Woman unemployment exceeds the national rate of 29 percent.
Unemployment affects women more than it does men and, with women’s month now upon us, perhaps it is time to look into why this is the case.
Stats SA, in its latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Tuesday, announced that unemployment rose to 29% in the second quarter of 2019, which was the highlest level it's ever been the highest jobless rate since the start of 2008.. Joblessness increased 1.4 percentage points from the 27.6% reported in the first quarter.
To to an ever-persisting trend, women remained most affected by unemployed with 31.3 percent of active jobseekers unemployed compared to 27.1 percent of men being without work in the second quarter. Comparativey, unemplyement has increased by 2 percent year-on-year compared to 1 percent unemployment among men. Taking into account the expanded definition of unemployment , which includes those who are not actively looking for work, the figures increase drastically to 42.5 percent unemployment among women compared to 35 percent among men.
Human resources expert, Madelein Smit from HR Company Solutions attributes this difference to businesses' scepticism of hiring females, general discrimination and the perception that women don’t have the capacity to make decisions in senior positions.
It is why the company is hosting a Workshop on 9 August at the Benoni Lake Golf Club that will assist women in finding jobs through a job workshop, which will be focused on helping female job-seekers across Gauteng improve their employability by sharpening their CVs and improving their interviewing skills among other things. The day will be filled with insights from recruitment specialists, HR managers, business owners, motivational speakers and a round of Golf for those that enjoy the game.
“We are experts in the recruitment field, we know why most job-seekers are not able to find a job. This workshop is there to ensure they are well-equipped in their quest of finding a job because, in all honesty, there are a lot of job opportunities in the market. There is a shortage of candidates that understand the basics of what employers want,” says Madeline.
