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  • Item type:Publication,
    Changing the narrative: Resilience of women in STEM in sub-Saharan Africa and institutional innovations to advance equity Open PDF 
    (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2026-01-21)
    Fisher, Monica
    ;
    Nyabaro, Violet
    ;
    Mendum, Ruth
    ;
    Ganguly, Sujata
    ;
    Osiru, Moses
    Gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remain pronounced in many African countries, particularly at the postgraduate level. This study explores the experiences of African women in STEM postgraduate education by integrating data from an online survey of 163 female PhD alumni from 40 African universities in 17 countries and seven focus group discussions (FGDs) with 39 current postgraduate students across three countries. Through a mixed-methods approach, we examine both the challenges women face and the factors that enable their persistence and success. Over 60% of respondents reported financial stress during their PhD, and more than half felt unprepared at the time of program entry. Yet 95% expressed confidence in their ability to succeed, reflecting strong self-efficacy despite structural barriers. In the FGDs, women highlighted the burden of caregiving responsibilities, lack of role models, and cultural norms that pressure them to prioritize family over academic careers. Contrary to common assumptions, most FGD participants preferred male supervisors, citing competitiveness or lack of support from some senior women. Despite these obstacles, participants demonstrated high levels of resilience, often driven by a passion for science and strong family support. Our findings highlight the need for family-friendly policies, structured and tailored mentoring, and flexible, gender-responsive institutional reforms to ensure more inclusive and equitable STEM postgraduate environments in Africa.
  • Item type:Publication,
    ‘Being in science and at the same time being a woman is difficult’: Academic women's experiences of gender inequalities in STEM academia in Ethiopia Open PDF 
    (2023)
    Sidelil, L.T.
    ;
    Spark, C.
    ;
    Cuthbert, D.
    This article examines the problem of gender inequalities in two science and technology universities in Ethiopia drawing on the lived experiences of academic (teaching and research faculty) women. We analysed the data from in-depth interviews with STEM academic women through reference to Acker's theory of gendered organisation. Our findings demonstrate that women faculty are not only significantly underrepresented but also face gendered barriers that hinder their equitable participation and career progression. Based on these findings, we argue that the gendered institutional structures, practices, processes and cultures of the two universities underpin the perpetuation of both quantitative and qualitative gender inequalities in academe of the two universities. We further argue that it is imperative to acknowledge these institutional impediments and tackle them to redress the persistent gender inequalities in these contexts. The findings of this paper contribute to the existing research by bringing perspectives and experiences of STEM academic women from the Global South context. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
  • Item type:Publication,
    Making it to the PhD: Gender and student performance in sub-Saharan Africa Open PDF 
    (2020)
    Fisher, Monica
    ;
    Nyabaro, Violet
    ;
    Mendum, Ruth
    ;
    Osiru, Moses
    Women's underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) impedes progress in solving Africa's complex development problems. As in other regions, women's participation in STEM drops progressively moving up the education and career ladder, with women currently constituting 30% of Africa's STEM researchers. This study elucidates gender-based differences in PhD performance using new survey data from 227 alumni of STEM PhD programs in 17 African countries. We find that, compared to their male counterparts, sampled women had about one less paper accepted for publication during their doctoral studies and took about half a year longer to finish their PhD training. Negative binomial regression models provide insights on the observed differences in women's and men's PhD performance. Results indicate that the correlates of publication productivity and time to PhD completion are very similar for women and men, but some gender-based differences are observed. For publication output, we find that good supervision had a stronger impact for men than women; and getting married during the PhD reduced women's publication productivity but increased that of men. Becoming a parent during the PhD training was a key reason that women took longer to complete the PhD, according to our results. Findings suggest that having a female supervisor, attending an institution with gender policies in place, and pursuing the PhD in a department where sexual harassment by faculty was perceived as uncommon were enabling factors for women's timely completion of their doctoral studies. Two priority interventions emerge from this study: (1) family-friendly policies and facilities that are supportive of women's roles as wives and mothers and (2) fostering broader linkages and networks for women in STEM, including ensuring mentoring and supervisory support that is tailored to their specific needs and circumstances.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Academic staff in engineering and the built environment at Durban University of technology: A baseline study of gender equality Open PDF 
    (Sciendo, 2019)
    Cooke, L.A.
    ;
    Jackson, H.
    ;
    Armoed, Z.
    The research reported in this paper is part of a large Personalised Engineering Education South Africa III Project that involves eight universities across Europe and South Africa. One of the foci of the project is around gender equality in engineering education. The literature on Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (STEM) in general is briefly reviewed. Attention then shifts to gender equality in STEM, academia, and engineering education more specifically. Management Information data from 2014 to 2018 were analysed to establish a baseline for the number and the rank of female staff in seven academic departments in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (EBE) at Durban University of Technology (DUT). The results show that there is low representation of female staff in the selected academic departments. Female staff are not represented in the higher academic ranks such as Associate or Full Professors. These findings resonate with other published research. This baseline study will be used to further investigate the experiences of women in EBE at DUT. © 2019 Sciendo. All rights reserved.