Appointing women in ‘significant positions’ matters

South Africa’s 2019 Post-School Education Statistics showed there were 727 more men than women employed in the instruction and research category in South Africa’s higher education institutions compared with 5,758 more females employed in administrative categories within the higher education sector.

In an interview with University World News, Professor Sibusiso Moyo, the deputy vice-chancellor for research, innovation and engagement, and the associate director and associate professor in the department of mathematics, statistics and physics at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), said the sparse representation of women in top management positions impedes on achieving the proportionate representation of women in academia.

This was true particularly in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields, where the number of female students at undergraduate level shrinks by the time they get to postgraduate level, she said.

“When you come up to postgraduate level, you do get that the numbers [percentage of female to male students] become smaller. By the time you come to PhD [level], that percentage reduces. It’s almost like looking at a pipeline and that pipeline leaks as you go along before you reach the end of the pipe itself,” said Moyo.

“On the university’s side [DUT], we have recognised that female students normally need to see, apart from attending classes, other people that look like them as well in classes. So the issue of representation among academia is important,” she added.

To address this issue, Moyo said, the DUT has prioritised and encouraged the appointment of women in top management over the past three years.

“For the first time in the history of the university, we now have a female chief financial officer. I think these have been significant appointments,” Moyo said.

While there are numerous advances made to tip the gender scale in academia, in South Africa’s 26 higher education institutions, only six are led by women.

They are Professor Thoko Mayekiso at the University of Mpumalanga, Professor Sibongile Muthwa at Nelson Mandela University, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng at the University of Cape Town, Professor Xoliswa Mtose at the University of Zululand and, most recently, Professor Puleng LenkaBula at the University of South Africa and Professor Rushiella Songca at Walter Sisulu University.

“Even though our numbers are growing [in terms of] the number of women who have been rated and have become professors, the pool is still small,” Moyo said.

Policies to empower women

Part of the issue is whether higher education institutions create an enabling environment for female academics to thrive.

Professor Moyo contends that, apart from having an enabling work environment, how universities regard policy frameworks that are in place to help promote and empower women is critical.

“On average, women face a lot of challenges. In the past year since the pandemic, the working space has largely moved from working in the office or the campus to home. For women that have families, it will not just be work that they have to manage while at home,” she said.

Other aspects to consider are policies that determine the promotion of academic staff.

“I think, when it comes to research, it is important, rather than just looking at the number of papers, to maybe look at a core number of papers in a particular area, and the impact of those, so that ... you can measure the real impact of that work,” she said.

“Because, when you consider volume, I don’t think in many cases . . . especially women at a particular age, will have the same volume as men, but they can produce high-quality work, which might not be in the same quantity, but might have a higher impact,” she said.

Moyo emphasised that, when drafting policies, whether at government or university level, it is important to differentiate. “Higher education institutions need to be aware of how their policies can limit women from advancing their academic careers.

“How can we transform society if we leave out at least 50% of the population from key business areas, like owning or running big firms. It just means that our societies cannot be successful,” Moyo added.

This article is part of a THENSA and University World News media partnership.