Gendered aspects of economic security
In the Global South, women’s labour-market experiences – from precarious employment to pension shortfall – embody structural inequality. This closed-door workshop brings together leading researchers, government officials, scholars, and civil society actors to present groundbreaking findings on employment quality, lifetime income trajectories, and old-age financial security in Ghana and South Africa. Hosted under the Hewlett Foundation support, the event elevates new metrics, regional analyses, and policy dialogue to reimagine gender-responsive economic security systems.
Who should attend
This forum targets senior policy-makers, multilateral agency experts, academic leaders, and private-sector decision-makers committed to equitable economic frameworks. Early attendance interest is encouraged, especially for international delegates who require visa and travel coordination.
Keynote speaker
Risenga Maluleke Statistician
General, Statistics South Africa
Risenga Maluleke was appointed South Africa’s 2nd Statistician-General in November 2017. Prior to November 2017, Mr Maluleke was the Deputy Director-General for Statistical Collections and Outreach. He has been with Statistics South Africa for the past 20 years. He was responsible for the provincial offices’ data collection for censuses and sample surveys, international statistical development and communications. Mr Maluleke has also been instrumental in International Statistical Development. Mr Maluleke has represented South Africa on countless occasions and has extensive experience in international and diplomatic matters. He has been instrumental in managing Stats SA’s participation in international meetings such as the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC). He holds a BSc in mathematical statistics from the University of Limpopo and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Science from the University of Stellenbosch. He has also completed Senior Executive Programmes from the University of the Witwatersrand and Harvard Business School.
About the workshop
Date and time
Friday, 15 August 2025・08:00 – 17:30・Followed by networking reception
Hybrid venue
- Stellenbosch Business School campus, Carl Cronje Drive, Cape Town
- Online via Teams
Collaboration institutions
Levy Economics Institute · University of Ghana · Stellenbosch Business School
Programme outline
- Registration and refreshments
- Welcoming and remarks
- Keynote address
- Session 1: Employment quality in Ghana and South Africa
- Tea break
- Session 2: Lifetime earnings and old-age security
- Lunch
- Session 3: Gender and employment precarity in Africa
- Tea break
- Policy roundtable
- Closing remarks
Explore original papers from researchers tackling the workshop’s core themes
Being a women vs working with women
Gender disparities in old age economic security in Ghana and South Africa
Job quality deprivation in Ghana and South Africa
Unlocking Economic security - Women and Micro Pensions in Zambia
Supply-Side Economics of a Good Type: Supporting and Expanding South Africa’s Informal Economy
CONTACT
Asi Liphadzi
Workshop Coordinator
[email protected]
We recommend early travel planning for visa processing.
RESEARCH WORKSHOP TEAM
Dr Nthabiseng Moleko ・Senior Lecturer and Economist・Stellenbosch Business School
Ajit Zacharias・Senior Scholar and Programme Director・The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Thomas Masterson・ Senior Scholar and Director of Graduate Programmes・The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Abena Oduro・Associate Professor: Department of Economics・University of Ghana
Aashima Sinha・Research Scholar・Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
PANELLISTS
Dumisani Hlophe
Deputy Director-General, Department of Public Service and Administration (South Africa)
Dumisani Hlophe is a Deputy Director-General at the Department of Public Service and Administration in South Africa (DPSA). He leads the branch responsible for Negotiations, Labour Relations and Remuneration Management (NLRRM). His responsibilities include policy development and state capacity building through the professionalisation of the public service. Hlophe is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), focusing on the relationship between state fragility and basic service delivery in South Africa.
Juhi Kasan
Project Lead, Institute for Economic Justice
Juhi Kasan is a Project Lead at the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), where she focuses on the care economy and feminist economics research. She holds a Master’s in Industrial Sociology from the University of Cape Town, with her research centring on social care regimes—particularly state responses to early childhood development and long-term care for older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tshediso Matona
Commissioner, Black Economic Empowerment Commission
Tshediso Matona is an accomplished leader with over 30 years’ professional experience, specifically at the interface of public policy and business, in economic planning and enterprise and investment facilitation, serving at the highest level in government. He is currently the Commissioner of the Black Economic Empowerment Commission (since August 2022). Prior to that, he was Special Adviser to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and previously the DTIC’s Director-General (2005–2010) and later DG of state-owned Public Enterprises (2011–2014).
This was followed by a stint as CEO of Eskom (October 2014–May 2015), and DG of the National Planning Commission in the Presidency of South Africa (2015–2021). Matona’s wide-ranging experience spans business regulation, transformation, industrial and trade policy (he was South Africa’s diplomat at the World Trade Organization, 1996–1998), as well as corporate governance. He holds a Master’s in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia (UK) and a Bachelor’s and Honours in Economics and Politics from the University of Cape Town, as well as various certificates from international universities, including Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Stockholm University. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa and of the National School of Government, and has served on the boards of public and private entities.
Adv Mikateko Joyce Maluleke
Director-General, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
Advocate Mikateko Joyce Maluleke is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and a member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates. She was appointed as Director-General of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities on 1 August 2020. Her qualifications include a BA and LLB (University of the Witwatersrand, 1992–1996) and an LLM in Tax Law (University of Pretoria, 2011).
Her post-graduate and vocational training covers constitutional analysis and litigation, labour law, human rights, equality and non-discrimination (with a focus on race, gender, disability, social context awareness and diversity management), administrative justice, development law, insolvency law and practice, mining law, legislative drafting, strategic planning, scenario planning, programme and operations management, project management, leadership and management development, women’s leadership development, governance and gender mainstreaming.
She has extensive knowledge and understanding of national and international legal frameworks on the empowerment and protection of women. She is a gender activist who has worked in the field of gender justice for three decades.