The youth unemployment crisis strikes at the heart of South Africa

Oct 10, 2024 2:24:51 PM

"Research data from the SA Youth platform, which has over four million young people registered on it, 66% of whom are women, shows that women are 6-8% less likely to be working than men and are also likely to earn less than their male counterparts."

By Zengeziwe Msimang

The youth unemployment crisis strikes at the heart of South Africa’s socio-economic challenges. Often referred to as a ticking time bomb, youth unemployment robs our country of an opportunity for innovation and growth, powered by the potential of youth by keeping talented, engaged and innovative young people locked out of the economy.

The Quarterly Labour Force Statistics released in May by StatsSA reflect the reality we see all around us, youth unemployment for ages 15 to 34 has worsened and now sits at a staggering 45.5%. Nearly two-thirds (35.5%) of young South Africans are not in employment, education, or training.

As it stands young people face multifaceted and systemic barriers to entering the labour market. In their journey to work, they are forced to navigate a maze of broken systems; from a poorly performing education system to a labour market shaped by jobless growth and massive disruption. The reality is that a straight line from school to university to a first job no longer exists.

Further, when you view this crisis through the lens of gender inequality, we see that in South Africa the barriers that young women face to getting employment remain higher and harder than those for young men. This is just one of the symptoms of a pervasive global issue with gender inequality also affecting women’s ability to access healthcare, welfare and legal rights.

When it comes to the world of work, women have less time to search for employment, more childcare responsibilities, less money to apply for jobs, less time to volunteer and network, and a higher risk of harassment if they do get the job interview. Furthermore, women are also less likely to have some of the tangible and intangible attributes valued for work, such as a high school qualification, a driver’s licence, and confidence in looking for and finding work. Research data from the SA Youth platform, which has over four million young people registered on it, 66% of whom are women, shows that women are 6-8% less likely to be working than men and are also likely to earn less than their male counterparts.

This, despite the fact that, when it comes to education, women outperform their male counterparts across the board. For every 100 young men in South Africa under 35 with a matric, there are 112 young women with the same. Even more starkly, there are 50% more young women than young men with degree-equivalents or higher. Yet, the data shows that young men and young women once in work perform at the same level. There is little difference in their likelihood of success, ability to perform in the job, or retention of work.

In a time when so many young people remain excluded from the economy, we must be intentional about creating opportunities for young women to sustain themselves and find innovative ways to give them a leg up. How do we begin to level the playing fields for young women in a landscape where the economy is projected to grow at a mere 1% this year and formal work is hard to come by?

As the formal economy continues on its sluggish path, we realise that we have to look outside of it as a source of work for young people and women specifically. Informal enterprise holds a host of opportunities for young women to generate an income and establish their own informal businesses, which in turn could create employment. The informal sector accounts for 18.6% of total employment in South Africa. Harambee’s research indicates that there are approximately 1.2 million young micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector, with 88% being black Africans and 40% being youth.

While this work is often precarious, earning their own money provides crucial resources to young people in a contracting economy. Harambee’s data suggests that most young micro-entrepreneurs have irregular and volatile income, with monthly figures ranging from as low as R200 to R4 000. Additionally, our findings show that providing services (such as braiding hair or digital support) is generally more profitable than selling goods (such as snacks and clothes). However, women often end up selling goods more than services, which can lower their overall income.

Even at this end of the economy, young people face a range of barriers that prevent them from becoming micro-entrepreneurs. These include structural factors such as a lack of suitable premises or equipment, or the perception of insufficient customers. On top of that, societal attitudes can discourage young women from pursuing opportunities in the informal sector, with many feeling judged or not taken seriously.

To make informal entrepreneurship a viable and respected option for our young South Africans, we advocate for intentional investment and support to address the blocks that keep them locked out of economic activity. At the same time, we must also focus on bridging the gender divide in male-dominated growth sectors where young women can thrive.

The installation, repair, and maintenance sector is one of those sectors. Amid a well-documented artisan crisis, the fact that only 3% of plumbers in the industry are licensed women should be a call to action.

Harambee’s participation in a partnership funded by the UK government’s Skills for Prosperity—which offers foundational plumbing skills and a grounding in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial training— shows that this gap can be addressed. We set ambitious goals to get more women involved in this skills and work experience programme, aiming - and succeeding - to have women fill over 50% of the earning opportunities.

Through this programme, we learned that the need for gender advocacy is greater than anticipated and it must be integrated into the entire project value chain. This is especially true when it comes to getting employers to offer opportunities to women for the work experience component required for formal qualification. Beyond just tipping the scales to create jobs for women, the entire employment system needs to work for women which includes considering workwear suited to women’s body shapes, and developing policies and funding mechanisms for maternity benefits, for example.

We also found that in addition to formal mechanisms, more young women were likely to join and stay in the programme if they had successful role models to follow.

“I learned throughout the programme that I had a future as an entrepreneur. I didn’t know one day I would have my own company, make my own money, and also empower others where I can,” said a previously unemployed female participant who just wanted an opportunity to work and never expected to become an entrepreneur.

Making achievements like hers the norm, not the exception, is possible by setting bold targets for gender inclusion and partnering with like-minded organisations to make it happen.

The success we’ve seen with the plumbing and other programmes can be applied to new sectors that have the potential to create entrepreneurship opportunities for young women, like the green economy. For example, demand is high in the solar installation sector, but it's hard for young people, especially young women, to break into it because the skilling and licensing entry requirements are unclear and costly.

We need to tackle these challenges with innovative solutions that will allow our young people, particularly young women, to thrive. Reimagined partnerships between the government, businesses, NGOs, and international donors are crucial for creating opportunities for sustainable livelihoods. These collaborations should focus on providing young women with the tools and resources they need to thrive in entrepreneurial roles. At Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, we’ve seen that successful entrepreneurship often begins with personal agency and dignity.

Zengeziwe Msimang is the CCO at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator