Phelisa Nkomo’s Post

Closing the gender pay gap in the workforce is framework for women's economic empowerment in today’s global economic landscape. With expectations of sluggish global growth in the coming years and traditional growth locomotives struggling, empowering women in the labor market is a vital strategy for economic rejuvenation through gendered procurement policy in both public and private sector. It remains alarming that a significant gender disparity persists, as only a portion of women actively participates in the labor market compared to men. This imbalance is the result of complex factors, including conscious biasness, unconscious biasness, discriminatory laws, unequal access to services. Consequently, there’s a substantial loss of talent and potential growth. To address these challenges, it’s essential to scrutinize both legal frameworks and societal norms - how they continue to influence/ shape the exclusion of women in labour markets.

On the 4th of June 2024 I had an interview with West African Broadcasting Channel, (check the interview on YouTube) reflecting about the South Africa's G20 Presidency and what it means for South Africa and Africa. My opening remarks was that, its a significant opportunity for South Africa and Africa to reposition itself and pursue a strategic reform agenda that will accrue tangible benefits for the country and Africa broadly. The international financial architecture (IFA) is a framework of institutions, policies, rules and practices that the global financial system. Its aim is to promote international cooperation with a view to ensuring global monetary and financial stability, enabling international trade and investment, supporting the mobilization of the stable and long-term financing required for economic development, combatting the climate crisis, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However the recurring financial and debt crises, in African and developing countries as well as the shortfall in required development and climate finance, reiterate that the existing framework of IFA is ill-equipped for today’s world. Many of its shortcomings are of a systemic nature. The structure of IFA and its institutions are not designed to deliver the kind of financial support that developing countries need to realize their growth and development ambitions. South Africa must push for the followings reforms: 1. Support for free trade agreement in Africa, 2. Debt relief measures, 3. Establishment of a stable G20 secretariat to monitor progress of commitment by G20 since its establishment 4. Restructuring of credit ratings agencies and address their risk averse approach to African and Developing countries 5. Set up a fund that will support climate change crisis, decarbonization and industrial development. Lets engage!

Yesterday Institute of Pan African Thought and Conversation (IPACT) at University of Johannesburg, had such a rich conversation that's intersects between feminist foreign policy and what it means for Africa, Access to water, GBVF, Economic Empowerment. As the Chair of the session I was fascinated by the insights of the speakers Dr Erica Sheffield - Bridging the Gap between Administrators and Teachers to Retain Talent - focused on professional growth of teachers, measuring impact, collaborative approaches and listen to learn. Dr Tiera Turner - Women in Business and its Effects on the Global Economy focused on social norms associated with women's participation in the economy and how that delays society to draw is economic dividend. women as drivers of economic growth. she presented concrete action which ranged from enabling policy regime, gender data gap, access finance, leadership development, and Ms Nolwandle Made - Gains and Losses for women in the 30 years of SA democracy. focused on access to water as reproductive rights, access to water in informal settlement, water inequality and burden of fetching water daily, Dr Gideon Chitanga - Feminist Foreign Policy - what are the opportunities for Africa. focused on requisite resources to support a feminist foreign policy, representation of women in position of power, research and development and consideration of societal dimension of marginalization and empowerment. Well done to all the Research Fellows - Dr Ojo, Phelisa, Erica, Tierra, Nolwandle, Team IPATC . well done

Today I will be moderating a panel on Women Matters - looking at Inclusion and Innovation, hosted by Institute of Pan African Thoughts and Conversation as part of my Research Fellowship assignment In recent years, the imperative to redress women's issues has gained unprecedented momentum, driven by a global recognition of the pervasive gender inequalities that persist across various sectors. "Redressing Women Matters: Inclusion and Innovation" encapsulates the multi-faceted approach necessary to address these disparities. This initiative underscores the importance of creating inclusive environments where women can thrive by integrating innovative strategies that dismantle barriers and promote gender equality. From policy reforms and economic empowerment to education and health, the focus is on implementing transformative and sustainable solutions, ensuring that women are not merely participants but pivotal actors in shaping their futures. Central to this movement is the recognition that inclusion and innovation are not mutually exclusive but rather mutually reinforcing. We can develop more effective and equitable systems by fostering diverse perspectives and harnessing technological advancements. For instance, leveraging digital platforms can enhance women's access to education and entrepreneurial opportunities, while gender-sensitive policies can ensure that these technological benefits are widely distributed. The synergy between inclusion and innovation is critical in addressing women's complex and interconnected issues, paving the way for a more just and equitable society. Through collaborative efforts and a commitment to continuous improvement, "Redressing Women Matters" aims to create a world where gender parity is not an aspiration but a reality. Please follow the conversation on social media platforms.

10th of December marked an end to a global campaign about 16 days of Violence against Women and Children. Normally this window of 16 days of activism is characterized by several activities across the world, open dialogues, community mobilization etc. I watched events in Nigeria where women and men in partnership with government agencies took to the street demanding an end to gender based violence. In Ghana women hosted engagement amongst civil society organizations and in South Africa, shelter movement and other civil society organization had hosted conversation with women who are affected by Gender Based Violence and Femicide. I also attended a Positive Masculinity conference and participants had a mixed reflections about the outcome of the conference. The 3rd Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Leadership to EVAWG sets out to  (i) consolidate political will towards EVAWG in the region at the highest levels of political leadership; (ii)  consolidate the role of male leadership across sectors towards EVAWG and women’s leadership in shaping the AU Convention to EVAWG; (iii) whilst intentionally foregrounding the importance of  addressing the structural drivers of this dehumanizing scourge at legislative and policy, economic and social norm levels. This is great initiative because it sets the political tone but requires more depth with regards to addressing several harmful social norms and ensure that politicians become agents of social change with impactful interventions. The conversation remains incomplete if we do not address the following other structural drivers that leads to toxic masculinity. a. Hegemonic masculinity b. Power and Inequality c. Social reproduction of patriarchy Waiting to hear your comments, will come back

On the 2nd to 4th November South Africa hosted an Africa Growth Opportunities Act conference because the trade preferential agreement is due for renewal. The renewal creates an opportunity to reflect on the benefits for Africa and United State, assess market conditions and competitive dynamics. I was one of the speakers - reflecting on the impact of preferential trade agreement for Africa. For those who are not economist like me, I will provide some background. The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) was proposed in 1964 at the first quadrennial conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which has a lengthy association with trade preferences as a tool of development. Like the GSP, the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and other preferential trade programs are founded upon the concept that mutually beneficial North-South trade offers a more certain and sustainable path to development than aid, and that preferences can help overcome the structural disadvantages that developing countries face as result of history of colonialism and extractive trade relations.   The effectiveness of trade preferences as a tool of development can best be gauged by determining whether beneficiary countries export more to the United States than they did pre- AGOA (i.e., a quantitative increase), and also whether they export better products to the United States than they did pre-AGOA (i.e., a qualitative improvement). Data shows that AGOA benefited several countries like South Africa early days, in 2001 imports from Africa to US market was 20% and over the years it declined to 4.8%. Tier 1 companies have benefited while medium sized companies have had minimal benefits due to rules of engagement, standards, compliance issues have been exclusionary. benefits of AGOA’s trade preferences have been limited. The inception of this program in 2001 represented a real but marginal improvement from the access that the beneficiary countries already enjoyed, whether imports entered on non-preferential (MFN) terms or under the GSP. While many other imports were relieved of tariffs, they were often relatively low. The overall result has been a modest boost to the exports of sub-Saharan African exports to the United States, to varying degrees across countries and sectors. The renewal process has to look deeper into the real issues - Diaspora community is an important social capital for Africans to access US market and therefore they need to strengthen relations, dialogue and exposure Africans to US market dynamics. Will be writing more about this subject matter.