WORLD> Africa
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WORLD> Africa
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Most South African women 'financially independent'
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-06 10:24 JOHANNESBURG -- Nearly seventy percent of South African women consider themselves financially independent, results of a Synovate global survey released on Thursday found. "South African women emerged as one of the most emphatically independent, (69 percent), together with French women (80 percent) and British women (76 percent) who consider themselves financially autonomous," said the survey company in a statement. Women in Bulgaria were the least confident in their financial independence, 37 percent, followed by Indonesia at 47 percent.
The survey looked at what role women play in household finances and whether they feel in control of their own cash. The survey also looked at attitudes of whether women are better with money than men. About 4,500 women from 12 countries including Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States took part in the survey, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported. For some questions about 4,500 men were also interviewed. Overall, when it came to South Africa, the survey found that our relatively new democracy, was filled with self-sufficient woman. "Seven in ten women said they were financially independent, even more than in the majority of the developed markets that were surveyed." Synovate South Africa's director for financial services, Debbie Amm, said: "This is partly because the women we spoke with were largely urban, but there are greater cultural and historical explanations at hand too. "Since South Africa became a democracy there has been a very strong and very public focus on gender equality, providing opportunities for women to advance careers or simply to start one, SAPA said. "Equally, in both black and white histories, there has always been a need for women to be able to look after themselves and their families. South Africa can be a tough place, so this need for self-sufficiency has given rise to a highly entrepreneurial mindset among the women of the nation," she said. |
