The Joint Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women is one of fifty parliamentary committees.

It was initially an Ad Hoc committee, but succeeded in being established as a permanent committee on 11 June 1998.

Ad Hoc committees are established from time to time by a resolution of Parliament. These committees deal with issues that do not fall within a specific government portfolio like land or water. Typically these committees have a limited life span and work to produce a report or make recommendations that will then be taken up by other parliamentary committees.

Joint committees are made up of members from the National Assembly and delegates from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) formerly known as the Senate.

This Committee was established by Parliament on 21st August 1996 with the following terms of reference:

"to monitor and oversee progress with regard to the improvement of the quality of life and status of women in South Africa, with specific reference to the Government's commitments in that regard made in Beijing, and with regard to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee to have the power to take evidence and call for papers."