More than half of South African women have taken charge of day-to-day household spending, making them key decisionmakers in this sphere of their lives.
Eighty20, a consumer analytics and research company, has unpacked the important role of women in the economy by using, among others, MAPS research — a consumer insights data set released by the Marketing Research Foundation.
The MAPS data found that 58% of women take charge of the day-to-day purchases in their households.
The top five retail categories for female shoppers in the past month include:
- Infant and toddler products
- Medical and health (online)
- Hobbies and crafts (online)
- Flowers and plants (online)
- Safety and security (personal and home) (online)
The top five retail categories for male shoppers in the past month include entertainment, sports and fitness, music and movies, travel and holidays, and clothing.
When it comes to employment and income MAPS research shows women in South Africa account for 40% of national income.
“The latest labour force survey finds that though women constitute just over half of all working age adults in South Africa, they have a higher unemployment rate than men, with the rate for women closer to 36% compared to about 33% for men.
“The challenge is that to be classified as employed or unemployed you have to be classified as economically active, and only about half of all women were recorded as economically inactive compared to two-thirds of all men,” the Eighty20 report states.
“The second challenge is that the vast majority of women in this country are employed in elementary occupations (a quarter of the workforce) such as street vendors or domestic workers.
“Five female-dominated occupations in the elementary sector make up 13.2% of the entire South African labour force. Street vendors (food and non-food), sweepers, and cleaners account for 1.3-million people and significantly more than half are female.
“Domestic helpers and cleaners are a further 890,000 people, of which 95% are female.”
Overall women have an average income of roughly 62% of their male counterparts, though the gap shrinks for employed women to 78% of a man’s wage.
Married women have income 39% higher than the average.
The future looks bright for women, as employment and earnings are slowly changing through education.
— Andrew Fulton, Eighty20
Marital status and child bearing also impact these numbers as, while only a quarter of the population is married, data indicates that 65% of single-parent families in South Africa are headed by women.
“However, the future looks bright for women, as employment and earnings are slowly changing through education,” said Andrew Fulton, Eighty20 director.
He said of the six million South Africans who classify themselves as scholars or students, a little more than half are female.
“There are nearly half a million more women with tertiary degrees than their male counterparts, which is up from 170,000 more 10 years ago. There are more than 200,000 more women in higher education.”
In terms of investments, BrandMapp data finds that when it comes to financial risk, women are significantly less bold than men, and women are also less likely to have investments that are associated with risk, like shares and crypto.
The data suggests that 10% of males in households that earn more than R10,000 per month are holding crypto, compared to 5% for females.
For shares the numbers are 17% and 12% respectively.
When it comes to the alcohol industry, Eighty20 found growth in the flavoured alcohol category, “as shown by the massive growth in brands like Flying Fish and Brutal Fruit, particularly among women.
“Interestingly, in a country where 72% of beer consumers are male, three of the top five alcohol brands have at least 50% female consumption.
“Beyond their influence on the sports field and bolstering earning potential through education, the already impactful shift in spending power is notable.
“Retailers and financial services providers should consider how to best grow products and services that cater to the growth financial role of women in our society. As key decisionmakers with personal and household purchases, becoming more in touch with their interests could impact buying decisions in the years ahead,” said Fulton.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.