DURBAN - Women’s Day and Women’s month are not only a tribute to our contribution to the struggle against apartheid but an affirmation of our ceaseless pursuit of gender parity and equity. According to the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report, South Africa was ranked 19th overall. However, in terms of the active economic participation of women and opportunities available for women, our country is ranked 91st and for educational attainment, South Africa is ranked 72nd globally. Our overall ranking may be good, but much more work needs to be done to empower women to create inclusive and sustainable economic development and growth to address our socio-economic challenges.