Resilient women are a force to be reckoned with – and South Africa has no shortage of them. They show up every day to build careers, raise families, study, start businesses and keep moving forward, even when the odds are stacked against them.
But resilience shouldn’t be required for survival – and the numbers show why these stories matter.
South Africa continues to face serious gender imbalances in key areas such as employment, labour force participation and education, while many women – often on their own – carry the weight of raising children and serving as primary caregivers.
In Q2 2025, the unemployment rate for women was 35,9%, almost 5 percentage points higher than the rate for men. Only 54,9% of women participated in the labour force, compared to 65,5% of men, with the gender divide in unemployment remaining persistent across all education levels. Additionally, many women are concentrated in lower-skilled or semi-skilled roles, as well as in specific industries such as community and social services, trade, finance and private household employment.
These inequalities are systemic and demand broad action. However, small-scale interventions go a long way to create change. The circumstances can be extraordinary, like a young woman’s laptop being damaged by a stray bullet and still working. But that’s just the start of a story that leads to new opportunities and personal growth.
What inclusive and impactful digital transformation looks like
Female empowerment through technology takes several forms, including:
- Schedule and task optimisation: Utilising smart tools, AI-powered assistants and personal devices, women can streamline certain tasks and make full use of their time during the day.
- Economic participation: E-commerce and digital platforms enable women to not only engage in South Africa’s digital economy but also explore entrepreneurial opportunities and operate their own businesses.
- Access to education: Online learning programmes and institutions mean women can further their education and build new skillsets, regardless of time, location and cost.
- Community building: Women can access digital networks, including mentors and professional groups, while also connecting with each other as part of a growing national online community.
“At its best, technology is not about replacing the effort that women put into their work, but about ensuring that effort goes to what matters most,” says Werner Joubert, commercial SYS business director: South Africa and SADC at ASUS.
The results of this kind of empowerment speak for themselves through increased education levels and labour force participation among women, more equal access to digital products and services, and overall nationwide development.
“Digital transformation is only as valuable as it is inclusive and impactful,” Joubert adds. “The same goes for the products that are available and help women achieve their personal and professional aspirations. By equipping them with the latest PC solutions and devices that meet their usage requirements, we enable greater social and economic participation and help to transform South Africa’s socio-economic landscape.”
Empowering women, one laptop at a time
For many women, access to the right technology can open new opportunities. Nozipho Pretty Bhila, known as Nozie, is one of the people whose life has been meaningfully transformed through technology. Currently 28 years old, she is a single mother based in Mpumalanga, and discovered a new creative outlet in 2020 while studying anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Content creation is something I simply enjoyed doing,” she says. “While I was studying for my honours, I realised I didn’t enjoy writing, but I would love to journal my journey, where I’m coming from and where I’m going. I started uploading to YouTube because that’s where people were. I wasn’t even looking for growth at that moment. It wasn’t about monetising the content. It was about digitalising my journey in life so that, in the future, I could go back and look at how far I had come.”
Slowly but surely, Nozipho grew her profile across social media channels with videos and lifestyle content that spoke to her everyday experiences. At the same time, she pivoted from anthropology to data science, teaching and pushing herself to learn a new field while also caring for her newborn child.
One morning, Nozipho woke up to discover that her old laptop had been hit by a stray bullet, with no explanation as to what had happened or who had fired it. Amazingly, despite having apparently come under fire, the laptop was still functioning, if somewhat damaged.
In light of the incident, and needing a new device, Nozipho received an ASUS ExpertBook that allowed her not only to take her content to the next level, but also explore new opportunities and leverage digital platforms and applications.
“This PC has helped me come back into my career,” she says. “The ExpertBook is much faster than my previous laptop. It’s lightweight, which means I can move it around while I hold my child, and I can use it instead of my phone to edit content.”
Demonstrating what’s possible with the right technology, Nozipho continues to create videos and keep audiences up to date on her personal and professional journey.
“The next big goals are to build projects, apply for jobs and create more content as more people start connecting with me,” Nozipho adds. “In life, we don’t give up. We keep on pushing. With my content, I want to show people that you can get where you want to go.”