Relationships between „madams‟ and „maids‟ have been the subject of various South African works, detailing the lives of domestic workers and their daily struggles. This study however aims to turn the focus on the madam and questions the complex intimacy at work between her and her maid. It is this intricate association between „madam‟ and „maid,‟ as well as the context of the home, which creates a site for a unique personal relationship that extends beyond the constraints of the working contract. In order to investigate this relationship, I explore the preconceived notions Muslim madams of North Beach have when recruiting the ideal domestic worker as well as the way everyday life between madams and maids shapes their relationship. In demonstrating the types of relationships and levels of intimacy between them, this thesis focuses on three aspects of everyday life between Muslim madams and maid. Firstly, I explore the „home‟ as a contradictory location – being both a private space for the employer and a workspace for the maid, paying particular attention to the creation of boundaries and negotiations of space within the home. The second key aspect I examine is the extent to which religion influences the relationship between madam and maid. Religion is a thread running through this thesis as a determining factor in the recruitment of a domestic worker and a way in which space is produced. Thirdly, I discuss the sharing of gender between madam and maid and the question of „sisterhood‟ between them. These are underlying elements of the types of relationships between madam and maid which, I argue are characterised by levels of cultivated intimacy. The project is based on the qualitative results gathered from 20 in-depth interviews with Muslim madams, two focus groups and five key informant interviews with domestic workers. My thesis contributes to the existing research exploring the relationships between madams and maids and opens further avenues for research. It demonstrates that there are key elements besides race and class that shape the relationships between madam and maid, which contribute to levels of cultivated intimacy between them. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether black women in senior management positions with decision-making authority have had an impact on the newsrooms of the Cape Town newspapers Die Burger, the supplement Jip, community newspaper MetroBurger, the Cape Times, the Cape Argus, the Weekend Argus and the Southern Mail, one title of the Cape Community Newspapers. Labour legislation promulgated in South Africa in 1994 means companies have to employ human resources equitably in keeping with the racial demographics of each province. Given the historical background of the South African media and the fact that it is almost 10 years after the first democratic elections in this country, what new paths have black South African women journalists forged for new journalists? This study focuses on the role of black women with regard to decisionmaking at the aforementioned newspapers. During the course of this study, 5 of the 6 women respondents have resigned from their positions. Other findings are that the editors generally have limited knowledge of the responsibilities of the women in this study. The editors have also indicated that no changes have been made or will be made to the job descriptions of the women, while the women have indicated that there have, indeed, been changes to their job descriptions. These changes have related to editorial and non-editorial responsibilities. While no training plans have been set out specifically for the women respondents, most of them have indicated they wanted more training opportunities. Most of the women respondents have indicated higher remuneration and job satisfaction as being the main reasons for resigning. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek die impak wat swart vroue in senior bestuursposisies met besluitnemingsgesag gehad het op die nuuskantore van die volgende Kaapse koerante: Die Burger, die Jip bylae, die MetroBurger gemeenskapskoerant, die Cape Times, die Cape Argus, die Weekend Argus en die Southern Mail, een titel in die Cape Community Newspapers-stal. Arbeidswetgewing wat in 1994 in Suid-Afrika gepromulgeer is, beteken maatskappye moet menslike hulpbronne in diens neem op 'n regverdige basis en in oorenstemming met die rasse-demografie van elke provinsie. Gegewe die historiese agtergrond van die Suid-Afrikaanse media en die feit dat dit bykans 10 jaar is ná die eerste demokratiese verkiesing, watter nuwe paaie het Suid-Afrikaanse vrouejoernaliste gebaan vir nuwe joernaliste? Die studie fokus op die rol van swart vroue met betrekking tot die besluitnemingsproses in die genoemde koerante. Gedurende die studie het vyf van die ses respondente bedank. Ander bevindinge is dat redakteurs in die algemeen 'n beperkte kennis het van die verantwoordelikhede van die vroue wat deelgeneem het aan die studie. Die redakteurs het ook aangedui dat geen veranderings gemaak is of gemaak gaan word aan die posbeskrywings van die vroue nie, terwyl die vroue aangedui het dat daar wel veranderings aan hul posbeskrywings gemaak is. Hierdie veranderings was verwant aan redaksionele en nie-redaksionele verantwoordelikhede. Terwyl geen opleiding spesifiek uitgewys is vir respondente in hierdie studie nie, het die meeste van hulle aangedui dat hulle meer opleidingsgeleenthede sou wou hê. Die meeste respondente het ook aangedui dat die hoofredes vir hul bedanking beter salarisse en werksbevredeging is.

It is argued that South African feminism in the 1990's risks sabotaging itself as a movement and as a form of social critique because it has (1) not completely eradicated key positivist elements from its ontology and epistemology; (2) inadequately examined a crucial issue in an emancipatory social science, namely power; (3) increasingly opted for relativist and pragmatist perspectives in theorising women's oppression and social transformation. It is further argued that the over-reliance on relativism, standpoint theory and pragmatism is problematic for contemporary feminism. As an alternative, Bhaskar's transformational analysis of power in combination with an anti-racist feminism and social psychology is used to provide a robust framework within which complex social issues may be addressed. In this study, 16 female participants were interviewed about their experiences of living in an impoverished township. Themes identified in the data suggested that the theoretical perspectives used in the study provided insights into the subtleties and complexities of the operation of power in society. These insights enabled productive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of development initiatives and political decision-making processes in the community, and the survival strategies of its women. It is hoped that research work of this sort could make a real contribution to the ongoing women's emancipation struggle in Port Alfred and similar communities.

This research, by focusing on the Isithebe industrial estate in KwaZulu Natal, analyses the process of industrial change within one location and the resulting impact on the gender relations within the surrounding communities. Rather than adopting the rather simplistic approach utilised by Women in Development advocates, is suggested that the identification, location and particular experience of power between men and women provides for a more informed position from which gender relations can be understood. Using Social Relations Analysis as a departure point, it is argued that a range of variables and impact on the construction and experience of gender, and thus the relation between men and women. In South Africa, the particular economic and social discourse initiated by apartheid resulted in the formulation of a particular understanding of gender. Various economic and industrial and social shifts over the past decade have served to challenge this conceptualisation and experience, and have resulted in a range of new dynamics between men and women. It is argued that many of the businesses located in Isithebe have been slow to follow the trends and processes of restructuring identified nationally. However, there has been some change in the gendered division of labour on the estate, as men gradually move into sectors previously reliant on female labour. Women are concurrently trapped in low skilled, low paid employment. While the increasing engagement by women in multiple livelihood strategies, within an environment of high male unemployment, is increasing the dependence of households on (he ability of women to earn an income, there is little change in the location of power at a household level. The increased autonomy and decision-making power anticipated by many theorists is not evidenced in the Isithebe community. However, as men seek for alternative sources of security as their traditional role as breadwinner is eroded, women are increasingly aware of the discrepancies and dichotomies within the household, and are beginning to reassess the relations between men and women, and the location of power. Concomitantly both men and women are in a position to reconceptualise the gender component of identity. These processes provide the basis from which unequal relations between men and women can be challenged in the future. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

This thesis presents a case study of women working in the informal sector in the Warwick Avenue Triangle of Durban. It documents and analyses the ways in which twenty women experience and contribute to recent changes in the urban informal sector. The women in this study are seen as knowledgeable agents who actively participate in their changing social and spatial worlds. In order to do this structuration theory, as a general philosophy of society, has been drawn on and linked to substantiative bodies of theory on the informal sector and feminist theory in geography. Field methods, appropriate to the investigation of meanings the informal sector were employed. The data collected was qualitatively interpreted in the light of the theory. The thesis concludes with a summary of the main findings and suggestions are made for policy and areas of future research on women in the informal sector. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

This study examines representations of Southern African black women in the works' of two male and two female writers. A comparative approach is used to review the ways in which the writers characterise women who labour under intense restrictions in domestic situations, the workplace, and in political contexts. Some representations suggest that women have come to terms with social strictures and have learned to live fulfilled lives despite them. Other representations are contextualised in creative situations in which social roles are re-imagined. In the process, women are removed from conventional object-related gendered positions. These representations suggest that women have the capability to achieve personal transcendence rather than accept the immanence imposed by stereotyped gender relationships and repressive political structures. The suggestion is made that writers can change the image of women by centralising them as active subjects, challenging their exclusion and creating spaces for women to represent themselves / English Studies / M.A. (English)

This study examines representations of Southern African black women in the works' of two male and two female writers. A comparative approach is used to review the ways in which the writers characterise women who labour under intense restrictions in domestic situations, the workplace, and in political contexts. Some representations suggest that women have come to terms with social strictures and have learned to live fulfilled lives despite them. Other representations are contextualised in creative situations in which social roles are re-imagined. In the process, women are removed from conventional object-related gendered positions. These representations suggest that women have the capability to achieve personal transcendence rather than accept the immanence imposed by stereotyped gender relationships and repressive political structures. The suggestion is made that writers can change the image of women by centralising them as active subjects, challenging their exclusion and creating spaces for women to represent themselves / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The study explored the body image of Professional Black South African women, cultural expectations, and their experiences in Westernised working milieus, utilising a phenomenological approach and qualitative exploratory design, located within Constructionism. Data were collected through purposive sampling (and snowballing) through individual face-to-face voice-recorded semi-structured interviews with 11 participants in/around Gauteng. Analysis was done through content analysis utilising thematic networks (Attride-Stirling). Major findings: Western values have influenced participants; Lower weight and thinness do not automatically correspond with assumptions about HIV/AIDS, instead correspond with healthier lifestyle choices; Body shape not weight or size was the prominent area of focus for most participants; Clothes size determines perception of overweight; Overweight has consequences. Forty-five per cent of participants were content with their bodies, 18% dissatisfied/unhappy, 18% satisfied, one happy, one apathetic. Tswanas were generally smaller-figured; Zulus, Northern Sotho/Pedi, Xhosa in general traditionally expected full-bodied women. Overt expectations in the workplace were not found. / Psychology / Master of Arts (Psychology)

The study explored the body image of Professional Black South African women, cultural expectations, and their experiences in Westernised working milieus, utilising a phenomenological approach and qualitative exploratory design, located within Constructionism. Data were collected through purposive sampling (and snowballing) through individual face-to-face voice-recorded semi-structured interviews with 11 participants in/around Gauteng. Analysis was done through content analysis utilising thematic networks (Attride-Stirling). Major findings: Western values have influenced participants; Lower weight and thinness do not automatically correspond with assumptions about HIV/AIDS, instead correspond with healthier lifestyle choices; Body shape not weight or size was the prominent area of focus for most participants; Clothes size determines perception of overweight; Overweight has consequences. Forty-five per cent of participants were content with their bodies, 18% dissatisfied/unhappy, 18% satisfied, one happy, one apathetic. Tswanas were generally smaller-figured; Zulus, Northern Sotho/Pedi, Xhosa in general traditionally expected full-bodied women. Overt expectations in the workplace were not found. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)