Promoting gender equality in the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape : an appraisal based on perceptions of gender focal persons and the Head of the Western Cape Office on the Status of Women for Gender Equality

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The South African government has committed itself to the promotion ofgender equality in the national constitution and also with the signing andratifying of regional and international documents. Examples of a regionaldocument is the Southern African Development Community Declaration onGender and Development and international document the Convention on theElimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women and the BeijingPlatform for Action.The Gender Machinery in South Africa was created at a national level topromote gender equality on all levels of government through structures onprovincial and local government levels. This study focused on the provinciallevel and more specifically on the gender focal persons and the Office on theStatus of Women for Gender Equality in the Provincial Administration of theWestern Cape (PAWC). The study was done with the aim to assess progresson the promotion of gender equality in the PAWC.Information was gathered through interviews with members of Genderfocal units and the Head of the Office on the Status of Women for GenderEquality. Interviews were conducted with seven of the nine departments in theProvincial Administration of the Western Cape.Findings on the promotion of gender equality indicate that a long roadlies ahead. Limited Progress is seen, however, and can be attributed to thework of dedicated gender focal persons and the Office on the Status of Womenfor Gender Equality. Specific to the work of dedicated gender focal persons thisstudy finds that within the context of financial and other constraints relating toan absence of specified expectations and a double workload, progress is stillmade under these circumstances.Based on the findings the following recommendations are made. Firstly,broad scale gender awareness training is required for the personnel of theprovincial administration. Secondly, there is a need to develop a job descriptionfor gender work and if reasonable to integrate this into the line function ofgender focal persons. Thirdly, the gender focal units need to have a specificbudget for gender-related work, as this will facilitate planning for gender-relatedprojects. Finally further training is required for the gender focal personsregarding gender mainstreaming and how to translate the goals of gendermainstreaming into action in the respective departments.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University