by Dr. Linda Zuze, founder and director, Chimango Research
As a researcher, I get to wake up every day and to ask questions for a living. One of the most consistent findings that I’ve encountered over the years is that women’s success benefits a lot of people around them. Children have a better chance of attending school, being fed and living in a safe environment. It is true that there is far greater recognition about the importance of the gender angle when discussing inequality than there has been in the past.
We are certainly not where we were twenty, or even ten years ago. It helps that more and more companies now recognize that it makes good business sense to invest in women. And as our Lionesses show us every day, women from across the continent are ready to innovate to create business opportunities and to grow existing ones. This is clearly good news for so many of us who work to keep the spotlight on the welfare of women and children. It also means that more is at stake when things go wrong.
The current public health crisis has started to reveal the cracks in the path towards progress. It is imposing impossible choices on families, businesses and entire economies. In a recent News24 article, I point out that the coronavirus has brought issues of poverty and inequality into renewed focus but that we run the risk of settling into complacency because of the sheer volume of the difficulties that we are facing. And it’s already clear that women are carrying a heavier load because of the lockdown. According to an ongoing national study, job losses were higher for women than for men during the early months of lockdown. Women also took on a greater share of childcare responsibilities when schools closed.
There are tough times ahead but any recovery comes down to choices. Success for women will translate into success for society.
Dr. Linda Zuze is the founder and director of Chimango Research. She has extensive experience in the design, management and analysis of social surveys across Africa. Recently, she headed research that focused on the development of the financial sector in Zambia. She has also worked as a resident researcher, senior university academic and as a technical adviser to a number of African government departments. Linda has used her experience and training to promote the technical rigour of African research. Throughout her career, she has worked to strengthen links between research, policy and practice. She has published extensively in local and international media. One of the most rewarding aspects of her work is showing that when women are given opportunities, households and communities benefit as well. Linda is trained as an economist. She has a PhD from the University of Cape Town. Her PhD won the 2009 Founder’s Medal, which is awarded by the Economics Society of South Africa for the top PhD in Economics in South Africa each year.