Addressing the gender pay gap in South Africa

MORE than three decades into democracy, South African women are still earning 35% less than men for the same work, with voluntary government interventions falling short in compelling companies to close gender pay gaps.

- GCWALISILE KHANYILE

According to recent data from the World Economic Forum and other sources, in South Africa the gender pay gap in 2025 shows women earn 23% to 35% less than men for the same work. This translates to women earning roughly R72.44 for every R100 garned by men. A significant portion of the gap is attributed to women working in lower-paying companies and industries.

Stellenbosch University experts in their paper titled, Gender pay transparency mechanisms: Future directions for South Africa, say that despite various pieces of legislation aimed at preventing gender discrimination in the workplace, South Africa has a stagnant median gender pay gap of between 23% and 35%. The average global gap is about 20%, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Professor Anita Bosch, Research Chair for Women at Work at Stellenbosch Business School, and Shimon Barit, a Research Fellow at Stellenbosch Business School, said that the difference in wages between men and women for the same type of work or work of equal value is a stumbling block in achieving gender equality in South Africa.

The gender pay gap seems to affect women in the middle and upper wage bands the most. This is where pay transparency, which is making gender differences in wages known to employees, government, and the public, can compel employers to remunerate fairly and equally, Bosch and Barit said.

Teboho Thejane, spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Labour, said Sections 6(4) and 6(5) of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 47 of 2013 (EEA, 2013), including regulations 2 to 7 of the EE Regulations, 2025; and the Code of Good Practice on Equal Remuneration/ Pay for Work of Equal Value, 2015, already regulates the implementation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value by all employers in the South African labour market.