Programme Director, Ms Connie Ferguson
Director-General of Science and Technology
Representatives of the co-sponsors of the South African Women in Science, TATA and L’Oreal
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
August is women’s month in South Africa.
Women’s month provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our progress towards substantive gender equality in South Africa. It’s a time to celebrate the progressive policy framework that we have put in place to support transformation in South Africa.
It’s a time to reflect on the positive changes that have taken place in our education system. And it’s a time to acknowledge the challenges that we must still confront.
I want to talk about two things women’s participation in science and what we should do to improve women’s participation in science. A gender balance in favour of women at university but a research balance in favour of men
There is a gender balance in favour of women students in higher education; but there is a gender balance in favour of men in postgraduate research. The growing number of women in higher education seems to be a contemporary phenomenon in both developing and developed countries.
It is important to understand gender demography in schools and universities accurately. This is, because understanding where and why there are more women than men determines the policies we adopt.
You cannot look at why women drop out of education without looking at what happens to boys and men. Some research points to family pressure for income from boys and the availability of low-level jobs for boys. The main reason boys drop out after the age of 15, it appears, is to earn money for their families.
While patterns of retention and non-retention within the schooling system still need further research, our recent university cohort studies show high drop out and failure rates.
It’s now well-known that an analysis of the first time entering cohorts for both universities and technikons in 2000 showed that nearly six in ten of these students dropped out of the system in four years. Female students constitute more than half of this group. African female students constitute seven in ten of this female student group.
What are the reasons for this failure? A lack of money and lack of academic support are the two most obvious candidates. Strategies have to be devised to ensure that we do not only improve our intake of African and women students, but that we improve their chances of successfully progressing through the system.
Our strategies must begin at primary school level because girls and women are usually not encouraged to be scientists. In fact, they are sometimes actively discouraged by parents, teachers and even universities.
Girls and women are not supposed to be good at maths or science. And it shows in the studies of performance in maths and science in school. Boys do better, because they are encouraged to do better. We all need mentors but women students in scarce skills faculties and schools may need focussed support and mentoring.
And there are a number of accomplished women in the sciences, social sciences as well, who have inspired younger women with their accomplishments at times when the sciences were still designated as “non-traditional” Monica Wilson, Frances Ames. More recently talented women like Himla Soodyall, Jennifer Thomson, Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan, Lucille Bloomberg, Mamphela Ramphele, Mamokgethi Setati have shown us the way.
We need interventions to manage career flexibility for women in science. We need interventions in favour of developing women in research. Some practical interventions are already in place: the provision of equipment grants; special conference funding; workshops in publication and writing skills; postgraduate grants and research fellowships for women, special concessions for study leave (including lecturing replacements), as well as active institutional communication about research opportunities.
Many of these initiatives are aimed, rightly so, at young researchers in general, but we have to make certain that they include a focus on attracting women to take up these programmes.
The national advisory council on innovation has a committee focusing on women in science, engineering and technology and the National Research Foundation runs women in research programme.
However, much more must be done only one in three published scientists is a woman, and she is younger and less qualified than her male colleagues.
The National Research Foundation (NRF) is playing a role in encouraging research potential at undergraduate level, by offering small grants to undergraduates who have research potential and are in their third or fourth year of study, to learn about research by providing research assistance to experienced academics in their field.
Without incentives that support and recognise women in research, significant change is unlikely to take place. The awards encourage excellence.
The Women in Science Awards encourage excellence. I have long believed in the importance of acknowledging excellence, because excellence is an important target for beginners to aim at. It offers novice scientists the desire to aspire to greatness.
The initiative creates an opportunity for us to recognise and reward women scientists for the quality of their research work. Many high quality applications were received this year. The adjudicators had a tough time in selecting winners in all categories. A new category for community outreach work in indigenous knowledge and local innovation.
This year I am pleased to announce the introduction of a new category, which recognises research excellence and community outreach work in indigenous knowledge and local innovation.
I am grateful that TATA Africa Holdings, an organisation with its roots in India which started investing in South Africa in 1994, decided to sponsor this new category of award.
The introduction of the indigenous knowledge category is in line with the agenda of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology, which has included securing and using Africa’s indigenous knowledge base in its flagship research and development programme.
This expansion of the South African Women in Science Awards will deepen South Africa’s participation in the regional awards of the African union women scientist.
The African Union Women Scientist regional awards are intended to reward excellent women scientists in five African regions (central, eastern, northern, southern and western).
It’s a continental effort to promote the participation of African women in science, technology and innovation, as well as inspiring girls to aim for a research career. The expansion of the South African Women in Science broadens the pool of women scientists to represent South Africa in this continental initiative.
Human scientists are not going to be left out of the awards in future.
The Department of Science and Technology has a responsibility to promote and support all science disciplines. We have neglected the humanities and social sciences. We are investigating the possibility of introducing awards for these fields in future.
The humanities and social sciences have a key role to play in assisting South Africa to respond to change and to understand the manner in which societies in transition make positive advances.
I warmly congratulate all who will receive awards this evening; your achievements are an example to all of us.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
21 August 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
