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Namibians support equal access to employment but say more needs to be done to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment

Namibians support equal access to employment but say more needs to be done to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment

Matte Jr08 mins

Only half of citizens consider it likely that complaints will be believed.

Key findings

  • Three-quarters (74%) of Namibians support equal access to employment opportunities for men and women, even when jobs are scarce. Men are less supportive than women of gender equality in hiring (69% vs. 80%).
  • According to respondents, barriers to women’s entry and advancement in the job market include a lack of education and necessary skills (26%), some employers’ preference for hiring men (16%), and a lack of agreements remote or flexible work arrangements (12%). ).
  • More than seven in 10 Namibians (72%) say women should have the same opportunities as men to be elected to public office.
  • Minorities report that girls in their communities “often” or “always” face discrimination, harassment, and requests for sexual favors from teachers (26%) and are even prevented from attending school because their families prioritize their children’s education. boys (10%).
  • Three in 10 respondents (29%) say that women in their communities are “often” or “always” sexually harassed in public places, such as markets, streets or public transport.
  • About a fifth (19%) say women in their communities are “often” or “always” prevented from taking paid employment by their spouses or other family members.
  • Almost three-quarters (73%) of Namibians believe the police and courts need to do more to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment in schools, workplaces and other public spaces.
  • Only half (49%) of Namibians consider it likely that people in their communities will believe women or girls if they complain about being discriminated against or harassed in schools, workplaces or other public spaces.

Namibia ranks eighth out of 146 countries in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, making it the highest-ranked African country (World Economic Forum, 2024). It shares first place globally in terms of educational success and health/survival and ranks 17th in economic participation and opportunities and 21st in political empowerment. But despite its impressive performance, there are significant gender gaps in pay equality (ranked 90th), ministerial positions (46th) and the number of years with female heads of state (17th).

In this election year, public attention in Namibia will be focused on the participation of women in the country’s political processes, both as candidates and voters. Following the 2014 National Assembly elections, the ruling party, SWAPO, implemented a “zebra-style” party list, alternating male and female candidates, which increased the number of women in the National Assembly. Only three of the 10 opposition parties have women deputies, including the largest, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), with women in 44% of its 16 parliamentary seats (Instituto de Investigação de Políticas Públicas, 2020). These developments have provided Namibia with gender parity (50% women) in Parliament, with the fifth highest proportion of women in legislative positions in the world, behind Rwanda, Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2024).

Although men continue to dominate leadership positions on most party lists, the SWAPO Party elected Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female presidential candidate, paving the way for Namibia to have its first female president. She is joined in the race for the State Chamber by four women who are running as independent candidates – Lisbeth Kaumbi, Rosa Namises, Lydia Kandetu and Ally Angula (Matheus, 2024).

Despite progress in the political sphere, gender disparities persist in the workforce, with women recording significantly lower levels of full-time employment than men (Kalimbo, 2018). Women’s labor force participation rate is notably lower than that of men, and women are underrepresented in the formal sector. Even controlling for education level and occupation, men continue to earn considerably more than women in most sectors.

According to UN Women (2021), Namibia has made great progress in developing legal frameworks to promote, enforce and monitor gender equality. However, only about a third of the indicators needed to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from a gender perspective are available. As a result, the exact extent of gender inequality in Namibia remains unknown.