Insights
Knowledge is Power, but Understanding is Everything
Recent Posts

Understanding the impacts of microfinance on women’s empowerment in South Africa
Based on a study which Social Surveys Africa conducted in 2017-2018 with the IMAGE programme and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHMT), a new open access academic journal article summarises insights on the impacts of microfinance programmes on women’s empowerment and intimate partner violence.
There are conflicting views on the impact of microfinance-only interventions on women’s economic empowerment and intimate partner violence in low and middle-income countries. Evidence suggests however that when microfinance is combined with complementary programmes (microfinance plus) it may be effective for empowering women and addressing intimate partner violence. We conducted in-depth interviews with adult women in rural South Africa who had received microfinance loans for more than a year and had recently completed gender training. We explored women’s perceptions on income generation; the effects on their relationships, including intimate partner violence; their notions of power; and perspectives on men’s reactions to their empowerment.
Findings reveal that the notion of ‘power within the self’ is supported by women’s income generation, alongside a sense of financial independence and improved social support. Women reported increased happiness and reduced financial stress, although social norms and gender expectations about women subservience and male headship remain salient, particularly among older women. Furthermore, younger women appeared to tolerate abuse due to financial and caring responsibilities. These findings underpin the importance of complementary gender training programmes and of including men as participants for enhancing the effectiveness of economic strengthening interventions.
Read Full ArticleEducation
From ECD to higher and further education, we measure the quality and quantity of learning, continually adapting the assessment and measurement methods required
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Social Cohesion & Protest
We study social cohesion at the community level, seeking to understand the underlying causes, triggers and responses to unrest and the ways in which communities organise and govern themselves.
Dr Tara Polzer Ngwato delivers 2020 barometer findings at the Indlulamithi Day 2020 event.
The Indlulamithi South Africa Scenarios 2030 were launched in June 2018 as a multi stakeholder, research driven initiative to provide tools in the form of scenarios to focus leaders from different sectors and people from all walks of life on a key question: What would...
Trends and Black Swans
Trends matter a great deal, especially for research and planning. And so what happens in a time of crisis, when all standards seem to change? What is the point of a trend if there is a sudden and unpredictable disruption – like COVID-19 – altering the best-laid plans...
Bridging the Gap between South Africa’s Lofty Ideals and Violent Reality
Freedom House South Africa Director Paul Graham writes that an informed solution to South Africa’s chronic gender-based violence and collective violence against foreign nationals must take into account insights from research into the nature of this violence, including...
Poverty & Inequality
To reduce both absolute and relative deprivation, it is crucial to understand how individuals, families and communities experience deprivation in all its dimensions, and how different people and communities experience and respond to it in different ways.
Rethinking rural development planning
Bev Russell, Social Surveys CEO, presented a paper at the 9th Rural Development Policy Conference (24-25 May 2018, Durban, South Africa) entitled “Rethinking rural development planning: Mainstreaming economic development in rural communities through user-friendly...
Land & Housing
Land and housing are economic assets, spaces of social interaction, and points of identity and belonging. These dimensions, and more, inform our thinking about land tenure systems, housing needs assessments, settlement planning, infrastructure impacts, urbanisation & labour mobility, informal settlement upgrades and farm worker evictions.
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Social Issues in Mining
Social Surveys has a 30-year track record in the mining sector, advising communities, mining houses and civil society partners on labour migration, housing needs, relocations, employee safety and productivity, protest risk and environmental impacts.
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Civil Society, Philanthropy, Giving & Volunteering
How do you understand the nature of civil society organisations, community-level philanthropy and the practices of giving and volunteering in African contexts characterised by informality, collectivism and deep mutual support networks?
The NPO Study
The NPO Study “First nationally representative study to determine size & scope of the NPO sector in SA – part of the Johns Hopkins NPO Project” Book: “Size & Scope of the Non-profit Sector in South Africa” by Mark Swilling & Bev Russell-Rice...
Health
from behaviour change communication to health facility capacity assessments, and from in-depth local pilot studies to large-scale multi-method impact evaluations, our work in health spans many subjects and methods
HIV-prevention clubs in primary school reduce HIV prevalence 10 years later
An evaluation of the Soul Buddyz Club intervention, looking at the long-term effect of participation among youth aged 18-24 ten years after being club members, found that young women who were members of a Soul Buddyz Club ten years ago were 2.92 times more likely to...
Youth & Employment
We seek to understand the full spectrum of ways in which people participate in the economy
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Methods and Field Notes
Quality in, quality out. Excellence in data collection and processing is fundamental to interpretation and insight with integrity.
Field Workers or Field Researchers?
In all large-scale studies, and many small or medium-scale studies, primary data is not collected by the researchers who design and analyse the research but by ‘field workers’. In conventional research publications and methodology text books, this crucial group of...
Rethinking rural development planning
Bev Russell, Social Surveys CEO, presented a paper at the 9th Rural Development Policy Conference (24-25 May 2018, Durban, South Africa) entitled “Rethinking rural development planning: Mainstreaming economic development in rural communities through user-friendly...
Gender and Sexuality
To challenge homophobia, it is important to understand sexuality and gender issues
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Events
Events give us the chance to talk to new people. Talking is good! New people are good!
8th South African AIDS Conference
Social Surveys Africa Research Director Tara Polzer Ngwato presents at the 8th South African AIDS Conference in Durban, presenting methodological innovations in a study conducted with Genesis Analytics for the Soul City Institute on the long term impacts of...
Democracy Works
As part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, Social Surveys Africa co-hosted a debate with the Democracy Works Foundation entitled DEFENDING DEMOCRACY - INSTITUTIONS AND THE PEOPLE (7 May 2017, Women’s Jail, Constitution Hill, Johannesburg). The speakers were Dr...

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