How women have to contend with masculinity of power
Gender politics harshly depicts women in patriarchal stereotypes
IN SOUTH Africa, the markedly visible representation of women in government after democracy gives a false depiction towards gender equity, particularly within the leadership landscape. Similarly, media images of women leaders in the political and judicial arena captured our imagination.
Whilst these achievements are important, our concern is that this visibility of women in government does not necessarily translate to equity in broad-based leadership. In South Africa, most black African women are invisible in business and community leadership because the “masculinity of power” marginalises them. Even more so in the academic sector, despite the increased number of black African women who hold doctorates, black African women, by all accounts remain invisible.
As one researcher put it, African women suffer “triple oppression” – first, as disadvantaged and marginalised in class terms; second, as black in a racialised society that privileges the white minority; and third, as women in patriarchal African cultures.
In academia, it is notable that white women have risen more quickly than black African women into senior professorial positions and executive management.
We believe we must also take the time to examine what we mean when we say the word “woman”. Often when we speak of women, in our minds we see women like ourselves. But that picture can exclude many other women who are marginalised for one reason or another, depending on age, economic status, employment status (and the sector they work in, and the positions they hold), literacy status and disability.
They are also an important part of our womanhood and an equally
AT THE weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa will move to Level 2 of the lockdown. People can now travel between provinces, and visit family and friends which will be great for boosting tourism expenditure.
The ban on alcohol and tobacco sales is lifted and the on-site consumption of alcohol until 10pm will help save a tourism and hospitality industry that was already on its knees.
The tourism industry is the second largest employer after mining and produces 2.8% of GDP. Since the end of apartheid, achieving labour absorbing economic growth has been elusive. Tourism has been a glimmer of hope, as tourist arrivals grew concurrently with job opportunities, while being a catalyst for agriculture, manufacturing and construction. important part of humanity.
There are success stories of African women leaders and they offer valuable lessons. For instance, women in higher education have to contend with forms of coloniality in racial, gender, linguistic and curricular terms. Our experience has taught us that women have the additional burden to be much better than men to land top jobs.
We have to work doubly hard, and as more talented women attain executive positions, we are often constructed as ambitious rivals. It is commonplace for women to be judged not only on competence but on their ability to balance their workplace expectations with emotional intelligence.
This inevitably results in two specific depictions of women leaders which tend to be exclusively related to a genderised assessment of their competence or a genderised depiction of their emotional stability for leadership. In short, gender politics harshly depicts us in patriarchal stereotypes that, by design, can curb our influence.
It was therefore shocking when the lockdown regulations were introduced, and tourism was not regarded as an essential service such as agriculture and mining. A sizeable amount of agricultural produce, from eggs, meat and the raw materials to produce various alcoholic beverages, are consumed by the tourism, leisure and hospitality value chain.
I am of the belief that tourism is treated unfairly by the government because it could have operated at a smaller scale without allowing for the spread of Covid-19 infections. The tourism industry has hygiene and cleanliness regiments, institutionalised as part and parcel of normal business operations. The character and nature of tourism which require physical contact and
Women often have to fall on the sword of their personalities because that is what people focus on, even when a woman is professionally competent.
In South Africa, gender is trumped by race, so black African women often end up at the back of what we can refer to as “the colonial procession”.
Last year, the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology at Stellenbosch University released a report showing that South African researchers – not just in universities but also in other institutions – were now 45% women: up from 36% in 2001 and slightly higher than the global average. While the numbers look progressive, this does not mean we have achieved the level of diversity needed in academic research, as diversity is not just about the numbers. It encompasses more than just gender.
So, to have data that tells us that the number of women researchers has increased is insufficient – we must ask which women? The legacy associated with the masculinity of power, and warm bodies, is in no way different from citizens being allowed to go and procure groceries, or worse to wait in lines to acquire government Covid-19 relief efforts.
The antagonistic attitude towards the tourism industry is unfortunate when you consider that Airbnb has been the punching bag of the Disaster Management Act and its regulations. Government was warned that stopping the operation of Airbnb would be impossible to police, and would deflect attention from fighting what is our common enemy, the Covid-19 pandemic.
By not opening international borders, the state robs the same tourism industry of growth. Tourism is a highly competitive industry, and as major source markets in the racialisation of power in the world, means that it is important not only that women are advancing in leadership positions, but that a good number of black African women are doing so.
To this end, black African women in leadership find themselves contending with the “masculinity of power” along with the coloniality of power in higher education and other sectors of the economy. We submit that the masculinity of power is a form of gender-based violence.
In Nolitha Fakude’s memoir,
she describes an experience she had with an angry white customer when Fakude was a young store manager for Woolworths in the early 1990s.
The customer insisted on speaking to Fakude’s line manager at the corporate head office, and then explained to that contact – a white male – that she was a loyal Woolies customer but she was not going to do any more business with the retailer if the stores were going to be managed by black African people.
The head office representative thanked the customer for her business over the years and advised her that she should plan on not returning to Woolworths because the company was committed to transformation.
She learned from that phone conversation about the importance of leadership in stating corporate values and living by them. So we need those who hire black African women to recognise that the importance of their roles is not just at the level of appointment of the women but also how they support those women in the boardroom, in university council chambers and also when dogmatic, bigoted, conservative and racist staff members or stakeholders try to push them out.
Europe and America seek post-Covid destinations, South Africa would remain off the “buy list”. This means that the busy festive season that begins in October till early January may be lost forever by the tourism trade to profit from, and the losses suffered will never be recouped.
The state needs to give a specific date in September 2020 when our borders will be opened so that certainty can be created in the tourism market and marketing efforts can be co-ordinated. This would create certainty and instil confidence in South Africa, as a destination for trade and tourism. Being oblivious to the damage experienced by the tourism industry is in itself a pandemic and a form of economic espionage against the tourism trade.
Many experts were of the view that we would emerge from the first wave in October or November.
And yet, here we stand, close to 150 days after the lockdown was declared, with a declining infection rate, lower than expected deaths and one of the highest recovery rates in the world.
Our hospitals did not become overwhelmed as we saw in some areas of Europe and we have avoided polarisation on key issues such as the wearing of masks.
This column is not a critique on any analyst or commentator – vibrant debate is important in our society.
Government officials do read the media reports and scientific reports locally and internationally, and public policy documents.
Ultimately decisions must be arrived at that balance all the various angles and constituencies.
There are key issues which need to be solved. How do we continue to manage behaviours to prevent a resurgence of the virus?
When will our second wave arrive? What is to be done about the triple human-inflicted pandemics of racism, gender-based violence and corruption?
And on the economic side, we are not sure about the extent of job losses. How quickly will our economy be able to bounce back?
How do we agree on a coherent economic policy and strategy that can bring together all actors in the government, business, labour and civil society?
It is important to reflect on the journey we have traversed. It is equally important to pass on our condolences to those who have lost their lives in the pandemic.
In particular, those brave, courageous health-care workers who put their lives on the line for us.
The pandemic has exposed many fault lines in our society.
Only real political will and a commitment to change will solve them.
History will judge the decisions we have made.
For now, though, perhaps there’s an inkling of joy that we have made it this far?
As President Cyril Ramaphosa so eloquently put it in his address to the nation on Saturday: “A ray of light is visible on the horizon.”
Carrim is the chief executive of the National Youth Development Agency