During national Women’s Month in August 2022, infoQuest, a South African online research company, interviewed 300 women across the South Africa. Their online panel methodology was used ensuring that the results are representative of the South African online population.
“We wanted to understand the priorities for women in South Africa, and how they are coping with life after COVID-19,” says Claire Heckrath, managing director of infoQuest.
The top three priorities for women are:
- Having enough money to buy groceries
- Making sure they have some savings
- Providing for children’s education
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many individuals struggle financially because they had no savings to buffer them through the tough times, so it is not surprising that savings is a top priority. Providing for the basic need for food is also a priority, and children’s education is also in the top three.
“It is interesting that about one in two women are intending to upskill themselves so that they will have better job options in the future. Women are wanting to empower themselves in the workplace,” says Heckrath.
Interestingly, this is a higher priority than paying off debt and making sure that home loan and vehicle instalments are covered every month, and is particularly true for younger women, aged 18–34 years. Among women of 50 years and older, paying off debt and providing for retirement are more of a priority than for their younger counterparts.
Some regional differences are also evident. Paying off debt and providing for elderly parents are significantly more important for women in the Western Cape than in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
An astounding finding is that about one in two (47%) moms consider themselves to be single moms. The top priorities of ensuring that there is food on the table and providing for children’s education are then not unexpected, when you consider that these single moms are running a household on one salary.
Two in three working women (69%) state that their work-life balance now is better than before Covid-19. There are three main reasons for this:
- Efficiency levels have increased as you can juggle work and home issues better and get more done
- There have been some cost savings, particularly with transport costs to and from work. Some moms can now also fetch children from school, reducing the cost of after-care and school transport
- Family time has increased, with more time at home
[Note from the editor: The latest issue of The Media explores the subject of upskilling and lifelong learning.]
