Gender inequality remains one of the most pressing socio-economic challenge in South Africa despite the presence of policy initiatives that target women for empowerment. The lack of consensus in the literature of a reliable and consistent measurement instrument of gender equality also makes it difficult to quantify and analyze female empowerment issues. The objective of the study was to estimate a measure for female empowerment, Gender Status Index, for South Africa and then use the index to analyze the relationship between entrepreneurship, economic growth and female empowerment. Using annual data from 1991 to 2017, an ARDL model of female empowerment (GSI), female entrepreneurship (Total female Self-Employment) and economic growth (Real GDP growth) was estimated. The study found that entrepreneurship has a positive impact on economic empowerment but no significant relationship on political and social empowerment. The study recommends more entrepreneurship institutions for female economic empowerment and ongoing policies initiatives that are more direct toward supporting female empowerment.

中文翻译：

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企业家精神是南非女性赋权的解决方案吗

尽管存在针对妇女赋权的政策举措，但性别不平等仍然是南非最紧迫的社会经济挑战之一。文献中缺乏可靠和一致的性别平等衡量工具的共识也使得难以量化和分析女性赋权问题。该研究的目的是估计南非女性赋权的衡量指标，即性别地位指数，然后使用该指数分析创业、经济增长和女性赋权之间的关系。使用 1991 年至 2017 年的年度数据，估计了女性赋权 (GSI)、女性创业（女性个体经营总量）和经济增长（实际 GDP 增长）的 ARDL 模型。研究发现，创业对经济赋权有积极影响，但对政治和社会赋权没有显着关系。该研究建议建立更多的创业机构来增强女性经济权能，并建议采取更直接支持女性赋权的政策举措。