Johannesburg: Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has called for a fundamental shift in the way women are supported and empowered in the human settlements sector. Simelane emphasized the need for women to advance beyond being mere beneficiaries of programs to becoming owners, professionals, decision-makers, and leaders throughout the sector's value chain.
According to South African Government News Agency, Simelane was speaking at the Women in Human Settlements Sector Dialogue in Johannesburg on Monday evening. She was joined by Deputy Minister Tandi Mahambehlala and female Members of Executive Councils (MECs) responsible for Human Settlements. The dialogue, held under the theme: 'Value Chain Opportunities for Women in the Human Settlements Sector, Empowered Women - Empower the Nation,' brought together government, sector entities, industry stakeholders, and women beneficiaries to reflect on progress and challenges facing women's economic participation in human settlements.
The engagement also marked the closing of the 2026 Women's Month program and followed the recent launch of the Women of Human Settlements platform at Freedom Park. Simelane stated that the dialogue aimed to create a sector-wide space where women not only gather to be celebrated but also to shape policy, influence institutions, expand their economic power, and hold the sector accountable for measurable progress.
Simelane highlighted the approved 40% set-aside target for women as a practical instrument for expanding women's participation throughout the human settlements delivery value chain. She insisted that this target must be reflected in procurement planning, sourcing, awards, contract values, payments, and performance reporting, warning that meeting the 40% target alone will not amount to transformation. The sector must also ensure that women-owned businesses can enter procurement pipelines, comply with requirements, compete effectively, receive payments on time, build capacity, and progress to larger opportunities.
The Minister also linked women's economic empowerment to the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), arguing that safety and economic power cannot be considered separately. She highlighted a policy direction announced on 14 August, which provides qualifying survivors facing serious housing vulnerability access to a lawful, confidential, and survivor-centred pathway for priority assessment and appropriate housing assistance.
Simelane emphasized that the policy should be seen as a credible system through which vulnerability can be assessed, appropriate support identified, responsibilities assigned, and decisions taken lawfully and with dignity. She stressed the importance of effective coordination among government institutions and sector partners, including the Department of Social Development, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, provinces, municipalities, Human Settlements entities, civil society, and other sector partners.
'The test is whether a survivor encounters a coordinated system rather than a maze of institutions. We must protect personal information, minimize repeated disclosure, avoid public labeling, and ensure that every referral has an institution that receives it and an official responsible for acting on it,' the Minister concluded.