It buys food but does it change gender relations? Child Support Grants in Soweto, South Africa

Abstract

A gender lens was applied in an empirical study to assess the dynamics and policy implications of one of South Africa's largest social protection programmes, the Child Support Grant (CSG). The findings are based on a household survey conducted in an urban community in Soweto, South Africa. They suggest that the grant supports women's ability to control and allocate resources, and that this has a positive impact on household food security. While the CSG eases women's burden of care and responsibility for household and child survival, women remain largely responsible for caring and looking after families. This prevails despite increased opportunities for women in society and some small shifts in gender relations in urban areas. Social protection policies such as the CSG do not on their own transform gender relations. To ensure that they contribute to gender transformation, they need to work in concert with other public policies that are specifically designed to support changes toward gender equality.

Keywords:

• gender and social protection
• Child Support Grants
• gender relations
• social policies

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the South African Netherlands Partnership for Alternatives to Development (SANPAD) for funding this research, and for the helpful and insightful comments from the project research team: Vivienne Bozalek, Shireen Hassim, Nhlanhla Jordan, Trudie Knijn, and Francie Lund.

Notes

1. Soweto is a large, poor township South West of Johannesburg designated for black urban dwellers by apartheid city planners.

2. Apartheid's racial categories continue to influence South African society due to the legacy of economic, geographic, and social separation, and therefore the term ‘black’ denotes people of African descent to differentiate from those of ‘Indian’ or ‘mixed race’ descent.

3. Apartheid's racial categories continue to influence South African society due to the legacy of economic, geographic, and social separation, and therefore the term ‘black’ denotes people of African descent to differentiate from those of ‘Indian’ or ‘mixed race’ descent.

4. ‘Piece work’ is a term used in South Africa for ad hoc once-off employment, from an hour to a few days in duration. It is particularly common amongst domestic workers and labourers.

5. This figure is based on results from a five-point Likert Scale. Here we have reflected only the data for those who ‘Strongly agreed’ and ‘Agreed’ with the statements.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leila Patel

Leila Patel is Professor and Director at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg

Tessa Hochfeld

Tessa Hochfeld is a researcher at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg