A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Migration and Displacement) July 2017 / This research report gives an account of the social networks, links, connections and relationships of undocumented Zimbabwean women working as domestic workers in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The primary aim was to understand the role of these ties in providing social, political, emotional and economic support in addressing the challenges that undocumented domestic workers face. The study also explored how social networks enhanced the capabilities and resources of non-national women, particularly focusing on how they defined wellbeing and development. Based on 12 semi-structured interviews with undocumented women living and working in Johannesburg, the findings that emerged from this study, show that unlike what the majority of literature in South Africa points to, undocumented domestic workers do not live in isolation from others, but rather have a diverse range of social networks that allow them to be active agents and participants in their lives. The results highlight that the majority of social networks that undocumented domestic workers use are in actual fact useful to them and how they navigate their contexts. Migrants in this instance are largely dependent on their families for support both in the originating country and in the host community. / XL2018

Research report presented for the degree of Master of Arts (Anthropology) at the University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / According to the 2014 Euromonitor report on black South African haircare trends, the country exhibited a decrease in sales of damaging hair care products. This trend coincided with the exponential influx of imported Indian hair into the country for the purposes of artificial hair integrations i.e. weaves and extensions. To understand the meaning of these patterns, this project seeks to understand the significance Indian hair held for black women. By analysing anthropological literature on commodities, this work reveals how the purchase of Indian hair not only exposed the state of black hair in contemporary South Africa, but how black women engaged with that environment through its usage. Further, hair’s purchase situated women within a transnational exchange network that was buttressed by racial and gendered hierarchies. As such, hair’s consumption placed women within an “economy of otherness”. However women also utilized this economy by converting the racially charged commodity into social and symbolic capital which they leveraged for their own gain. As such, the purchase of Indian hair not only integrated women within an economy of otherness, but also provided them with the capital to participate within it. / GR2017

Thesis (M.A (Psychology))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016. / The purpose of the research was to explore issues of identity amongst young, English speaking black middle class women focusing on belonging and alienation. Qualitative research using narrative interviews was conducted with 10 middle class women, aged between 20 and 35 years, who were among the first cohort of black children to attend model C schools at the end of the apartheid era and be taught in English. Several themes and findings were identified, starting with the multigenerational influence on the journey into being assimilated into the English language and culture. Grandmothers and parents experienced tensions between loss of indigenous languages and gaining class mobility for their daughters. Participants also unpacked their journeys of being assimilated into the English language and whiteness and the traumatic experiences they went through as their childhoods were racialised and they became positioned as inferior black people. These traumatic experiences of race continued into their adulthood and intersected with gender, class and language, as the women were positioned as ‘cultural clones’ in the workplace. Language also influenced the women’s intimate relationships as they positioned English speaking male partners as providers and therefore potential life partners. Issues of hair and skin colour were also found to be significant identity markers through insertion into western culture through language, and blackness is actively redefined, resisted and reclaimed. This shows how our identities are fragmented and fluid, allowing the women to experience multiple identities and make them work. The women experience tensions between the loss of their mother tongue and culture, and the positive gains of class mobility that they attribute almost solely to their adoption of the English language as their primary (or only) language of communication. They are alienated from their communities because of their immersion into English and western culture but they are actively generating a new sense of belonging and identity within a new imagined community of English speaking black middle class women / GR2017

Submitted in the partial fulfilment for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of African Literature University of the Witwatersrand, March 2017 / This research reads the popular literature genre, chick lit, as a site for the elaboration of new forms of womanhood in post-Apartheid South Africa and through an analysis of the novel Happiness is a Four-Letter Word seeks to discover how new constructs of black female identity in the genre of chick lit disrupt as well as extend earlier representations of female experience in South Africa. The literary aspect of this research is essentially a genre study that attempts to identify how we recognize genre. Chick lit was initially read as a homogenously white normative genre, it was imagined, theorized and researched through the western gaze to the exclusion of other races and classes. This research rejects this essentialism of gender and as such recognizes that when addressing gender in Africa not only race and class need to be contextualized but further historical and cultural contexts are fundamental when constructing the black woman’s subjectivity. Postfeminism is understood as a modern social sensibility declaring that women are ‘now empowered,’ and celebrating and encouraging their consequent ‘freedom’ to return to normatively feminine pursuits. There is a growing field of research around postfeminism and chick lit pertaining to black African women and this is where this research locates itself. By positioning existing western literature, on chick lit, in dialogue with scholarship around chick lit in Africa, a transnational analytic and methodological approach to the critical study of chick lit and postfeminism can be made. Chick lit signals a transition for black women living in post-Apartheid South Africa, one of upward social mobility. This research looks at the contradictory space that black middleclass women occupy in this transition. There is a spectral ‘other’ that restricts black women in fully expressing their agency in the private sphere despite the progress made for women on a national scale. This I have called ‘the Ghost of the Township.’ I explore the extent to which the narrative opens up alternative avenues for writers to represent women’s interests. The author, Cynthia Jele, like other authors writing chick lit about black African women, illustrates how women writers can rethink and reposition the roles of women as they continue to live in patriarchal societies that marginalize and oppress them. In this research, I endeavor to explore if and how these new roles for women create contradictory zones for women by at once empowering and oppressing them. I also ask to what extent things have changed for black women and examine the effects of these changes. / XL2018

Thesis (M.A (Psychology))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016 / Transformation initiatives in South African higher education institutions are informed by literature which has thus far explicated the high failure and attrition rates amongst Black university students with discourses asserting that the major contributing factors are disadvantage and language of origin. The current study endeavoured to investigate the learning histories of a group of high achieving Black female university students from socio- economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in order to inform current transformation initiatives at South African higher education institutions. Seven female students who had previously participated in an academic development programme in the faculty of humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Reaching for Excellent Achievement Programme (REAP), volunteered to participate in this study. Despite being second language students and coming from less advantaged backgrounds, these students achieved excellent academic marks and acceptance into various post- graduate programmes. Semi- structured interviews with an episodic narrative style were conducted. The method of data analysis found to be most appropriate for this study was thematic content analysis. The results revealed the importance of the influence of high school teachers on students’ perceptions of school and school subjects; the pace of adjusting to university; the significance of effective lecturing styles; the formation of an academic identity; acquiring academic literacy; and the importance of having social support (especially from university lecturers) for the successful academic performance of the participants in this study. This study suggests that perhaps there is more than individual effort that is required for academic success at university level. Further, it suggests that higher education institutions need to improve the lecturing styles of their lecturers, should ensure that all students are able to successfully adjust to the university environment early in their first year of study, should offer compulsory academic literacy courses to all first year students, and should consider providing all students with mentors who are university personnel. / MT2017

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Concordia University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-151). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ66691.pdf.

Thesis (PhD(Prakt. Teol.)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-241).

This study explored Black women’s perceptions of the impact of women’s changing socio-economic status on their intimate relationships. The study used the theoretical resources of social constructionism and feminism. Seven Black women (African, ‘Coloured’, and Indian) were recruited from a banking and an academic institution using convenience non-probability sampling technique. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data which was analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that participants viewed the change in women’s socio-economic status and roles as rendering some women more vulnerable to abuse. The participants reported that women’s shift in socio-economic status imposes a threat to masculinity leaving some men feeling intimidated, insecure, and emasculated. Most men were seen as responding to their feelings of intimidation by leaving their partners for a less financially independent woman, or by abusing their current partners. Some men were considered to use domestic violence to exert their power and control over women, express their authority, as well as police and maintain the boundaries of femininity and masculinity. Analysis indicated that for a number of reasons women continue to remain vulnerable to experiencing domestic violence irrespective of their socio-economic status. It was also evident in the study that some working women find themselves in a dilemma of choosing between their careers and family. Some self-reliant wives were seen as having to forfeit senior occupational ranks due to the expectation that their husbands would be disapproving and unsupportive. The respondents stated that other financially stable women are reluctant to marry because they fear being controlled, losing their sense of autonomy, and the ability to make their own decisions without seeking their husbands’ approval. However, it also revealed in this study that women’s changing financial status was seen as entitling them with power and control of their sexuality. As the result, women seem to perceive men as being under pressure to be romantic and satisfy their partners’ sexual needs so as to maintain the relationship. This study highlights an important area for further research as it is likely that the shift in Black women’s socioeconomic status will continue to impact and shape heterosexual relationships in particular ways. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This study uses a narrative and hermeneutic approach to explore the career development often professional Black South African women. Using an interview guide developed by Brown and Gilligan (1991) and adapted by Mautner and Doucet (1996) career narratives were collected from the ten women. The narratives were analysed using a Reading Guide (Tappan and Brown, 1992). This method involved reading each narrative a number of times, focusing on a particular aspect of the respondent's narrative with each reading. Four major themes emerged through the process of interpretation; 1) contextualised career narratives, 2) positive non-directional career narratives, 3) the social embeddedness of the career narratives and 4) gendered career development. A number of recommendations for research, practice and theory building were made on the basis of the interpretation. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Rutherford's research demonstrates that "the poor can save, do save, and want to save money" (Rutherford, 1999: 7). Furthermore, if given a formal bank account this correlates with the poor being more likely to save (Porteous and Hazelhurst, 2004: 63). But in 2004, the unbanked made up 54.5% of the South African adult population (FinScope, 2006: 18). In the same year, to draw more people into the realm of the banked the Mzansi account was launched. The account is a first order transactional product and a saving service which targets poor clients from LSM 1-5. Mzansi account holders are found to be significantly more likely to be informally employed or unemployed (Porteous, 2007: 10). Yet there is a research gap about the financial behaviour of those working informally. This study draws on the experiences of women working in the informal economy who utilise the Mzansi account. It aims to determine the limitations and benefits of the account. It also seeks to learn what role the Mzansi account plays in the savings habits of the women and how it influences their livelihood strategies. This is with a view to recommending how the services of the Mzansi account can be improved so as to maximise its support of informal workers. The research suggests that the intrinsic benefits of the Mzansi account are that the account's bank charges are lower compared to other bank accounts, a small initial deposit is needed to open the Mzansi account and a proper address is not required to open the account. The interviewees highlight five day-to-day limitations on the Mzansi account. First, interviewees identify the lack of a bank book to view the transactional activities occurring in the account as a problem. Second, the cap on the account where a maximum of Rl5 000 is only permitted hinders the potential to save money in the account and receIve insurance pay outs. Third, the cost and frequency of bank charges are still expensive. Fourth, the distance to access banks or ATMs for the women in semi-rural areas makes it difficult and costly for them to access their bank account. Lastly the issue of crime is a problem when utilising ATMs. Savings from the Mzansi account influence livelihood outcomes by enabling investment in funeral insurance through debit orders. This investment helps mitigate future vulnerability. In terms of livelihoods and the women's businesses, the savings from the Mzansi account are used for the purchasing of stock. This may not improve livelihood outcomes by generating further income but it maintains the women's business stability. money" (Rutherford, 1999: 7). Furthermore, if given a formal bank account this correlates with the poor being more likely to save (Porteous and Hazelhurst, 2004: 63). But in 2004, the unbanked made up 54.5% of the South African adult population (FinScope, 2006: 18). In the same year, to draw more people into the realm of the banked the Mzansi account was launched. The account is a first order transactional product and a saving service which targets poor clients from LSM 1-5. Mzansi account holders are found to be significantly more likely to be informally employed or unemployed (Porteous, 2007: 10). Yet there is a research gap about the financial behaviour of those working informally. This study draws on the experiences of women working in the informal economy who utilise the Mzansi account. It aims to determine the limitations and benefits of the account. It also seeks to learn what role the Mzansi account plays in the savings habits of the women and how it influences their livelihood strategies. This is with a view to recommending how the services of the Mzansi account can be improved so as to maximise its support of informal workers. The research suggests that the intrinsic benefits of the Mzansi account are that the account's bank charges are lower compared to other bank accounts, a small initial deposit is needed to open the Mzansi account and a proper address is not required to open the account. The interviewees highlight five day-to-day limitations on the Mzansi account. First, interviewees identify the lack of a bank book to view the transactional activities occurring in the account as a problem. Second, the cap on the account where a maximum of Rl5 000 is only permitted hinders the potential to save money in the account and receIve insurance pay outs. Third, the cost and frequency of bank charges are still expensive. Fourth, the distance to access banks or ATMs for the women in semi-rural areas makes it difficult and costly for them to access their bank account. Lastly the issue of crime is a problem when utilising ATMs. Savings from the Mzansi account influence livelihood outcomes by enabling investment in funeral insurance through debit orders. This investment helps mitigate future vulnerability. In terms of livelihoods and the women's businesses, the savings from the Mzansi account are used for the purchasing of stock. This may not improve livelihood outcomes by generating further income but it maintains the women's business stability. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.