Globally, historicalSouth Africa inequalitiesInequality haveVulnerabilities beenFemales identified as major obstacles to sustainable development, frustrating countries’ efforts to eradicate poverty. These inequalitiesInequality have also constrained opportunities for populations, particularly womenWomen, to participate meaningfully in social, cultural, political, and economic life. South AfricaSouth Africa has grappled with the triple challenge of poverty, inequalityInequality, and unemployment both before and after the democratic transition of 1994. These social issues have been recognised as threats to democracy and as underlying causes of community protest and political unrest. In South AfricaSouth Africa, inequalitiesInequality are experienced both at the household level and along racial and genderGender lines. This chapter is based on a qualitative study that utilised a narrative design with 15 femaleFemales-headed households in Evaton, a peri-urban township. The findings indicate that these households face severely limited livelihoodLivelihood opportunities, condemning them to a persistent stateState of poverty, which participants described as living a ‘difficult life’. The study concludes that the combination of economically disadvantaged backgrounds and limited income-generation opportunities subjects femaleFemales-headed households to ongoing poverty and vulnerabilityVulnerabilities. The study recommends that the stateState implement meaningful interventions to sustain livelihoodsLivelihood and expand employment and income opportunities for a broader spectrum of society, particularly through the creation and support of local industries.