Harambee's new Breaking Barriers report: A gender lens to the analysis of South Africa's youth employment challenge

Every August, in celebration of Women's Day, the Breaking Barriers report takes a gender lens to the analysis of South Africa's youth employment challenge. Drawing on learnings from across the youth employment system, including the national Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), Harambee's income survey, real-time data from the SA Youth platform, and the lived experiences of young people navigating pathways into work, the report explores what women's experiences reveal about building a more inclusive and resilient economy.

"At the highest level, the data paints a superficial picture of stasis: women continue to lag men in overall employment, with the gender gap between male and female youth unemployment narrowing by a mere 2 percentage points over the past 18 years. On this view, women are persistently less employed and are neither losing nor gaining much ground over time," says Sharmi Surianarain, chief impact officer at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.

Women are 'employment bellwethers' - experiencing greater impact from the same economic shocks and structural barriers that affect all unemployed youth. Small or big shifts in their employment rates can signal wider labour market problems brewing. And when employment interventions are in place to help women overcome these barriers, in many cases we see the kind of growth and productivity that benefits everyone. Similar to the 'curb cut effect,' in which the design of a system or environment intended to eliminate a barrier for one group also benefits a much wider population.

The latest Breaking Barriers findings point to practical opportunities for employers, policymakers and ecosystem partners to strengthen pathways into work and improve labour market outcomes.

Key findings from the report include:

• Young women’s employment rates remain approximately 10 percentage points lower than men’s. BB analysis of employment trends between Q1 2008 and Q1 2026, reports that the number of young women employed fell by 11%, equivalent to roughly 298,000 jobs lost, reaching a broad unemployment rate of 60%.
  
• Unequal care responsibility is a major factor: Most care work (52%) in South Africa is unpaid, with women spending approximately 3.8 hours daily versus 1.6 for men on unpaid care.
  
• Women employed in the formal sector are less likely to reach top management roles and they earn less than men, with a pay gap of between 23% and 35% (versus a global average of 20%).
  
• Despite making up nearly three-quarters of all self-employed placements reported by participants on the SA Youth platform, women are more likely to be in a narrower set of activities, such as hair and beauty, childcare and selling goods and food, that are the lowest paying and least valued. At an income of about R514 per week, selling food generates the lowest earnings of all self-employment activities captured.
  
• Since 2008, employment among young women has increased by 16% in business services and 30% in community services, outpacing growth among young men (4% and 7% respectively) and increasing women's representation by 3 to 5 percentage points.
  
• Traditionally male-dominated industries are starting to change. In mining and quarrying, young women's employment grew by 79% from a low base of approximately 19,000 workers in 2008, with gains across both manual and higher-skilled occupations.
  
• The GBS sector is a powerful example of how women’s inclusion can be built into the design of growth initiatives. Since 2018, the Global Business Services (GBS) sector has created 153,574 jobs, with 90% going to young people and 64% to women.

“Women are still behind men in the employment stakes, trailing them in access, earnings, and stability. This is a missed opportunity, because when women advance in the labour market, everyone gains, potentially increasing global GDP by 20%,” says Sharmi Surianarain, chief impact officer at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.

The full analysis is available in the latest edition of Breaking Barriers, viewable here.