Gender equality in the provision and utilisation of women administrative personnel: A comparative study of the Camdeboo local municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality.

Abstract

In 2000, cabinet adopted the South African Policy framework for women’s empowerment and gender equality, 2000 (Policy framework) which provided for the establishment of the National Gender Machinery (NGM). The NGM is a network of coordinated structures within and outside government which operate cooperatively in facilitating political, social, economic and other forms of transformation to dismantle systemic gender inequality and promote equality between women and men. The implementation of gender equality policy as a function area has constitutionally been given to the national and provincial legislatures in South Africa. The constitution allocated this function to the local sphere of government. Camdeboo and Inxuba Yethemba local municipal authorities are the facilitators of sustainable gender equality policies to citizens on behalf of the national and provincial spheres of government. The study was thus conducted within the Camdeboo local municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality. Camdeboo locoal municipality is one of nine local municipalities in Sarah Baartman district municipality. Inxuba Yethemba local municipality is in Chris Hani district municipality. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation of gender equality in the Provision and Utilisation of Women administration Personnel a comparative study of the Camdeboo local municipality and the Inxuba Yethemba local municipality and to determine the impact of the existing policy on the gender equality policy on the needs of women of both municipalities. For this purpose the fundamental and overall study problem was found to be that the gender equality at the Camdeboo and Inxuba Yethemba is hampered by the implementation of an inadequate municipality gender equality policy and by incompetent municipal personnel in particular and in general by the municipality itself. These action do not satisfy the main purpose of the Employment Equity Act no 55 of 1998 to achieve in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in all forms of employment through elimination of unfair discrimination as well as the implementation of affirmative action measures. The hypothesis was furthermore based on the fact that the existing gender policy of Camdeboo local municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality gender equality policy are inadequate to satisfy women and impacts negatively if not harmfully on human being of women. The study revealed that besides the implementation of gender equality policy by these incompetent municipal personnel, there are economic, social, political and physical effects on women. In case of applications for senior management position, preference is always given to their male counterparts at the expense of equally qualified female applications. Secondly, Gender equality in human resource determination forms part of the processing phase in the system theory. These two municipalities should be made to commit themselves by appending their signatures to all control measures put in place to evaluate the level and the extent of gender equality across all the departments/ sections in the municipality. Any section/department that implements gender equality more effectively should be identified applauded and given recognition. This would motivate and eliminate gender inequality. Personnel provision and utilization is of paramount importance to every organization. It then becomes extremely necessary to examine the gender equality on human resource determination.