Despite the progress of the past 100 years, equal pay, equal opportunity, and fair treatment for all genders are still elusive in the workplace. A recent McKinsey report showed that globally, women earn on average 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. The 2023 Gender Snapshot report by the United Nations revealed that women spend 2.5 times as many hours a day on unpaid care and domestic work as men.

So women tend to work longer hours every day but earn much less than their male counterparts? Adding insult to injury, their contributions to savings and investments – including those for retirement – are consequently lower on average, through no fault of their own. What can be done about this?

In a conversation recorded for episode 5 of the latest season of our podcast, Big Business Insights, Blessing Utete explored with guests how we can level the world of work for all. Utete is the Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants. He was joined by Phillipa Geard, the founder and CEO of RecruitMyMom, and Celiwe Ross, Director of Strategy, Sustainability, People and Public Affairs at Old Mutual. The discussion revealed some startling truths about this issue.

Caregivers come in all shapes and sizes – and genders

Our economy needs the valuable skills of people with qualifications and experience, but who also require flexibility in terms of the place or the hours they work. Most of these people are women, but not all of them.

Families look different than they did 50 years ago. “I don’t think it’s just a woman’s struggle,” explained Ross. “Some fathers struggle, some families are not made up of any women at all. And so how do we introduce that level of flexibility in our thinking and in our policies to accommodate them, particularly when there are children involved, because the demands of children are not always predictable?”

Parenthood in 2025 could look like a family whose children are born via surrogate – because they’re a same-sex couple or because they struggled with infertility – or a couple that adopts. They deserve to have the same benefits of caring for children, as well as women in the more traditional mould of mother.

Ross continued: “Employers are going to have to consistently challenge themselves, to be deeply connected with what’s happening in society and in the employee base over time. Companies have that responsibility to all their stakeholders, but also thinking about how we show up for employees in those moments in their lives, where it really matters.”

Presence doesn’t equal productivity

Terms of employment are starting to vary more from organisation to organisation. Hybrid models, four-day weeks and remote work have increasingly made nine-to-five jobs a thing of the past. But that has come with some adjustments.

“One of the mindsets that we’ve needed to challenge is that productivity doesn’t equal presence,” said Geard. “Just because somebody’s on camera, or sitting at a desk, doesn’t mean that they’re working.” Leaders need to be able to measure productivity in a different, more meaningful way. Especially since the established method of clocking in and out at certain times harms caregivers disproportionately. “There’s an onus on employers to be respectful to their employees around measuring productivity – especially in the working mothers’ space.”

It’s not only about women, it’s about their children – the future of our economy

According to Geard’s research, 38% of women are sole income earners in this country. If such a large segment of breadwinners doesn’t earn a fair wage, imagine the knock-on effect on all their dependents. The education and resources of a huge portion of South Africa’s children are at stake – not to mention the long-term finances of their caregivers. Without another income in the home, these women are doubly disadvantaged if they are mothers.

“In my years of working at RecruitMyMom, I have seldom heard of a woman successfully being able to claim UIF,” shared Geard. “That is a massive burden if the employer is not assisting. So: fair wages, medical, maternity, and general mental health support at this time are really important.”

Ross agreed: “The opportunity for an employer to show up for the people who have contributed to his financial success is so critical. And that’s not just in terms of benefits and employee benefits. To be able to demonstrate that we’re able to show care…and help them plan for [the] future.”

A seat at the table simply isn’t enough

A common message on motivational posters, Tumblr posts and Instagram accounts tells women and girls that success equals getting ‘a seat at the table’. But what about the environment in which this metaphorical table is placed, asked Geard: “There are still ‘tables’ in old cultures and old mindsets. It’s not about having a number on a tick box of women in senior leadership; it’s about what contribution this woman [is] able to bring.”

Ross echoed this: “There has to be an assumption of many things: the first is that I’m sitting [at the table] because people believe I deserve to be there. That I’m competent enough to be there, that my views are credible and worthwhile, that they’re happy to be challenged by me, that they’re happy to deal with all parts of me. There are a whole lot of things that make up who I am and therefore how I come into the world. And there has to be an acceptance that that diversity of views is acceptable and actually makes us better. It’s a joint contribution to making us better as a team. Then the seat is worth it.”

Women and caregivers aren’t asking for the impossible. They deserve an understanding of the unique challenges that they face, which can actually be extrapolated to any employee. Listen to the podcast for the full conversation on this nuanced issue.