The empowerment of women is often cited as a key factor in the economic
advancement of a country, as the skills of all citizens are utilized. For
this reason, the improved position of women has been put forward as
one of the millennium development goals. In South Africa, the past
decade has been characterized by a marked increase in female labour
force participation. However, it has been debated whether this has been
accompanied by true socio-economic empowerment for women. This
article aims to give an overview of the current position of women in the
South African labour market. Comparisons to other countries as well as
an analysis of trends were made. The following issues were addressed:
the extent to which South African women are participating in the labour
force and how they are situated within the labour force.