Survey finds South African women dissatisfied with public service delivery
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The "A World Built for Someone Else" report by First for Women surveyed over 6,000 South African women, revealing widespread dissatisfaction with public services, banking, and healthcare. Participants identified government services as the primary area where they felt most like an afterthought, and noted that 90.1% of respondents rarely or never feel safe walking alone after dark. The findings highlighted that many women, particularly single parents, currently circumvent institutional inefficiencies by switching providers, relying on community-based "stokvel" savings, or borrowing from family members.
Consequences
As institutional trust remains low, women are likely to continue prioritizing informal, community-based support systems over formal government and financial institutions. The report suggests that until public and private sectors adjust service design to reflect the reality of irregular income and safety needs, women will continue to bear the disproportionate financial and logistical burden of navigating systems they perceive as ill-suited to their lives.
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