A world with more equality for women is a better world for men too

On the 8th of March 2020, the world was celebrating International Women’s Day. This worldwide event celebrates women’s achievements in the political, ecumenical, social and leadership spaces while calling for gender equality.

This day is significant because it gives women and girls hope that things will be better in the near future. However, as a young man, I realise that the imbalances are disheartening.

We need gender parity urgently. We ought to work harder to create a new and progressive world order where girls and women are treated the same way boys and men are treated.

I am an uncle to a beautiful three-year-old niece, who I was hoping would be able to live in a world that is equal for both men and women. However, according to the World Economic Forum, it will take more than 90 years to close the gender gap. This means that her generation might also not live in an equal world.

What saddens me most is the fact that we know what needs to be done. The United Nations and World Economic Forum reports speak so much to what needs to be done in order to achieve an equal world for both men and women. Not only that, the well-researched reports show us the tremendous economic and social progressive opportunities that come with women being in leadership.

In the case of South Africa, I think we should be leapfrogging the process. Our country is experiencing a lot of turmoil. There are no new jobs being created and we are also shedding a lot of jobs. We have to speed up things and get more qualified and capable women in leadership.

For instance, the gender differences in law aren’t just problems of the developing world. According to the UN Women report, women’s economic equality is good for business. Companies greatly benefit from increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to increase organisational effectiveness and growth. It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organisational performance.

Furthermore, the UN reports state that when more women work, economies grow. Women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes. Conversely, it is estimated that gender gaps cost economies some 15 percent of their GDP.

A lot still needs to transform. Globally, women are generally paid less than men. Women are less likely to be entrepreneurs and face more disadvantages starting businesses. These are some of the many challenges that women face worldwide.

We need more women in leadership. Research and numbers don’t lie. They tell us that most of the progress we need relies on women taking up spaces and leading.

As Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi emphatically said at the Miss Universe pageant: “The most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership. Young girls should be taught to take up space. Nothing is more important than taking up space in society and submitting yourself.”

As we continue to celebrate women like Mrs Phuthi Mahanyele Debengwa, Proffessor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Ms Zingiswa Losi and Ms Zozibini Tunzi, we should be cognisant of the need to have women in leadership positions.

Let us lead like women, because an enabled world is an equal world.

Kabelo Chabalala poses for a picture at the Pretoria News offices in the Pretoria CBD, 20 June 2018, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Kabelo Chabalala is the founder and chairperson of the Young Men Movement (YMM), an organisation that focuses on the reconstruction of the socialisation of boys to create a new cohort of men. Email: kabelo03chabalala@gmail.com; Twitter: @KabeloJay; Facebook: Kabelo Chabalala

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