National Guidelines in South Africa - Government

Commission for Gender Equality

Gender Equality Framework

This policy is administered by the Commission for Gender Equality.

The following needs are identified by the policy:

1. to move towards a popular understanding of gender equality for strategic involvement of women and men in the transformation of gender relations;

2. for the holistic integration of gender considerations into policies and programs of government institutions, the private sector and civil society for the collaborative development of an indigenous policy approach to transformation.

The policy also sets a number of Strategic Objectives:

1. Provision of a user-friendly tool for policy makers, implementors and citizens.

2. Facilitating the realisation of freedom and security of women as people.

3. Facilitating women's participation in decision-making.

4. Advocating for beneficiary involvement in public policy.

5. Generation of data for reporting and monitoring purposes.

National Economic, Development and Labour Council

Code of Good Practice on the Handling of Sexual Harassment Cases

Produced by National Economic, Development and Labour Council under s. 203 of the Labour Relations Act 1995, this Code sets out procedures to deal with sexual harassment and to prevent its recurrence. It also suggests policies and procedures that will lead to the creation of workplaces that are free of sexual harassment. The code defines and gives examples of sexual harassment and emphasises the need for sensitivity and confidentiality when handling complaints.

Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Pregnant & Breastfeeding Employees

This Code provides guidelines for employers and employees to ensure that women’s health is protected against potential hazards in the work environment during pregnancy, after childbirth, and during breastfeeding.

South African Human Rights Commission

National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights

This plan was established by the South African Human Rights Commission and includes sections on gender equality.

Department of Education

Education White Papers

These papers are published by the Department of Education and set out national education policies which all include a strong gender perspective. The Gender Equity Task Team in the Department is researching issues relating to the education of women.

• Education White Paper 1
• Education White Paper 2
• Education White Paper 3
• Education White Paper 4
• Education White Paper 5
• Education White Paper 6

Department of Labour

Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Employees During Pregnancy and After the Birth of a Child

Codes are issued by the Minister of Labour as required by paragraph 87(1)(b) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 1997. They are designed to provide guidance and information and are not strictly legally binding, although ss. 87(3) of the Act requires them to be taken into account by any person interpreting or applying the Act. The entire Code is of interest to female workers, and its contents are summarised in s. 3:

"This code:

3.1 sets out the legal requirements relevant to the protection of the health and safety of pregnant and breast-feeding employees;

3.2 sets out a method for assessing and controlling the risks to the health and safety of pregnant and breast-feeding employees;

3.3 lists the principal physical, ergonomic, chemical and biological hazards to the health and safety of pregnant and breast-feeding employees and recommends steps to prevent or control these risks. These are listed in Schedules One to Four, which are included for guidance and are not exhaustive."

Code of Good Practice on the Arrangement of Working Time

Issued by the Minister of Labour as required by paragraph 87(1)(a) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 1997. Guidelines important for women include:

1. Design of shift rosters must be sensitive to the impact on employees and their families, and their design may require information on the personal security of employees while commuting and childcare needs (see sections 4.2. and 4.2). Arrangements for shifts should be considered to accommodate the special needs of workers such as pregnant and breast-feeding workers and those with family responsibilities (section 5.6).

2. Adequate security at the workplace should be provided for night workers.

Employment Equity Code of Good Practice

This Code was issued by the Minister of Labour under s. 54 of the Employment Equity Act, and is meant to provide guidelines for the preparation and implementation of an employment equity plan. Under s. 7 of the Code, employment practices should be assessed in terms of gender fairness when developing an employment equity plan.

Under s. 8 of the Code, affirmative action measures should be developed as part of the employment equity plan, to remedy barriers to equality. The affirmative action measures should improve the under representation of certain groups. Steps should be taken to ensure that the corporate culture is transformed in a way that affirms diversity. This could include programmes in the workplace that raise awareness of employment equity and gender sensitisation.

The Department administers the following policies which include gender equity in employment:

1. An Employment Strategy Framework" (July 1998)
2. Social Plan: Human Resource Development for Job Creation (July 1999)
3. Creating Jobs, Fighting Poverty, an employment strategy framework" (June 1998)

Department of Public Service and Administration

This Department administers the following policies which are relevant to women employed in the public service:

1. White Paper on Affirmative Action In the Public Service (1998) This sets out the policy framework and mandatory requirements and steps that national departments and provincial administration should take to develop and implement their affirmative action programmes.
2. White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service (1997) which includes employment policies on gender issues.
3. White Paper on a New Employment Policy for the Public Service 2nd Draft" (1997) which includes employment policies on gender issues.

Department of Welfare

The National Plan of Action (Welfare)

This plan applies for 5 years from 1999 and is administered by the Department of Welfare.

 It requires strategies to be developed to increase employment opportunities for particular target groups. Relevant policies under the auspices of the plan for women include the "White Paper for Social Welfare" (1997) which has a section on women and sets out strategies for achieving equality and equity between women and men in all spheres of social, economic and civic life.