Overview of the study

The proposed research forms part of the HSRC-led Gender Equality and Inclusivity (GEI) Project (2023-2025) of the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in sub-Saharan Africa. It will be conducted by HSRC researchers and co-investigators based in South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire. The study received ethical approval from the HSRC research ethics committee in August 2024 (Protocol No REC 2/27/03/24).

Globally, women are under-represented in science, technology and mathematics education and leadership positions in the STI system. Women’s participation in STI decreases disproportionately compared to their male counterparts as they progress to higher levels in their fields, often referred to as a “leaky pipeline”. Despite over a decade of strategic efforts to diminish the gender gap and promote gender equity in science, UNESCO’s (2021) global estimates and current literature on the continent suggest that gender disparities in scientific careers and publications persist.

Strategies to improve women’s participation in science often focus on individuals rather than addressing the root causes of their marginalisation. Our planned research seeks to generate insights into what constitutes an enabling and supportive research environment for women while seeking ways to achieve this. The study will offer contextualised accounts supplementing the current literature about how women and men navigate the science and academic systems. This study goes beyond describing women’s and men’s experiences about the under-representation of women in scientific fields; instead, it undertakes to unpack the various intersections that produce and maintain gender inequality within research and innovation environments.

Study objectives

This proposed study sets out to:

• Generate insights into the interlocking individual, structural and contextual influences that shape women’s and men’s experiences and career progression in the African STI landscape.
• Generate insights into the contextual and other influences that might support or hinder the uptake of initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality in STI.
• Co-identify contextually relevant and intersectional strategies with participants to promote gender equity and thriving in research and innovation environments.

Invitation to participate

Study population: We would like to invite women and men from universities and research institutions working in various African countries to talk about their experiences as scientists in STI and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. The study aims to include women and men offering a diverse representation of various racial and ethnic groups, gender identities and expressions, women and men from different socio-economic backgrounds and locations, scientists living with physical or health impairments, and women and men at various stages of their careers (including early careers, such as PhD students in the advanced stages of completing their PhD and postdoctoral fellows, mid-career and established scientists). With this diverse representation, we seek to unpack the issue from various perspectives and locations.

Form of participation: Individual interview of 45 minutes to an hour conducted online via Zoom or Teams.

This study will offer insights and potential change priorities to support women in the research and innovation system and pave the way for future generations of women and girls and other marginalised groups to succeed in traditionally male-dominated fields. 

Thank you sincerely for your interest – we hope to meet you online soon.

Dr Lorenza Fluks (Project Lead)                  LFluks@hsrc.ac.za

Ms Nazeema Isaacs (Project Manager)      NIsaacs@hsrc.ac.za