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Item Open Access Evaluation of Gender Mainstreaming on the appointment process of senior management: A case study of the Office of the Premier in Limpopo Province, South Africa(2024-09-06) Ngobeni, Ellah Nkensani; Mukwevho, M. H.; Thobejane, T. D.The challenges of inequality in South Africa’s workplace are compounded by the legacy of the system of apartheid and colonialism. Gender inequality continues to exist even during the new dispensation despite the existence of national, regional and international legislation to address inequality. This study evaluated the extent of the implementation and enforcement of employment equity policies on the appointment of senior management officials at the Office of the Premier. The study adopted a feminist qualitative approach to collect data. The sample of the study comprised males and females in the Office of the Premier. Non-probability purposive sampling to identify and select Deputy Directors, Directors and Chief Directors was used as these categories of employees are in the pipeline and poised to take different senior management positions. Data was collected using interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. Due to my position as the Chief Director working in the Office of the Premier, I relied on the process of reflexivity to question and analyse any biases I may have had in the process of collecting and analysing the data. Reflexivity is a process of continual internal dialogue and critical self-evaluation of the researcher’s positionality as well as active acknowledgement; and explicit recognition that this position may affect the research process. Collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. Ultimately, findings and recommendations from the study were shared with the Institutional Development Support Branch in the Office of the Premier for implementation by all sector departments in the Limpopo Provincial Administration.Item Open Access Implementation of Gender Equality Policies in the Public Sector: A case study of the Gauteng Department of Labour, South Africa(2021-04-03) Chinyere, Echere Angela; Thobejane, T. D.; Lambani, M. N.Gender inequality is not only a severe moral and social pandemic, but also a serious economic problem. This is because women account for nearly half of the world's human capital and yet they are undervalued, underutilized, and underrepresented in different institutions and in the society at large. This study was undertaken to investigate the implementation of gender equality policies in the public sector, using the Gauteng department of labour in South Africa, as a case study. The study examined the status of women prior to apartheid, during apartheid, and after apartheid, as well as how the implementation of gender equality policies has changed their standing in South Africa. The study relies on feminist theories to draw parallels on what these theories stand out to accomplish,with the general notions of what patriarchal frameworks are all about. The data for this study was gathered using qualitative research methods. The study used a sample size of ten (10) participants. The sample consisted of five (5) directors, three (3) deputy directors, and two (2) assistant directors of the Gauteng department of labour. The findings of the study are that achieving gender equality in the public sector is impossible without women's empowerment. The promotion and involvement of women in the public sector needs to be enhanced through the adoption and implementation of gender equality policies and programmes.Item Open Access The Phenomenon of Suicide Attempt by Young Female Suicide Survivors at a Selected Hospital in Thulamela Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province(2019) Nekhubvi, Fulufhelo; Raselekoane, N. R.; Mudau, T. J.; Takalani, F. J.Suicidal behavior has become a serious public health concern worldwide. Globally, the rate of suicide increased by 60% in the past years. In South Africa, about 9.5 % of nonnatural deaths in young people is due to suicidal behavior, and there are 667 deaths due to suicide every month (Birmingham & Solihull, 2012). Suicide has left a trail of psychological problems which impact negatively on the health and well-being of people. Worldwide, there is a gender difference in suicidal behaviour. Women have higher rates of suicide attempt while men are more likely to commit suicide (Cheong, Choi, Cho, Yoon, Kim & Hwang, 2012). Most studies focus on suicide while suicide attempt has been neglected in scholarship. As a result, there is very little attention to how gender influences suicidal behavior in society. This exploratory study sought to explore the phenomenon of suicide attempt among young female suicide survivors at Tshilidzini Regional Hospital in Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study approach was qualitative in nature and the study population comprised of all young female suicide survivors and all family members who often accompanied patients to the hospital. Nonprobability convenience sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The study sample consisted of 20 participants (10 young female suicide survivors and 10 family members). Ethical considerations were taken into account to protect the participants. In-depth face-to-face unstructured interviews and focus group discussion were used as a method of data collection. Content analysis was used for analysing data in this study. The study found that suicidal behaviour by young females was mainly due to intimate relationship problems. The study recommended the development and use an effective suicide screening tool and a multi-pronged strategy to curb incidences of suicidal behaviour by young females.Item Open Access Rural women's perpectives of cardiovascular diseases: A study of Gwanda South Rural District, Zimbabwe(2019-09-20) Nyathi, Leoba; Thobejane, T. D.; Tshitangano, T. G.Historically, the cardiovascular disease (CVD) has internationally been viewed as a man’s disease. This is witnessed by the high number of males who have fallen victim to this scourge. However, with rapid changes in today’s societies, the disease has increasingly become a public health concern among women also. This study aimed to explore rural women’s perspectives of CVD in Gwanda South Rural District. The study was guided by a feminist perspective where theories of gender such as social construction feminism, intersectionality and standpoint theory, were employed as a theoretical framework. In this process, the research endeavoured to unearth some contradictions inherent in the manner in which women view CVD. The population of the study comprised of females aged 21-60 years residing in Gwanda South Rural District of Zimbabwe. An exploratory case study design was adopted and this guided the qualitative data collection and analysis. Purposeful sampling technique was used to select 16 participants for semi-structured interviews and six participants for focus group discussions. Data were analysed using thematic analysis which is an essential tool for qualitative data analysis. Data were presented and discussed as themes and subthemes. The concepts of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were used to describe and ensure various aspects of trustworthiness. Ethical considerations like informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity and no harm to participants were ensured. The following seven themes were derived from the study; women’s knowledge of CVD, causes of CVD, prevention of CVD, perceived effects of CVD, difference in experiences of CVD, assistance of women with CVD and management of CVD. Findings revealed that women had limited knowledge of most CVDs but were familiar with hypertension and stroke. Various symptoms of CVD were identified. It was concluded that rural women do not have adequate knowledge of CVDs. A lot should be done by the government and other stakeholders to ameliorate cardiovascular health in rural women.Item Open Access Exploring gender division of labour within households: the case of Schoemansdal Village in Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa(2018-05-18) Shabangu, Busi Florence; Thobejane, T. D.; Mogorosi, L. D.One of the most pressing issues contributing to the persistence of gender inequality is the gendered division of domestic labour. Women still carry out more domestic labour than men. Housework is shared quite unequally among most married couples. Work performed directly in the service of families including housework and childcare is often unacknowledged all over the world because of cultural assumptions that a wife or mother should work in the privacy of the home. This study adds extra depth to the doing gender approach by testing whether or not couple negotiate specific conjugal and parent roles in terms of the division of household labour. This study therefore seeks to discuss numerous variables that impact the division of household labour between men and women. This study suggests that patriarchal power structures seem to take a powerful and effective impact on the South African marriage institution, especially in the black communities. The study was therefore conducted in Schoemansdal village situated in Nkomazi region, Mpumalanga Province. To explore issues behind gender division of labour within households. The study embarked on a qualitative research design to collect and analyze the data. Samples of married men and married women were selected in this study. The findings of the study are as follows: Women do a disproportionate share of the housework, even when the women work and the men don‟t, and even when the women want to share the housework more equally. When men aren‟t working, they don‟t see domestic labour as a means of contributing. In fact, they double down and do less of it, since it challenges their masculinity. But when men earn more, women who are almost all working too, feel obliged to contribute in some way to maintaining the household, generally by cooking and cleaning.Item Open Access Probing the experiences of women within the practice of "Gonyalelwa lapa' among BaSotho ba Lebowa' Ga-Masemola Area Sekhukhune District, Makhudumathaga Municipality, Limpopo Province South Africa(2017-09-18) Kabekwa, Mmoledi; Maqubela, L. N.; Ramaite-Mafadza, P. E. A.; Lekganyane, G.‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ is a form of a marriage whereby a family marries a woman to a deceased son who passed on without having biological children, for the purpose of restoring or reviving the deceased’s name. The woman is married with her existing children, or to bear children who will take the surname of the deceased man. Women find it difficult to leave such marriages for the fear of losing their children whom they signed off by accepting to be married under this type of marriage. This study employs the feminist standpoint methodological approach in order to explore experiences of women who are married for ‘lapa’. The study purposefully selected a sample of 8 women who are married under ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ as well as 4 key informants. Findings demonstrate that women marry for ‘lapa’ mainly for economic reasons, to escape stigmatization, for the acquisition of the marital surname, which is tied to being acknowledged, respected and recognized by the community. Nevertheless, these women face multidimensional challenges within their in-laws’ households: they receive no support from the inlaws; their girl-children suffer discrimination based on ‘sex-preference’, boys are given more value on the basis that a boy will be able to perpetuate a deceased man’s name. Most women married under this type of marriage suffer from emotional and economic abuse at the hands of their in-laws. The study reveals that these challenges are attributed to lack of physical presence of the husband in the family. The study recommends that a large scale study be conducted on this or related topic, to build knowledge and create an awareness of such a marriage as to facilitate its inclusion in Customary Marriage Act.Item Open Access Gender gaps in achievement with regard to mathematcis in Grade 12 with special reference to Mutshundudi Circuit, Limpopo-South Africa(2014-01-10) Mauda, Tendani Grace; Thobejane, Tsoaledi D.; Musehane, N. M.The goal of this research is to investigate and address gender-based differences in the learning of Mathematics, the diffusion of research-based innovations, and extension services in education that will lead to a larger and more diverse learning of Mathematics by both genders. The research seeks t o advance efforts of participation by women and girls in the field of Mathematics where they continue to be underrepresented. In the context of this over- arching goal, the research seeks to support activities that address the academic achievement in Mathematics by female students in Grade 12 at Mutshindudi circuit in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. The findings of the research are that parental involvement in the academic lives of girls play a pivotal role in their overall success in life.