South African women are increasingly creating their own economic opportunities rather than waiting for them. As the country marks Women’s Month, a pressing question emerges: are financial systems evolving quickly enough to keep pace with women’s economic ambitions?
“In recent years, we have seen South African women demonstrate extraordinary economic resilience and resourcefulness. They are earning income, building businesses, creating additional income streams and supporting families often all at the same time,” says Vuyokazi Mabude, Old Mutual Head of Brand.
“But we should not romanticise resilience. Women should not continually have to overcome structural obstacles simply to participate fully in the economy. The next phase of financial inclusion must focus on converting women’s economic activity into greater access to capital, opportunity and ultimately, wealth.”
The challenge is significant
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), women make up just over half the population, yet barriers persist across employment, access to credit, business funding and ownership of assets that can be used as collateral. The result is a paradox. Women are increasingly active in the economy, but the architecture of finance does not always reflect that participation.
Stats SA’s latest gender-focused financial inclusion research shows that only 7% of women had access to credit cards, compared with 9% of men, while overdraft access stood at 13% for women versus 18% for men. Women were, however, marginally more likely to report investments 46%, compared with 45% of men.
The divide is even more striking in entrepreneurship. Only 4.9% of female informal business owners received formal start-up financing, compared with 12.7% of their male counterparts. Most women instead relied on personal savings or informal funding from family and friends.
That gap should matter to everyone, not only women, and when an entrepreneur cannot access the capital needed to move from survival to growth, the country loses more than the potential of a single business. We lose the jobs, suppliers, household income and wider economic activity that the business could have generated.
The rise of the multi-income woman
Against this backdrop, women are adapting. The latest Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor (OMSIM) reports that 51% of working women surveyed are earning more than they did a year ago, supported by salary increases, bonuses and entrepreneurship.
At the same time, “poly-jobbing” is becoming more visible, with women supplementing their primary employment through professional services, product sales and other ventures. For almost one in five women with side hustles, these activities now generate the majority of their income. This points to a changing model of economic participation, where the boundaries between employee, entrepreneur and household provider are increasingly blurred.
Women are diversifying their economic lives. A woman may have a formal job, run a small business after hours, sell a product online, and support several family members from those combined income streams. Financial institutions, policymakers and businesses need to recognise this reality: yesterday’s assumptions about income, employment and entrepreneurship don’t reflect how people actually live.
There are also encouraging signs
Nearly eight in ten working women surveyed by OMSIM expect their financial position to improve over the next six months, while just over 4 in 10 strongly believe they have the ability to meet their long-term financial goals.
Resilience has a price
Yet greater economic participation is unfolding alongside significant household pressure. More than eight in ten working women surveyed in OMSIM have dependent children. More than a third are single mothers, while nearly half belong to the “sandwich generation” – simultaneously supporting children and ageing relatives.
Debt is an important part of the story. More than half of the women surveyed are concerned about their debt, with some considering additional credit cards or other forms of borrowing. Buy-now-pay-later services are becoming more prominent, alongside behaviours such as moving money between accounts or delaying payments to manage monthly cash flow.
These behaviours should not automatically be interpreted as financial irresponsibility. They reflect the pressure created when rising household costs collide with extensive family responsibilities. This tension extends to savings. Almost nine in ten women surveyed have defined savings goals, particularly for children’s education, retirement and emergencies. Yet some are also drawing on savings and investments to meet immediate expenses.
“The story of women and money in South Africa is therefore not simply one of vulnerability, nor merely a celebration of resilience,” Mabude says. “It is a story of economic transformation unfolding under considerable pressure.”
From inclusion to economic power
The financing challenge facing women entrepreneurs is not unique to SA. World Bank research continues to identify restricted access to finance, traditional collateral requirements and financial products that do not adequately reflect women’s circumstances as barriers to female entrepreneurship.
For Mabude, Women’s Month is an opportunity to shine a light on shifting the conversation that should be happening daily. “We need to move beyond asking whether women are financially resilient. They clearly are. The more important question is whether our economy is doing enough with that resilience.” The opportunity, she says, is to create an environment in which women’s growing entrepreneurship, digital participation and multiple income streams translate into greater economic mobility.
“Imagine what becomes possible when a woman who has successfully built a side business can access the capital to employ her first employee, when an informal entrepreneur can build the financial footprint needed to enter the formal economy, or when higher earnings can be converted into assets and long-term wealth rather than continually being absorbed by household pressures.”
“That is the broader Women’s Month, and indeed everyday conversation. Women have demonstrated they can adapt. The challenge now is for the financial ecosystem to adapt alongside them.”
For more information, please refer to the full OMSIM report.
