Dr Simphiwe Madikizela says that males are often still seen as more of an asset in the working environment than females
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The latest Stats SA report shows that more women are suffering through unemployment than their male counterparts both in 2025 and 2026.
Stats SA show that youth unemployment has increased from 10.3 million in the first quarter of the year to 10.4 million in the second quarter.
Dr Simphiwe Madikizela, a professor of economics at the Unisa Graduate School of Business and Leadership, says that males are often still seen as more of an asset in the working environment compared to females.
The reality of gender inequality
He pointed out that males often still earn more than females for the same job.
“Although it is not supposed to be like that, unfortunately it is still the case when we look at transformation in the various sectors of the economy and the different industries,” Madikizela said.
He looks back at the history of stereotypes in society, where there was widespread discrimination. He added that this discrimination is subtle and has not been completely eradicated.
“Some companies would still prefer to appoint a male over a female with the same qualifications and experience. There is still a belief that a female will at some point require time away for maternity leave and may, from time to time, require time off to take care of the children and family responsibilities.”
He said this stereotype needs to be eradicated.
Females as the majority
Madikizela also pointed out that females are the majority in the population. Despite this, they still remain at the bottom of the employment chain because of gender roles.
“Some of them usually have more responsibilities at home, it also depends on the skills set, and the qualifications that youth have,” Madikizela said.
Stats SA reports that some young South Africans have been withdrawn from the labour market and are also not receiving any education or training.
Experience over qualification
Madikizela said that it is important for young people to match the skills required by the job market.
“And the observation is that sometimes there is a mismatch, and it starts with the choice of subjects at high school,” he explained.
“It is important that the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects are chosen by the learners.”
He noted that most employers require experience over qualifications, which most young people will not have when entering the workplace.
Upskilling or starting businesses
Madikizela said that the unemployed should seriously consider upskilling themselves or seriously consider starting businesses themselves.
He also argues that employers have to consider relaxing the experience requirements and instead look at the potential and skills that the person has.
“More especially if they can consider innovation and creativity, knowledge of technology in this fourth and fifth industrial revolution,” Madikizela added.
Efforts to eliminate unemployment
Madikizela encouraged individuals to consider volunteer work where possible, even though this can be challenging for many of them, as they do not have the resources to travel to workplaces.
He suggested that the solution to unemployment lies in growing the economy by investing in infrastructure development programmes and economic infrastructure, such as airports, rail and road networks.
“Technology needs to be embraced and encouraged as well as investment made to support small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME’s), especially in the township economy,” Madikizela said.
He also explained that access to funding and markets is another area in which the government should partner with the private sector and civil society.
“We need partnerships with the communities to address challenges of corruption in both public and private sectors which steals from the poor.
“And deal decisively with the challenge of crime as there are massive opportunities in tourism as we saw 10.5 million tourists last year,” he said.
Madikizela noted that with every 13 tourists there is at least one job that is created.
“Government departments must pay SMMEs within the 30 day period, which in some cases does not happen, and it results in some companies having challenges of cashflow where they end up retrenching people,” he said.
Madikizela explained that labour laws need to be relaxed for the private sector so companies are not reluctant to hire people, as it is difficult to let them go when they do not perform or deliver.
“The costs of doing business need to be looked into as well as the legislation to make it easier to start a business,” Madikizela concluded.
