Cape Town - The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has initiated a programme that aims to address the issue of under-representation of black female academics in South Africa.
The programme is accompanied by an institutional grant awarded by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
The aim of the project is to establish whether black female academics are ready to submit NRF diagnostic reports that form part of a data collection project seeking to establish where black academic women are in terms of the career spectrum of academics - in other words, if they are emerging researchers or leading academics.
“The issue is that women academics are under-represented at the established and leading levels in higher education globally, and also in South Africa. There is a need to understand why the system lacks leading academic women, as well as what can be
done to address the issue systematically,” said Patricia Smit, the
capacity development manager of the research directorate.
Marshall Sheldon, who serves on the oversight committee of the project, said that the grant focused specifically on growing and strengthening early and mid-career academics in order to increase their representation among established researchers.
“We take on women academics from various fields,” said Sheldon.
“This programme is time-limited; the deliverables have to be submitted to the NRF by October 30, but CPUT’s intervention will continue beyond this specific programme as the institution is committed to supporting the development of individual academics.”
@TheCapeArgus