A critical analysis of the role and status of women employees in the Western Cape Provincial Administration since 1994 with specific reference to the Department of Local Government and Housing

Abstract

One of the post 1994 Government foremost tasks has been to transform the Public Service into an efficient and effective instrument capable of delivering equitable service to all citizens and driving the country’s economic and social development. Towards this end a number of legislative and policy changes were made which saw the emergence of a new public administration paradigm, both in terms of how Public service are to be managed and how they are to be delivered to the public. This was particularly relevant to the equality status of women on all levels of the public service in South Africa and the Western in particular. Transformation in the Western Cape Administration and in the two departments in particular will not advance enough to benefit the majority of the Populace adequately, unless individuals from the designated groups are largely employed in positions with authority and with real decision-making powers. Males will continue to dominate in the middle to upper levels as long as the leadership is caught up with the vicious cycle of continuing to employ people with mainly the same race and gender profile in the two departments in the Provincial government of the Western Cape. Therefore, it is critical for the Western Cape government to align their employment equity interventions, including skills and succession planning, with its employment equity objectives. Commitment by the leadership of the Western Cape Province to effectively implement the Act in substance and spirit is likely to assist transformation by creating workplaces that are equitable in nature and free from discrimination. This Mini- dissertation provides insight into the historical and current situations of women in the Western Cape and the departments of local government and human settlement in particular and ventures to make a number of recommendations to improve the status of women in the administration of the Western Cape government.