‘Queen of science’ keeps breaking barriers for women

She started school at the age of four and, at the age of 11, a lesson on astronauts in a geography class sparked a lifelong love for and dance with the sciences.

After the geography teacher said no African had ever been to space, Senamile Masango vowed that she would not only be the first African, but also the first woman to set foot there. Although she was beaten by fellow South African, Mark Shuttleworth, she is still set on breaking new ground and smashing barriers in areas that have seen few women succeed.

“I believe that quality education must not be a privilege, but a right, for both rich and poor,” Masango told University World News.

For her, all seemed to be on track when she enrolled at the University of Zululand in Richards Bay, South Africa, at the age of 16. But, she said, she made a mistake, fell pregnant, failed some modules, and dropped out.

Masango was born in 1987 into the Zulu royal household in the rural village of Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal. Her mother is a princess from the Zulu royal family while her father was a chief inspector and leader, Sowetan Live reported on 10 April 2019.

Although Masango’s father was strict, he and the family were supportive, helping her to continue her studies after she fell pregnant. Her daughter died in a car accident at the age of seven.

After giving birth, Masango picked up the pieces and, at 35 years old, she is a nuclear physicist and PhD candidate in nuclear physics.

Masango holds a BSc (Physics and Electronics), a BSc Honours (Nuclear Physics) from the University of Zululand; a diploma in project management from Varsity College; and an MSc in Nuclear Physics (cum laude) from the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town.

With an eye for solving problems, Masango wants to be the head of Eskom, the South African power utility dogged by serious problems. She pictures herself sitting on the boards of various organisations throughout Africa and, one day, gracing the cover of Forbes magazine.

Sharing the stage with top model Naomi Campbell at the Forbes Leading Women Summit in 2019 in Durban, South Africa, was one of her most treasured moments.

She has also made her mark internationally. Ever striving to be first, she made history as the first black female scientist to experiment at one of the world’s largest centres for scientific research, CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland. She said that “every” scientist has a dream to work at CERN.

The laboratory that was established in 1954 has become a prime example of international collaboration. It is where the Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, was discovered.

But how has it been for her in a field dominated by men? Masango said there have been attempts not to recognise her based on merit, but rather by race and gender.

“The biggest challenge in my career is my skin colour. If you look like me, no one believes in you; you must prove that you know your job and that you can think! My gender is another challenge. If you’re a woman, male colleagues and institutions look down on you, like you are not capable or don’t deserve to be a scientist. There are still very few black women scientists. This means women like me have to work twice as hard to prove their worth,” she said.

Despite the challenges, there has been official recognition in South Africa, and Masango has been called the ‘queen of science’ in the media. She is a board member of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), making her the youngest board member at a state-owned enterprise in the country. NESCA is mandated to develop, utilise and manage nuclear technology for national and regional socio-economic development.

Masango said education is a tool towards sustainable development, hence South Africa must invest more in education and produce more PhD candidates. She is focused on opening doors for every faceless and nameless woman to engrave their names on the roster of those who have studied sciences and conquered.

She added that South Africa is not contributing much to scientific research, and R&D should take precedence.

In 2014, she launched the Senamile Masango Foundation to encourage young women to venture into science and engineering and promote the retention of women in academia and the sciences.

It also seeks to facilitate mentorship of young women in science and technology by experienced professionals. “Girls are discouraged at an early age from taking science subjects; it is the root cause of the lack of women in the nuclear space,” Masango said.

To ensure that other girls and women also have a chance to make history, Masango also formed the organisation, South African Women in Science and Engineering, to provide leadership and role models for young people wishing to enter the fields of science and technology. It is a non-governmental organisation registered with South Africa’s Department of Social Development.

Masango said her late father was one of her role models. “He grew up in the apartheid era in a poor family without a father, but that didn’t stop him from achieving his dreams,” she said.

She is now planning on opening her own consulting company focusing on engineering, climate and energy.