BIDS Gendered Poverty An exploratory study of the Child Support Grant in Johannesburg

The aim of this study is to examine the Child Support Grant (CSG), and its impact on social settings for women in South Africa, with particular reference to Johannesburg. For this study, theories regarding poverty, roles, commodification and de-commodification have been applied. For this study, field work has been carried out during six weeks in Johannesburg, and the material gathered was done so in collaboration with The Black Sash, which is a human rights organization that works to promote and advocate people’s rights, as well as assisting those who need with support and legal advice. This study is based on a qualitative approach, in which semi-structured interviews have been conducted with female recipients of the CSG, thus it has applied a gender perspective. In conclusion, there are many obstacles for women in South Africa. CSG recipients are typically much more vulnerable in terms of unemployment and access to services. Also, the grant has worked to uphold traditional gender roles. This study shows that although being very progressive and innovative in its design, the CSG has had a very traditional outcome and a limited impact on poverty as a multidimensiona