faced by women and non-binary persons can be attributed to prevailing stereotypes concerning the appropriate roles they ought to play in the industry, which tend to play into antiquated tropes of women as secretaries, administrative assistants, and other supporting roles. Women entrepreneurs in the artisanal industry face barriers in accessing finance, contracting opportunities, technology, and other opportunities for upskilling. These obstacles have a negative impact on their capacity to grow and expand their businesses, notably in an economic climate where small, medium, and micro enterprises are seen as a crucial but chronically under-supported catalyst for job creation amongst marginalised groups.[1]
Moreover, issues of discrimination and bias where jobs are assumed to be held by men tend to hinder the employment prospects of young women and non-binary persons. For this reason, young women trainees are often precluded from operating various machinery or leading in the routine installation or maintenance of sanitary fixtures. Further, the ‘gender penalty’, which encapsulates issues of pay inequity, sexual harassment, untransformed parental leave policies and non-existent/limited caregiver benefits, has a disproportionate impact on women and non-binary persons. These limitations lead to an artisanal environment that is not suitable for the integration and growth of this group in an equitable manner.
The GESI framework seeks to address the systemic and societal barriers that prevent women and marginalised groups from accessing skills development initiatives and other income-generating opportunities in the artisanal space. This framework takes a multi-pronged approach that puts gender considerations at the core of all IRM interventions, including ensuring that the overarching ecosystem is safe and inclusive in all its constituent parts. Some of the key interventions in this approach include the delivery of GESI workshops to host employers, college facilitators and IRM trainees respectively; assisting host employers to develop and implement gender-inclusive policies in the workplace and introducing a Gender Liaison Officer to oversee this area of work.
While the scaling up of this intervention is imminent, its earlier iteration within some of NBI’s projects has yielded positive results. A recent post-training evaluation showed a higher rate of employment for women trainees in relation to their male counterparts. These early indicators are in line with studies that show a correlation between the elimination of barriers against women in certain occupations and an increase in labour productivity and transformation in the workplace.[2]
NBI believes that a holistic understanding of the key drivers of social and economic exclusion is but one part of solving this equation; the other is through a concerted effort in galvanising industry action to tackle the various dimensions of gender inequity.
For more information about the National Business Initiative (NBI) and their “Economic Inclusion Pathway”, or partnership inquiries, contact XhantiM@nbi.org.za.
Co-authored by Xhanti Mhlambiso and Khanyisa Nomoyi
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[1] World Bank Development Report “Gender Equality and Development” (2020) Washington.
[2] UNESCO “Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training” (2018) Paris.
