South Africa: Women's representation quotas
Updated March 2008
Legal quotas
The Constitution of South Africa (1996) lays down in Article 1 the fundamental values on which the republic is founded and includes among these non-sexism. The equality clause of the constitution includes a provisor that is aimed at ensuring substantive rather than merely formal equality: "Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken." (1996, Article 9.2.). Though the Constitution does not specify those who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination the South African courts have interpreted it to include women.
The Constitution does not provide for quotas to ensure adequate representation of women in elected public bodies, nor are any legal quotas established for national or provincial elections. The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act (1998, 11. (3)) specifies that, as far as councillors elected by proportional representation from party lists, "Every party must seek to ensure that fifty per cent of the candidates on the party list are women and that women and men candidates are evenly distributed through the list". However, as the Global Database of Quotas for Women (2006) points out: "There is no penalty if this is not adhered to".
Party quotas
Local government
Despite the absence of effective quota legislation, at local government level women's representation in local government has climbed steadily from 19% in after the 1995 elections to 29.6% after the 2000 local elections to 40% after the 2006 elections (Letsholo & Nkwinika 2006, 21; Chikulo & Mbao 2006, 54; Letsholo 2006, 12). In South Africa half the local government councilors are elected from single member wards by plurality and the other half by proportional representation from party lists (see Municipal structures and balloting).
The rising levels of women's representation in local government is largely attributable to the ruling African National Congress's commitment to a minimal 30% quota for the representation of women at all levels since 1994 (Williams 2006, 36; Global Database of Quotas for Women 2006). In the run-up to the 2006 election, moreover, the ANC committed itself to attaining gender parity at the local government level (Williams 2006, 36; Letsholo 2006, 12). This proved to be an ambitious goal that provoked practical difficulties as well as resistance within the party, for as Sydney Letsholo (2006, 12) notes: "It became a bone of contention with some members of the ANC, the male counterparts in particular, were suspicious that this quota policy would result in the loss of their positions" (see also Williams 2006, 35 and Mottiar 2006, 43). In the end the ANC was only partially successful, with some provinces meeting or exceeding the quota (Northern Cape, Gauteng and the North West) and others falling far short (Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal), but overall a figure of 46.1% was achieved (Mbeki 2006). Meeting the parity goal proved to be easier on the party proportional representation lists than in securing the election of women as ward representatives for only 40% of ANC women councilors were elected from wards (Mbeki 2006). The national figures for all parties show the same trend, though a marked increase in the proportion of women candidates is also discernable (see table below).
National Representation of Women
at the Local Government Level
| Year | PR List | Ward |
|---|---|---|
| 1995/6 | 28% | 11% |
| 2000 | 38% | 17% |
| 2006 | 43% | 37% |
Table source: Letsholo 2006, 12.
Though other political parties did not adopt voluntary quotas, the moral suasion exercised by the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, the example set by the ANC and a national campaign to improve women's representation was not without effect on them for, as Chikulo & Mbao (2006, 54) note, "indications are that political parties have heeded the SALGA [South African Local Government Association] "50/50 - get the balance right" campaign launched in mid-2005 which campaigned vigorously for the inclusion of more women in local government. Consequently, there has been a significant increase in women candidature representation in the lists for the March 2006 elections. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) leads the pack with a clear 50 percentage equal representation of both women and men, whilst the majority of other parties have also increased the number of women in the lists".
National Assembly and provincial legislatures
Voluntary party quotas, combined with a proportional representation electoral system, have also played a significant role in improving women's representation at national and provincial levels (Kethusegile-Juru 2002, 5). After South Africa's first democratic election in 1994 women formed 27.75% of members of the National Assembly, after the 1999 it reached 30% and in 2004 32.75% (Hendricks 2005, 82). Provincial legislatures followed a similar pattern; 24% women's representation in 1994, 27% in 1999 and 32.3% in 2004 (Hendricks 2005, 81). There was, however, considerable variation between the provinces, with six attaining or surpassing 30% - Gauteng (42.4%), Northern Cape (37%), Limpopo (33%), Northwest (33%), Eastern Cape (31.7%), Mpumalanga (30%) - and three under 30% - Western Cape (28.5%), KwaZulu-Natal (26.2%), Free State (26%).
The ANC, as mentioned above, was committed to a 30% quota for women's representation in elective bodies since 1994. In practice when drawing up the party lists of candidates for the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, the tendency has been to ensure that at least every third person on the list is a woman, securing at least a 33.3% representation of women (Kethusegile-Juru 2002, 7). In practice, as far as the National Assembly has been concerned, it has exceeded this standard even, producing a women's representation rate of 35.7% in 1994 and 1999 and 37.3 in 2004 (Hendricks 2005, 82). The overwhelming dominance of the ANC in the National Assembly, combined with this commitment to women's representation ensured the sizeable representation of women in the body from its inception.
None of the opposition parties have committed themselves to quotas for women's representation, but the proportion of opposition women representatives has risen rapidly, albeit from a low base; in 1994 the proportion was 14.2%, in 1999 it was 18.7% and in 2004 it reached 22.3% (Hendricks 2005, 81). Of special significance in terms of its effect on overall levels has been the increase in the rapid number of seats held by the Democratic Alliance (DA, formerly Democratic Party; 7 seats in 1994 to 50 seats in 2004) along with a massive increase in the proportion of its women's representatives from 14.3% in 1994 to 26% in 2004 (Hendricks 2005, 81). In 2004, also, 44.4% of United Democratic Movement (UDM) representatives were women as were 33.3% of African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) representatives (Hendricks 2005, 81). Many small parties returned no women to the National Assembly in 2004, notably the New National Party (now defunct), the Freedom Front, the United Christian Democratic Party and the Pan African Congress (Hendricks 2005, 81).
Party leadership quotas
The ANC alone of South African political parties has adopted quotas to further the representation of women in the leadership of the party. Until 2007 the African National Congress Constitution (1997, Rule 14.1) required "a quota of at least one-third (1/3) in all its structures to enable such effective participation". At the 52nd National Congress in 2007 this was amended to increase the quota to parity (Zuma 2007). Consequently, 50% of the people elected to the National Executive Committee at the Congress were women, as were 50% of the members of the National Working Committee.
The opposition parties have no quotas and particular representation of women is restricted to delegates from the women's wing forming part of party leadership structures at various levels. The DA's Federal Constitution (2002), the Constitution of the Inkatha Freedom Party (2006) and the Constitution of the United Democratic Movement (2001) are the same in this respect. The 3 of the 10 national leaders of the DA were women, but none of the eight provincial leaders (one provincial leadership office was vacant) at the time of writing (Democratic Alliance Undated).
References
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS 1997 Constitution, [www] http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=./ancdocs/history/const/constitution98.html
CHIKULO, B & MBAO, M 2006, "North West: Gender" IN EISA Election Update: South Africa 2006, 1 [PDF].
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SA 1996, [www] http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/index.htm [opens new window, incorporates all amendments until end 2003] (accessed 30 Oct 2007).
GLOBAL DATABASE OF QUOTAS FOR WOMEN 2006 "South Africa", [www] http://www.quotaproject.org/displayCountry.cfm?CountryCode=ZA
DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE 2002 Federal Constitution, [www] http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/About/constitution.asp
DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE UNDATED "National Leadership", [www] http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/People/Leadership/Overview.asp
HENDRICKS, C 2005, "Women and Party Representation" IN Piper, L (ed), South Africa's 2004 Election: The Quest for Democratic Consolidation [PDF], EISA Research Report 12.
INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY 2006 Constitution of the Inkatha Freedom Party, [www] http://www.ifp.org.za/Info/IFPConstitution2006.pdf
KETHUSEGILE-JURU, BM 2002, "Intra-Party Democracy and the Inclusion of Women" [PDF], IN Workshop: Electoral Perspectives and the Process of Democratization in DRC: Lessons from SADC, EISA.
LETSHOLO, S 2006 Democratic Local Government Elections in South Africa: A Critical Review [PDF document], EISA Occasional Paper No 42.
LETSHOLO, S & NKWINIKA, T 2006, "Gauteng: Gender Issues" IN EISA Election Update: South Africa 2006, 1 [PDF], 21.
MBEKI, T 2006 "ANC women councillors at the command post!" IN ANC Today, 6(9), 10-16 March, [www] http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2006/at09.htm [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2008).
MOTTIAR, S 2006, "KwaZulu-Natal: Gender Representation" IN EISA Election Update: South Africa 2006, 1 [PDF].
WILLIAMS, J 2006, "Western Cape: Gender Issues" IN EISA Election Update: South Africa 2006, 1 [PDF].
ZUMA, J 2007 "Statement by the President of the African National Congress, Cde Jacob Zuma, to the closing of the 52nd National Congress of the ANC, Polokwane, Limpopo Province 20 December 2007", [www] http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=ancdocs/history/zuma/2007/jz1220.html