This Women’s Month, I want to share some thoughts on South African women in research. Since 1994 we have seen a growing number of girls and women leaving primary schooling with grade 12 and entering the higher education sector. However, when looking at women in higher education leadership, the numbers remain concerning. This is also true for women in research.
According to the 2024 Status of African Women in Research, only 33.5% of African women are in research. This is similarly reported for women globally, with only 33% of women in the world being research active.
Why does it matter that women are “missing’’ in research? It matters because women are the majority in the South African population. Even though representation is significant, it is not the only reason why it matters.
Substantively, this matters because women continue to disproportionately bear the brunt of societal challenges, and their issues continue to be under-studied and resourced. UN Women recently reported that women the world over are experiencing increasing justice gaps, and when they don’t set the research agenda, then their lived experiences will not inform the solutions that research proposes.
The justice gaps mentioned in the UN Women report include disparities in legal frameworks, social norms, policy and implementation among others. These justice gaps, I argue, manifest in social institutions like universities in the inequitable positioning of women in research.
Whilst transformation imperatives are shifting how women show up in research, these shifts are too modest. The National Research Foundation (NRF)’s Breaking the Glass Ceiling report on women’s publication trends in South African universities shows increases in the contribution of female authors in scientific articles from 31.1% in 2005 to 36.8 % in 2020; with black female authors in health sciences recording the smallest increase at 21%, while women comprise only 20% of engineering capacity.
Interdisciplinary African feminist researcher, Siphokazi Tau, in her work on women leadership in the South African higher education sector, suggests that given the colonial histories of universities in Africa, it is not surprising that women are missing in key knowledge development roles. She argues that the extension of western university models to Africa imported with it the idea that the university is meant for men, and this is why women remain “outsiders”.
What research shows is that we continue to have low numbers in STEM disciplines, we often have men as leading scholars, more men as NRF-rated scholars and more men as research chairs. This is not because women are not able to achieve the same but because of structural challenges that continue to privilege men.
This favouritism of men is a significant barrier because women’s experiences in society continue to be gendered.
As university funding agendas shift to other developments like Artificial Intelligence, one should caution that these should not be seen as justification for reducing gender mainstreaming funding. Women-centred support programmes can only happen if there are committed leadership efforts to improving access for women.
According to the NRF, some significant shifts have been noted, and between 2020 and 2024 women researcher numbers increased from 673 to 878; support for women research increased from 1 318 to 1 489; post-doctoral women scholars increased from 280 to 391, and SA women contributed 42% of national research (41% in 2023). Whilst these numbers show progress, more can and should be done.
• Khunou is executive director: Leadership and Transformation at Unisa
- Since 1994, more South African girls and women have completed primary schooling and entered higher education, but women remain underrepresented in higher education leadership and research roles.
- The 2024 Status of African Women in Research reports that only 33.5% of African women are research active, mirroring the global statistic of 33% women in research.
- Women remain underrepresented in STEM disciplines, comprise only 20% of engineering capacity, and black female authors in health sciences saw the smallest increase in publication contributions at 21%.
- Between 2020 and 2024, the number of women researchers in South Africa increased from 673 to 878, with increases in support for women researchers, post-doctoral women scholars, and national research contributions by South African women reaching 42%.
- Structural challenges, colonial legacies, and gendered societal experiences contribute to the ongoing underrepresentation of women in research, despite evidence of their capability and progress.
