Women Economic Assembly to bring together private sector, businesswomen, government and civil society to transform the economic landscape in South Africa
The Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) will take place for the second time this year under the theme: ‘Unlocking gender-responsive value chains for a resilient economy’ with a focus on showcasing how the public and private sectors have implemented their commitment towards gender transformation in industry value chains.
The theme of WECONA 2022 talks to South Africa’s economic recovery which is at risk of becoming a futile exercise if women are deliberately excluded from participating in value chains in various sectors.
The inaugural WECONA was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 6 October 2021 during a hybrid event attended by businesswomen, government leaders and officials, private companies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
The private sector, civil society and women’s organisations, businesswomen and government have partnered to form the Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) – an initiative to facilitate the participation of women-owned businesses in core areas of the economy.
This initiative emphasises the participation of women-owned enterprises on the entire value chain to foster sustainable economic development. The WECONA platform is fast becoming the go to platform for women economic empowerment through negotiating sector-specific preferential procurement targets, reviewing representation in management structures, and securing commitments from sectors that have fallen behind in meeting transformation targets.
Futhi Mtoba, Women Economic Assembly co-chairperson, says: “This year’s Assembly builds on the launch from last year, which gave us the wind in our sails to go out and meet with various sectors in mapping the economic landscape of the country. We found a willingness to partner with us to transform value chain eco-systems to ensure a more equitable share of business in this country goes to women.”
“The second Assembly gives us the opportunity to present on what has been achieved and to bring in new voices and sectors to continue our goal of transforming the business landscape of this country.”
Since the inaugural event last year, through WECONA, there have been transformational conversations with industry associations and representatives to establish procurement targets to ensure women-owned businesses have increased levels of participation within those value chains. These dialogues have led to the implementation of game-changing initiatives in several sectors, including the financial industry and automotive sectors.
“In October 2021 when we launched, both public sector and industry leaders made commitments towards gender transformation. We are starting to see progress – take Siphiwo for instance, who is in the process of opening a 100% women-owned car dealership, or Akhona who launched three car dealerships this year. Before 2021, not a single woman owned a car dealership in South Africa. We want to build on the successes of the past year and accelerate the pace of gender transformation,” added Namhla Mniki, Women Economic Assembly co-chairperson.
The Assembly aligns with the outcomes of Pillar 5 of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Pillar 5 calls for “the need to create more economic opportunities for women who are vulnerable to abuse due to poverty, unemployment and social inequality.”
Media is invited to cover the 2-day event as follows:
Date: 5 and 6 October 2022
Time: 08:30 for 09:00
Venue: Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in Pretoria, South Africa
NB: Media who are interested in attending need to submit the details comprising of their media house; name and surname and ID number to:
Shalen.Gajadhar@gmail.com;
Tsakane@presidency.gov.za and
mandisa@rubixxmedia.co.za
by no later than 15:00 on Saturday 01 October 2022.
Background to WECONA
Recognising that women-owned businesses still account for 1% of public procurement, while Agenda 2063 of the AU calls for this allocation to be at least 25%, the Women Economic Assembly sets out to contribute substantially to easing the plight of vulnerable sectors of our economy.
Unlocking market access through preferential procurement has a direct multiplier effect to economic growth and increased access to income.
Women have been disproportionately affected by the economic and social fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily because the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing structural inequalities and gender norms.
Preferential procurement can help small firms achieve goals of equitable distribution of resources; enable sustainable development. and play a significant role in promoting gender equality and poverty reduction.
This Assembly will facilitate the convergence of stakeholders to contribute to a movement of economic emancipation for all the women of South Africa in their diversity, using innovation, creativity and thought leadership to transform the economic system.
The Women Economic Assembly also aims to build a long-term framework of monitoring and a measurement index.
It also presents an opportunity for businesses to derive benefit from greater equality for women as espoused in the UN global compact on Women’s Empowerment Principles, particularly, Principle 5, in terms of which, business are required to implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women.
Learn more at www.wecona.org.za
What informed the formation of the Women Economic assembly and what are the key objectives behind it?
The overall goal of Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) is to advocate for equal economic participation of women in the mainstream economy to curb the scourge of Gender-based Violence and femicide (GBVF). This will be done by advancing women's economic empowerment and collective action through activating public and private sector supply value chains within an enabling environment. This objective is linked to Pillar 5 of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide and seeks to address inequality and address women’s economic dependency on abusive partners.
Key objectives of WECONA are to bring together significant industry and government role players who can and will make supply chain specific commitments that advance women’s participation in key sectors through direct market facilitation and procurement, as well as providing support enablers (e.g. policy, finance, and capacity building). The vision is that the empowerment of women through their participation in value chains will reduce dependency on abusive partners, and address patriarchal systems and attitudes that exclude women from fully participating in the mainstream economy.
Enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya
E-mail: media@presidency.gov.za
Shalen Gajadhar
Cell: 060 979 4235
E-mail: shalen.gajadhar@gmail.com
Mandisa Nkwanyana
Cell: 082 813 92 94
E-mail: mandisa@wecona.org.za or Media Desk on comms@wecona.org.za
