Dave Guselli and Gordon Graham: SA has a long way to go to fix gender inequality
The East Coast Gold presenters shared what Women's Day means to them and how South Africa needs to do more to fix inequality.
South Africa observes Women's Month during August.
Women played an important role in emancipating the country. However, even after many years of fighting for equal rights, they continue to suffer unfair treatment based on their gender.
Gordon says Women's Month allows for society to pay attention to the issues women face.
"Women's Month and Women's Day allow us as a community to refocus ourselves and pay attention to the issues women face and address them anew. Also, and equally important, it gives us a chance to celebrate women and the many inspirational stories of success and endurance of women in today's society!"
The Gold presenter adds: "It is vitality important to highlight Women's Day and Month in a patriarchal society that for centuries has skewed itself into gender-based roles. The change to a more equitable society is vital to the growth of any society. Sadly, whilst a lot of progress has been made, there are still many issues large and small that need our attention."
LISTEN: Carol Ofori chats to Felicia Mabuza-Suttle this International Women's Day
The ideal, according to Dave, is to dedicate every day to correcting the mistakes made in the past.
"I don’t believe there should be a day, I don’t believe there should be a month. Every single day of the year should be Women’s Day or Women’s Year."
He says this is due to the fact that "there is such inequality going on in South Africa at the moment."
"Do we promote gender equality? No we don’t. If you look at Bafana Bafana and what they are paid and Banyana Banyana who have just won the WAFCON tournament, there is massive discrepancies in the amount of money these people are paid."
The ECG presenter says he is angry that women are often subjected to gender-based violence and cannot enjoy freedom on the streets of South Africa.
"Women should be allowed to walk freely, whenever and wherever without being harassed," he says.
South Africa and the world at large has done a lot to correct the mistakes of the past and promote gender equality. However, the presenters believe there is room for improvement.
Dave says the country has only corrected “a few mistakes, here and there”.
"I think South Africa is ahead of the global curve when it comes to equality in general, and in particular gender equality. That said it's still tragically far off the mark, abuse against women is far too prevalent in our country and the issue of the 'Pay Gap' is still something that must be addressed. Pay a person on their worth not their gender is not rocket science, but many companies still fall foul of this simple fix. So, yes, we are moving forward but we still have a long way to go," says Gordon.
When it comes to the women who inspire them the most, Dave says there are two women that serve as inspiration - Celine Dion and Jade Preston.
Dave says Celine Dion serves as an inspiration because of the "struggle she has been through in her life" and how "she stood up for human rights, left right and centre."
He also shared a very special story of how Jade has given him a new perspective of life.
"Another one is a young girl called Jade Preston, who was eight years old when she died. She was the most beautiful, inspiring little girl I’ve ever met in my life. I loved her to pieces."
"I am an ambassador the Sunflower Foundation and I looked after Jade for a full six months. Every single day, I was at the hospital, Albert Luthuli, to look after her. She finally succumbed to the cancer and she died in my arms. The thing about her is that she never moaned for anything. She was a jam. A pillar of strength and she helped put my whole life in perspective."
For Gordon, his greatest inspiration is his mother.
"I have many woman who have inspired me over the years, from leaders in society, to sportswoman, to business leaders and those amazing women who manage career and home life in a way that my male brain can't begin to comprehend. However, the most inspirational woman to me is (and don't judge me for this) my mum.
"What an amazing woman she was, loving nurturing mother, an amazingly dedicated wife to my dad and gave us three children the most blessed upbringing, from teacher, to coach at sports, to our 'safe' space where we could be ourselves. My mom had it all. She crafted us into being who we became, she never let her own hardships cloud our outlook and she fought hard against cancer in such an inspirational way. Love you mom in heaven."
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