Closing the gap requires change and also action

SOUTH African women still face major challenges when it comes to building wealth.

- HEIN KLEE

In fact, the wealth gap between men and women in our country is wider than the global average.

According to the WTW Global Gender Wealth Equity report, South African women retire with only 71% of the wealth that men do.

This is lower than the global average of 74%. The difference becomes even greater in senior positions, where women who are managers and executives retire with just 62% of the wealth their male colleagues accumulate.

One of the biggest reasons is unequal pay. Women’s Report Africa points out that in 2021, South African women earned only 78 cents for every rand earned by men. Shockingly, this was a decline from the 89 cents figure in 2008. Furthermore, fewer women than men in South Africa are employed.