Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
income inequalitylatest news & developments
Only 6% of the 329 chief executives at JSE listed companies are women.
COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

White men still rule and earn more

Women and black people occupy only a few seats at the JSE table, the latest PwC report has found

  • M&G Data Desk
  • Sarah Smit
2 min read
And as South Africa marks Human Rights Day, thirty years after human dignity was written into law, this is the reckoning we cannot postpone.
CORONAVIRUS

SA’s richest 3 500 own more than the bottom 32-million

When people call South Africa the most unequal country in the world, they’re talking about income. Now, we have a clear picture of how unequally the country’s wealth is distributed

  • Dennis Webster
5 min read
CLASS SOLIDARITY
Video

Eusebius McKaiser: A letter to us people who live in the suburbs

The Covid-19 lockdown means wealthy citizens must take a long-overdue look at our privilege. Now is the time for cross-class solidarity

  • Eusebius McKaiser
7 min read
World Economic Forum report ranks South Africa among the countries with the worst record of upward social mobility — with poor education, health and unfair or low wages being the key factors. (Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko)
ECONOMIC

Shake up institutions controlling the economy to dislodge inequality

The state uses policies and regulations to drive socioeconomic change, but market bias dominates

  • Eddie Rakabe
5 min read
Women are disproportionately affected by climate impacts and economic exclusion. Photo: David Harrison/M&G
COUNTRY

​Analysis of inequality in South Africa remains shallow

The emergence of an upwardly mobile black elite is a success story, but it remains under wraps

  • Jeff Rudin
7 min read
What would significantly boost the amount of money available to potential homeowners is the creation of a secondary market.
CHARLES R STITH

Real estate isn’t sexy, but in South Africa it’s serious

Being able to own property will help close the wealth gap between black and white people

  • Charles R Stith
4 min read
Unregulated housing embodies the worst intersections of poverty, inequality and environmental degradation. Johannesburg’s future demands sustainable urban planning and community participation. Photo: File
GENDER INEQUALITY

World’s 26 richest own same as poorest half of humanity — Oxfam

A new report from the charity was published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos

  • Nina Larson
4 min read
Achilles heel: Nigeria’s Ogenyi Onazi was injured in a tackle made by France’s Blaise Matuidi at the Brazil World Cup.
INCOME INEQUALITY

Uber sued for pay inequality, sexual harassment, discrimination

A former employee is suing the company following a policy change regarding sexual misconduct

  • Arielle Schwartz
2 min read
Responding to the Sowetan, Vavi said the latest complaint was made and resolved last year. (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)
EDUCATION CRISIS

Only a socialist economy will end poverty

We need a new programme that truly aims to bring about real economic transformation

  • Zwelinzima Vavi Author
6 min read
Many reforms were influenced by the policy-making architecture that existed in the late 1990s and during the 2000s. In turn, these were shaped by the goals of a democratic society articulated in the 1996 Constitution. (Madelene Cronje/M&G)
APARTHEID

Why South Africa can’t deliver on the social contract set out in the Constitution

South Africans have become frustrated with the low pace of change and have expressed their dissatisfaction in various forms, opines Marius Fransman.

  • Marius Oosthuizen
6 min read
CEOS and activists united under the Save South Africa campaign against President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family
INCOME INEQUALITY

When CEOs call themselves activists and activists become CEOs

It shouldn’t surprise us that CEOs earn far more than workers, but what should is that CEOs have now become part of activism culture in South Africa.

  • Raeesa Pather
5 min read
Pick ‘n Pay employees on strike demonstrate outside the Gardens’ store in Cape Town.
INCOME INEQUALITY

​Gordhan’s politics of divide-and-rule

It’s easy to see where the minister could raise money if he really wanted to ameliorate poverty.

  • Patrick Bond
4 min read
INCOME INEQUALITY

Figures suggest SA has the highest concentration of wealth in the hands of a few

For the first time, tax data has been made available to try to assess just how much is owned by how many

  • Anna Orthofer
9 min read
INCOME INEQUALITY

Inequality mocks SA’s freedom

Oxfam’s latest report highlights the travesty of inequality and warns of dire and corrosive consequences to society.

  • Sipho Kings
4 min read
These key indicators have been buoyed by a trade surplus and commodities boom, but will this lead to economic growth?
INCOME INEQUALITY

JSE chiefs’ pay hikes soar well above the tide of inflation

A report has shown that top executives at JSE-listed firms got salary increases well above inflation plus other perks last year.

  • Lynley Donnelly
2 min read
IMF

Wage gap threatens political stability

An IMF policy paper on income inequality describes rising public support for income redistribution as the gap between top and bottom earners grows.

  • Phillip De Wet
3 min read
A series of money supply updates
ELECTRICITY TARIFFS

SA should straighten up and fly right, says the OECD

Income inequality has not been reduced in South Africa since the end of apartheid.

  • Faeeza Ballim
3 min read
Job creation was a major topic in last week’s budget, which was released the day after South Africa’s devastating unemployment statistics made headlines.
INCOME INEQUALITY

Inequality gap closes as the state’s wage bill swells

Ballooning government wages are helping to close the income inequality gap between white and black South Africans.

  • Lynley Donnelly
3 min read