SA’s workplace gender divide laid bare
Women make up almost half of South Africa’s workforce, but new data shows a divide between the industries and jobs dominated by women and those where they remain conspicuously absent.
South African women make up nearly half of the country's workforce, but their presence varies widely across industries, according to a new analysis by Statistics South Africa. Women dominate certain sectors, such as personal services, accommodation, food and beverages, and retail trade, making up over half of the workforce in these fields. Conversely, they are severely underrepresented in construction, mining, transport and storage, and the motor trade.
The analysis, which uses more detailed structural industry surveys, highlights that gender representation can differ within individual industries. For instance, women comprise over 70% of jobs in social work and hospital, medical, and dental activities, making these among the most female-dominated sectors in the formal economy.
In contrast, construction stands out as particularly male-dominated, with women poorly represented across the industry. Women are least likely to be employed in construction, followed by roles in renting construction or demolition equipment, painting and decorating, and mining dimension stone. Similarly, while women are underrepresented in manufacturing, they make up more than 60% of jobs in textiles and clothing.
Even within the personal services industry, which has the highest overall female representation, there are marked differences. Women account for just over a third of employment in sporting activities, compared to three-quarters in social work. This disparity is evident throughout the workforce, with women already facing a disadvantage due to lower employment rates.
As of the second quarter of 2026, women represented only about half of South Africa's 42.3 million working-age population, with an official unemployment rate of 37.5%, compared to 30.3% for men. Young women face additional challenges, with 38.2% of women aged 15 to 24 not in employment, education, or training, compared to 34.6% of young men.
The gender divide persists even among those who do find work. Only seven in ten employed women hold managerial positions, compared to 10% of employed men. This gap is also evident at the highest levels of corporate South Africa, where women hold only 38% of board seats in JSE Top 40 companies as of 2025, and only 27.4% of executive roles.
While nine companies have achieved gender parity on their boards, only three have female CEOs and six have female board chairs. Research from SNG Grant Thornton indicates a slightly brighter picture at the senior management level, where women hold almost half of these positions, a figure considerably higher than the global average of one-third.
However, women are more concentrated in clerical work, which accounts for 17% of female employment compared to just 5.8% for men. Domestic work represents 10.8% of employed women, while men hold a mere 0.5% in this sector.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
