South African universities must do more to tackle staffs' race and gender imbalances
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Tuesday, July 4, 2023
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Black South Africans (a group consisting of those designated as Indian, Coloured or African under apartheid) constituted 89% of the overall population.
Key Points:
- Black South Africans (a group consisting of those designated as Indian, Coloured or African under apartheid) constituted 89% of the overall population.
- Nearly 30 years on, how has the staffing situation changed – or not – at South African universities?
- Our findings reveal that staffing at public higher education institutions remains polarised in terms of race and gender.
- One is that the higher education sector reflects many other parts of South African society, including the wider economy.
Key findings
The period under review was 1994 to 2019. Our findings were drawn from two data sets: the Department of Higher Education and Training’s South African Post-Secondary Education data, dating from 1994 to 2002; and Higher Education Management Information System data from 2003 to 2018. This was supplemented by secondary data and other information acquired through literature review and document analysis. Here are some key findings.
By 2018 black Africans made up 58% of the total workforce in this category. The white population group remained over-represented at 20% while its share in the overall population of the country was about 7.8%. The representation ratios of coloureds (17%) and Indian (7%) in non-professional administration staff were also above their proportional representation in the overall population of South Africa, which is at 8.8% and 2.5%, respectively.
Recommendations
- This would help them to navigate the academic landscape and develop their skills.
- These programmes should be tailored to address the particular challenges faced by women, black African academics and disabled individuals.
- Mentorship, retention and support programmes at many South African universities tend to focus solely on fostering gender and racial equality.
- This study was funded and published by the South African Council on Higher Education.