Orientation: Although significant progress has been made globally in gender equality, women still occupy less political influence, fewer leadership positions and yield less control over their careers than most men. Gender inequality is evident in male-dominated work environments such as the security industry.Research purpose: This study reflects on women’s perceptions on gender equality and career progression in the South African security industry.Motivation for the study: In post-democracy South Africa, women are categorised as previously disadvantaged, therefore a priority group in terms of advancement. However, it is still unclear, from the narratives of the women themselves, how their career progression is encumbered in the milieu of the security industry.Research approach/design and method: Through qualitative one-on-one semi-structured interviews, 15 women, working in the security industry, shared their experiences concerning gender equality and career progression. Data were analysed thematically, guided by the context of the gendered security profession.Main findings: The findings reveal that women experience slower career progression than men in terms of rejection and work allocation. Moreover, negative perceptions of female leadership among colleagues was a factor hindering career progression.Practical/managerial implications: This study argues by doing gender well, equality in the security workplace can be obtained. Furthermore, the study encourages South African security managers to recognise how aspects such as rejection, work allocation and a negative perception of female leadership may encumber the career progression of female security professionals.Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to scientific knowledge and discourse regarding women’s perceptions on gender equality and career progression.

Kibera is the largest informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, and Africa’s largest urban informal settlement. It is a community plagued by poverty and unemployment. In response to the social disorganization common to informal settlements, criminal activity is rampant, particularly in assault and sexual violence cases. Patriarchal beliefs fuel power imbalances which consequently perpetuate violence. Kenyan societies tend to be traditionally patriarchal and characterized by male privilege and female subservience. This article explores the narrative accounts of female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) to overcome patriarchy in Kibera, Kenya. Through a qualitative inquiry, 32 female victims of IPV were interviewed, and the data obtained were thematically analysed. The findings established that patriarchy is sustained in Kibera through control, dominance and violence. Additionally, salient partakers in advancing patriarchy are family structures and authorities. Moreover, strategies to dismantle patriarchy and IPV are proposed through these narrative accounts.

Information is a vital asset needed by many organizations to function effectively. However, this asset can easily be compromised thus its protection is crucial to the efficacy of an organization. A common information security breach used is social engineering. Social engineering is the use of manipulative and deceptive techniques against the inherent nature of human beings to access sensitive and confidential information to achieve an illicit action or omission of action. Through a qualitative inquiry, this article investigated the perceptions of employees concerning social engineering in the workplace to extract practical lessons from local businesses located in Gauteng Province, South Africa.The findings confirm that human beings should be at the forefront of defense against social engineering attacks and advocates for a multi-inter-trans-disciplinary social engineering protection model to practically assist organizations in developing a healthy and effective information security culture.

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Chobeliso, as it is known in Lesotho, is the practice of abducting young girls for marriage. Despite global authorities establishing child marriage as a violation of human rights, chobeliso continues to be practiced, particularly in communities that perceive it as a customary, religious and/or social norm. Furthermore, limitations of legislation may inadvertently contribute to perpetuating forced child marriages. This paper explores the role of the Lesotho legislature in responding to child abductions for forced marriages. A sample of 10 adult female participants from the Semonkong area in Lesotho, who were abducted and forced to marry as children, were selected using a snowball sampling technique. In-depth interviews were used to collect data that were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that most women were abducted and forced into marriage while they were under the legal age of marriage and the offenders were not prosecuted. There are limitations of law in prosecuting cultural practices considered customary by the Basotho people. Even though existing laws protect children's rights, Basotho people perceive forced marriage as acceptable. This paper argues that preventing forced child marriage requires strengthened legal frameworks to ensure increased awareness, greater enforcement of existing laws and severe punishment to increase deterrence measures.