Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has called on women to embrace leadership in building truly resilient economies that serve all people.
Speaking at the Women’s Month launch at Sandton Convention Centre on Friday, Minister Chikunga said women perform approximately 75% of the world’s unpaid care work, valued at trillions of dollars globally, yet they remain systematically excluded from economic calculations and policy considerations.
This year’s theme is: “Building Resilient Economies for All” (Women Leading the Future of Trade).
The event marks 69 years since the women’s march to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 to eliminate laws that fundamentally restricted their autonomy, citizenship, and right to self-determination.
“What makes Women’s Month particularly significant is how our struggle has evolved from resistance to reconstruction, from wanting mere inclusion to demanding a fundamental re-structuring of power relations.
“Today, women perform approximately 75% of the world’s unpaid care work, valued at trillions of dollars globally, yet they remain systematically excluded from economic calculations and policy considerations,” said Chikunga.
She said government has also elevated financial Inclusion as a critical instrument for women’s economic empowerment.
Going forward, over the next five years government will focus on enforcement powers that enable women to model, monitor, evaluate, and ensure accountability.
“It is important to emphasize that, for us, financial inclusion goes far beyond access to banking; it represents a fundamental shift in economic power. This struggle encompasses challenging discriminatory lending practices, advocating for property rights reforms that enable women to use their assets as collateral, and confronting cultural norms that position men as the primary financial decision-makers.
“Once enacted, our Promotion of Women’s Rights, Empowerment, and Gender Equality Bill will institutionalise gender-responsive planning, budgeting, procurement, and service delivery across all organs of state, and will provide the enforcement mechanisms that have long been missing.
To move from intent to impact, the government has requested that the Women’s Economic Assembly study the anatomy of government expenditure, as well as supply chain patterns. This, the minister said, will enable government to break free from entrenched barriers to market entry and reimagine a women-led industrial and productive revolution. No sector should be beyond our reach.
She said women needed to be at the forefront of the African market because traditional trade models were dominated by male-centred networks and structures.
Furthermore, research evidence has consistently shown that economies with higher levels of women’s participation in trade exhibit greater resilience, innovation, and sustainable growth patterns.
“We need to urgently invest in capacity building and skills development ecosystems in a manner that closes the knowledge and skills gaps preventing women from fully participating in international trade. In addition to trade training programs, we need digital platforms that deliver accessible information on export procedures, market opportunities, and regulatory requirements in multiple languages and formats,” Minister Chikunga said.
ABSA Group Limited’s Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer, Punki Modise, said women like Charlotte Maxeke were the source of the river for many women trying to lift others as they rise, because every step forward for one woman should make the path easier for the next.
Modise said that last year alone, Absa spent approximately R3.8 billion on procurement, specifically from women-owned businesses.
“It is also important to say that at Absa, empowering isn’t just a campaign—it is a commitment. That is why our purpose is clear: empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together one story at a time. Every business we fund, every entrepreneur we mentor, and every market we open is another story that shapes the future of our beautiful continent,” she said.
Giving a message of support, W20 South Africa Co-Chair Dr. Sindiswa Mzamo said that when it comes to empowering women, it means giving them access to markets, access to finance, and ensuring they have sponsors who can sell their products or services.
“We are saying to African women: rise, ke nako. This is your opportunity to claim your space, own it, show up, and make sure you take your rightful position,” said Dr. Mzamo.
