7.2 The interconnectedness of race and gender: White men dominate in the business sector
7.2.2 African women in need of development
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Figure 7.2: African women again represented as farm workers engaged in the primary sector In the two representations above life is seen as difficult. The women make money by harvesting crops without machinery. Presentation of information in this way is likely to create the assumption that this is how things are in many African economies, where African women are likely to be subjected to low-paying, low-skilled, exploitative occupations.
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Figure 7.3: African women represented as in need of support
This serves to conceal which Human Resource Development strategy is responsible and the social actors involved. The subliminal message is as if all business organisations in South Africa are engaged with important strategies and measures to improve illiteracy and poverty.
However, in highlighting the need to alleviate poverty and illiteracy the author has foregrounded visuals of only African females. The subtext or covert message in this depiction is that the illiterate people in society are likely to be African women, who are needy of assistance.
What is also implied is that if it were not for this intervention, many people would be illiterate and unemployed. While the intervention itself may have had a positive outcome, the way in which the authors present the information paints an exaggerated image of all African women being illiterate and uneducated. In addition, the text ‘remain in training’ does not explain why or how women are forced to leave formal education in developing countries (Naidoo, 2011).
There is also a notable silence on the reality of life in South Africa in terms of the unevenness of the terrain, differing capabilities, access to finance and opportunities that women in the rural areas Africa are exposed to, which the author fails to explore or interrogate, leaving what is written as factual.
African women’s helplessness and poverty is further illuminated through the following text (South Africa, p. 93):
Jane’s mother fell ill suddenly and become confined to a bed. She needed a care worker for her mother urgently as she had a job of her own and her work was in the centre of town. She
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earned a good salary of R250 an hour. Jane’s job required her to leave home at 7am in the morning and return at 6pm. Jane discovered that there were many African women who would be willing to do care work for R30 an hour. Jane decided to go ahead and employ someone for R30 an hour six days a week. She knew that these women were uneducated, unemployed and poor enough to work for such a meagre rate. Jane was aware that it was a contradiction that because of her privileged background and her access to educational opportunities, she was able to earn a large sum of money, but her privilege did not stop her from taking advantage of other women’s helplessness in society.
The lengthy case study is illuminated by an image of Jane’s mother, who is a white woman, as depicted through specifics of dress, hair, skin colour and physical features. Although the text itself does not claim that all white people look alike, such generic visual representations may serve to connote that they do. In the extract above, the authors have chosen a specific gender related to illness and capability. For example, the authors could have used ‘John’s father’, but instead chose to use a female example. This example is associated with negative connotations, as Jane’s mother is represented as helpless and incapable of taking care of herself.
The backgrounding of Jane’s mother’s illness and the choice of the word ‘suddenly’ thus become part of the taken for granted assumptions that women are weak and dependent on others for support. The case study states that Jane earns a good salary R250 an hour. This is relative.
The context of her occupation is backgrounded. To understand whether this is a good salary, the reader has to understand the context of her occupation. This lexical selection is therefore subjective in comparison to other occupations and gender-related salaries. The subliminal message is that R250 an hour is an acceptable salary for women.
This case study also presents a racial stereotype of African women; created by the statement many African women are uneducated, unemployed and poor. African poverty is illuminated by the word ‘many’, and is an example of what Van Leeuwen (2006) calls aggregation. Agents are quantified and treated as statistics. The impression of objective research and scientific credibility is given, when in fact no specific figures are given. In the absence of modality, this statement also comes across as a strong categorical fact. By presenting this information as reality, the authors promote the misconception that white women or men are never poor, uneducated or unemployed. This is an unrealistic representation. Today there are many independent, powerful, African middle-class women in prestigious occupations, but the
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textbook has not embraced this notion (Stats SA, 2015). Instead, the authors have chosen to portray African women as victims of poverty who are helpless and needy.
Another phenomenon that comes to the fore is white privilege. Jane’s social status is categorised by white privilege. Her racial status and class give her gender privilege over African women. In the case study, Jane is aware of her agency as a white woman, and therefore oppresses and exploits the African women. What is problematic about this case study is that the authors do not invite learners to question why such inequalities exist; they raise the issue of gender and racial equity, but merely by way of an inconsequential statement, and fail to offer a critical perspective on such issues through this case study.
The idea of ethics in business as highlighted in the case studies is part of “tick box compliance”
(Pillay, 2016 – this study). This refers to the mechanical and superficial manner in which the textbook writers present issues of inclusivity as part of compliance purposes for having their textbooks published. They ‘play the game’ to have their textbooks accepted, but by doing so fall prey to contradiction and superficiality, where their attempts at inclusivity remain at a decorative level.