Johannesburg, September 10, 2019: The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) condemns in the strongest possible terms the scourge of gender-based harm so prevalent in our society and is calling on Government to act on the senseless and violent crimes committed against women in particular. “We can no longer stand back and allow our country’s women to be discriminated against, harmed, harassed, abused, assaulted, raped and murdered as just another statistic in a country where self-enrichment seems to take preference over social justice and the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution,” says Martlé Keyter, MISA’s CEO: Operations. “We abhor all forms of violence, abuse and discrimination against any person regardless of their gender, sexuality, race or nationality. “The time for idle and vague promises has passed. Decisive and strong leadership is required to eradicate gender-based harm,” says Keyter. The trade union, which represents close on 50 000 employees in the South African retail motor sector, is pleading with Government for a normalised society in which everyone feels safe and secure. “No woman should be threatened or at risk or be subject to cowardly violence. The State should now take the very real threat on the lives and livelihood of all women in South Africa seriously and implement measures that will restore the basic values so lacking in our disturbed society,” Keyter maintains. “We are enraged by the harm that afflicts women in South Africa every day of the year. We condemn those who encourage gender-harm. We are appalled by the lack of political leadership and we deplore the physical, sexual, psychological or economic suffering inflicted on women.” MISA says it is time to hold to account the perpetrators of gender-based harm, to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of people in society that promote the culture of sexism and patriarchy. For more information on MISA, visit www.misa.org.za Video: Stop the …
MISA Calls On The Retail Motor Industry To Accelerate Gender Equality
The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) has called on the South African retail motor industry to accelerate gender equality in the retail motor sector in observance of International Women's Day on Friday, 8 March 2019. While some progress has been made in empowering women in this important economic sector, the South African retail motor industry is still very much a man’s world, according to Martlé Keyter, MISA’s CEO for Operations and National Co-ordinator of the MISA Women’s Forum. While International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, Keyter believes the push for gender parity is far from over, especially in the workplace. "Women are still paid less for the same work as their male counterparts, female managers and directors remain in the minority, and motherhood still poses a career risk for many women," notes Keyter. Real and effective plans needed MISA has urged employers to put real and effective plans and measures in place to end gender-based stereotyping and to ensure women are protected against harassment and violence in the workplace. "There will be no greater accomplishment and reward other than to see the motor industry as a vibrant sector where it is the norm that the work of women is valued as much as men’s, where women are not isolated into low-paying jobs or discriminated against, where they do not risk their health or safety or that of their unborn children, and where they have equal access to good quality jobs and decent working conditions," says Keyter. MISA is an active campaigner for gender parity MISA is an active campaigner for gender parity and through its Women’s Forum has become a leader in this area in the South African motor industry. “It’s a simple concept: when we act with other women, we are more powerful than acting alone,” she says. "As a credible, strong and fast-growing trade union, MISA can address women’s priority concerns …