The Experiences of Women in the Workplace in a South African context: A systematic Review

Women have long been treated unequally with men in many spheres. There is also a long history of gender inequality. Equality is important to most people and its perceived absence may severely affect individual and organizational performance. Many studies state that women find it difficult to balance their careers and families. Furthermore, in South Africa women are under-represented in executive positions. Other authors argue that women experience increased rates of minimum wage and overtime breaches than males as well as experience wage theft compared with their male counterparts. This combination indicates that there are many challenges that are experienced by women within the working environment. Nevertheless, the participation of women in the workplace has seen them take up roles that were previously believed to be the exclusive domain of men. The findings of this literature review suggest that despite a firm legislative position and widespread awareness of the gender-based inequalities experienced in the workplace, discrimination against women remains prevalent in South Africa.|Purpose:This study aims to explore the experiences of women within the workplace in a South African context. The study explored the causes of challenges that confront women in the work environment and the effects they may have.|Method:The systematic search was used to gather information on the experiences of women in the work environment focusing on the South African context. Most of the articles were obtained using science direct (Elsevier) and Sabinet databases y and focused on articles that were published from 2015-2022. The review process followed the PRISMA guidelines.|Results:Many studies state that women and men do not have the same experience within the work environment. This is because there is a difference on wages, promotion of women and the requirements for a particular job. Male stereotyping and biases about women are regarded as the most important barrier influencing the advancement of women in South African context. Based on the research findings, it can be inferred that despite women's increased economic dependency, social status advancement and more dignity there is still significant opposition to women working in the workforce, particularly from men.|ConclusionThere has been a concentrated focus on ensuring equal number of female and male representation at all levels of the working environment. Furthermore, on paper, equal representation is now recognized as a fundamental human right in many African countries - including South Africa. As such, equal opportunities must be afforded to each employee regardless of gender and the concomitant traditional or family biases.