Exploring the Lived Experiences of South African Widows in Relation to Work and Family Within a Cultural Context: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Widowhood in South African and related African contexts is shaped by mourning obligations, gendered authority, inheritance insecurity, economic responsibility and culturally specific expectations. However, the relationship between these conditions and widows’ navigation of work and family life remains insufficiently understood. This systematic review examined how South African widows experience and navigate the intersection of work and family within sociocultural and traditional contexts, including challenges, opportunities, coping strategies, enabling conditions and.Methods: The researcher-selected databases and information sources were ERIC, PubMed (MEDLINE) and Google Scholar. The eligibility protocol restricted publication years to 2015–2026. The exact calendar date of search execution was not recorded in the verified identification provenance; this is distinct from the publication-year eligibility range. ERIC, PubMed (MEDLINE) and Google Scholar were searched using a specified Boolean strategy for English-language peer-reviewed studies published from 2015 to 2026.Results: The synthesis identified four themes: widowhood is socially regulated through gendered cultural expectations; economic survival links work, family responsibility and wellbeing; agency is exercised through rights negotiation and collective resistance; and support needs to be culturally responsive and practically accessible. Rituals could restrict autonomy and participation, but culturally grounded ritual could also be experienced as empowering. Direct evidence on how South African widows combine paid work, unpaid care, household duties and cultural obligations was sparse. Work-family evidence from general South African employee populations was contextual rather than widow-specific.Discussion/Conclusion: South African widows navigate work and family through an interaction of cultural regulation, economic pressure, institutional constraint and individual or collective agency. Effective responses should protect rights, strengthen economic and psychosocial support, and remain culturally responsive.