On 6 October 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the inaugural WECONA where private sector, civil society and women’s organisations, businesswomen and government have partnered to form the Women Economic Assembly – an initiative to facilitate the participation of women-owned businesses in core areas of the economy. www.wecona.co.za was excited about this year’s theme that revolved around South Africa’s economic recovery, which is at risk of becoming a futile exercise if women are deliberately excluded from participating in value chains in various sectors.
Futhi Mtoba, Women Economic Assembly co-chairperson, says on the website that this year’s Assembly built on the launch from last year, which gave them the wind in their sails to go out and meet with various sectors in mapping the economic landscape of the country. “We found a willingness to partner with us to transform value chain eco-systems and to ensure a more equitable share of business in this country goes to women. The second Assembly gave us the opportunity to present on what has been achieved and to bring in new voices and sectors to continue our goal of transforming the business landscape of this country.”
“In October 2021 when we launched, both public sector and industry leaders made commitments towards gender transformation. We are starting to see progress – take Siphiwo for instance, who is in the process of opening a 100% women-owned car dealership, or Akhona who launched three car dealerships this year. Before 2021, not a single woman owned a car dealership in South Africa. We want to build on the successes of the past year and accelerate the pace of gender transformation,” added Namhla Mniki, Women Economic Assembly co-chairperson.
The Assembly aligns with the outcomes of Pillar 5 of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Pillar 5 calls for “the need to create more economic opportunities for women who are vulnerable to abuse due to poverty, unemployment and social inequality.
WECONA’s key objectives, as stated on their website:
The overall goal of Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) is to advocate for equal economic participation of women in the mainstream economy to curb the scourge of Gender-based Violence and femicide (GBVF). This will be done by advancing women’s economic empowerment and collective action through activating public and private sector supply value chains within an enabling environment. This objective is linked to the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide and seeks to address inequality and address women’s economic dependency on abusive partners.
Women have been disporportionately affected by the economic and social fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily because the pandemic has axacerbated pre-existing structural inequalities and gender norms. Preferential procurement can help small firms achieve goals of equitable distribution of resources, enable sustainable development and play a significant role in promoting gender equality and poverty reduction.
