Doing something "like a girl" became seen as an insult as girls get older, according to a viral Always advertisement. The ad showed that while young girls enthusiastically played sports, older participants portrayed exaggerated, weak stereotypes when asked to demonstrate actions "like a girl". Statistics highlighted in the document show that from a young age, girls face declining self-confidence and opportunities compared to boys and men. While South Africa has made progress in terms of women's representation in leadership, high levels of violence and inequality against women remain problems both in South Africa and worldwide.

1. LIESE-MARIE HEYNS
A recent viral Always advertisement campaign video
#LikeAGirl asks men and women of various ages to run, fight
and throw “like a girl”. They usually portray stereotypical
interpretations of women running with their arms and legs
flailing, complaining about their hair, cat-scratching instead of
punching, and throwing a ball with limp arms. When young girls
were asked to do the same, they were enthusiastic and energetic.
There was no flailing, complaining or limping. Instead, they
threw the ball as hard as possible and threw fervent punches. At
what age, then, does doing something “like a girl” become a bad
thing?
Based on information gathered by Engineering.net, at an early
age girls are smarter than boys and have a higher IQ. Girls even
score better on tests if they don’t have to disclose their sex. As
soon as they are asked to disclose their sex, their scores decrease
drastically.
They lose self-confidence as they get older and their self-
esteem drops by almost 20% from Grades 6 to 10. The pattern
continues in university where fewer women than men plan on
studying maths- or science-related degrees and less than one in
five women work in a related field after graduating.
According to data gathered from the All Media and Products
Survey in 2012, 77% of South African men believe women
should have the same opportunities as men. However, the
unemployment rate of women is 6% higher than that of men.
Women also earn 35% less than their counterparts, according to
a report by the World Economic Forum in 2013. “This means
women effectively earn in a full year what men earn in eight
months,” said Sandra Burmeister, CEO of Amrop Landelahni, in
an interview with News24.
Only 3.6% of South Africa’s CEOs are women, even though
they account for 52% of the population. Grant Thornton said in
the 2014 International Business Report that just over a quarter
of senior management positions are filled by women. According
to Burmeister, it would take nearly 50 years to close the pay gap
between men and women.
Fredri Jordaan, a final-year accounting student, says she is
optimistic about her career although she doesn’t see herself
in a top-level management position one day. “I would rather
be middle-level and spend more time with my kids,” she said.
She is not alone, as three out of five women say they prefer a
balanced work and home life, according to a study by Accenture.
Luckily, it’s not all bad news. South Africa is ranked 17th
on
the Global Gender Gap Index, six places ahead of the United
States, also beating the UK, Canada and Australia. South Africa
is also ranked eighth in political empowerment, with South
African women holding 42% of the seats in parliament – more
04 August 2014 > Features 11
MAGGIE ROODT
The saying goes, “Behind every successful man is a great woman.”
Whether they are actresses, activists, politicians, engineers,
teachers or stay-at-home moms, women are standing on their own
as great figures. August is dedicated to celebrating women who
enrich South Africa, like the ones listed below.
Thuli Madonsela
Thuli Madonsela has been South Africa’s public protector since
2009. She has fought to protect the constitution and to act in the
interest of all South Africans.
According to an article titled “South Africa’s 30 Wonder
Women” on WBSJournal.co.za, Madonsela sacrificed a scholarship
at Harvard in order to help draft the country’s constitution in 1996.
She supports and promotes human rights and has placed herself
in the line of fire in order to protect these rights, such as when she
was threatened with arrest after performing an investigation on
maladministration within the South African Police Service.
Natalie du Toit
Natalie du Toit won five gold medals in the 2004 Paralympic
Games and was also the first amputee to qualify for the final of an
able-bodied event when she qualified for the 800m freestyle swim
at the Commonwealth Games.
Her left leg was amputated following a scooter accident in
February 2001. She was only 17 years old at the time. Despite the
accident, her focus remained on achieving swimming success.
Voted 48th
in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004 by
the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Du Toit has since
received numerous awards and medals for her achievements.
Caster Semenya
Another South African sporting heroine and proud Tukkie, Caster
Semenya is a middle-distance runner. She won a gold medal at the
2009 Athletic World Championships, a silver at the 2011 World
Championships and another silver medal at the 2012 Summer
Olympics. Besides being a fantastic athlete, Semenya is also an
ambassador of South African poise, regarding how she reacted
with dignity to questions raised about her gender.
Jane Alexander
Creator of the well-known artwork The Butcher Boys, Jane
The greatest women in South Africa
Alexander is a South African artist whose works show the
influence of living in a constantly evolving country. Her work has
been featured in Jean Clair’s show Identita e Alterita (Identity and
Alterity) in the Palazzo Grassi at the 1995 Venice Biennale.
Gill Marcus
With eight male predecessors, Gill Marcus made strides in the
corporate world when she became the first woman to hold the title
of governor of the South African Reserve Bank in July 2009. In
addition to this, she was elected a member of parliament in 1994
and later also held the professorship of leadership and gender
studies at the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Katy Katopodis
Starting off as a reporter for Talk Radio 702 in 1997, Katy
Katopodis worked her way up to become group-editor-in-chief at
Primedia Broadcasting and news editor of 702 Eyewitness News.
Her bestselling book I’m Missing News deals with the pressures
a working mother may find when trying to balance a career and
family life, especially when her career entails delivering the most
important news to the world.
Sibongile Sambo
Featured in Forbes’ list of “The 20 Young Power Women in Africa
2013”, Sambo is the CEO and founder of SRS Aviation, the first
black female-owned aviation company in South Africa. Some of
Sambo’s accolades include being a winner of the Black Women
in Business Awards in London 2006 and being named a Leader of
Tomorrow by Fortune magazine in 2007.
These women are just a few of the many successful, independent
and determined women of whom South Africa can proudly boast.
However, there need not be a medal or award involved in order to
realise the greatness of South African women.
When did doing something “like a girl” become an insult?
than double the world average.
Despite this, high levels of domestic violence and women
abuse still prevail in South Africa and around the world. In
South Africa, a woman is killed every eight hours by a partner.
Rape incidences are also extremely high. According to research
conducted by the Medical Research Council, six cases of rape
are reported to the police every hour. More shocking is the
fact that only one in 25 women in Gauteng report rape, which
translates to 1.3 million rape cases each year.
Gender-based violence results in the death of one in three
women worldwide. In India, more than half of women think it is
justifiable for a man to beat a woman. Women in Saudi Arabia
are forbidden to drive. A women named Manal al-Sharif was
imprisoned for a week in 2011 for driving. Her son was beat up
at school because of this, and told that he and his mom should
be put to death. In Russia, 57 750 women are sold into sex
trafficking each year.
As women in South Africa, we have suffered great losses,
yet we still have to work harder than men and still have to fight
gender stereotypes. Women across the world are still struggling
to be seen as equals.
“Why can’t run like a girl also mean win the race?” asks
a girl at the end of the Always advertisement. Keep that in
mind the next time you feel inferior because of your gender.
National Women’s Day is celebrated on 9 August. Go out and do
something #LikeAGirl.
Watch the Always #LikeAGirl advertisement on www.
perdeby.co.za.
Infographic: Rebecca Paulsen
Image: Brad Donald