Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2024
DOI:
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A Proposed Gender Equality Framework to Attract and Retain Female Engineering Students in South Africa: Phase One
Ann Lourens, Nicole Truter, Curwyn Mapaling
ABSTRACT:
Worldwide, women are under-represented in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering and academia. In Europe, initiatives such as Athena Swan have been implemented so that universities can formally commit to gender equality. The Systemic Action for Gender Equity (SAGE) is another European Charter that implements interventions to advance gender equality in seven European universities, supporting structural, cultural, and political change to eradicate sexism, bias, and discrimination. Progressive gender equality policies and equity clauses have been enacted in some African countries including South Africa and Kenya. However, gender skewing is still prevalent in universities in terms of throughput, completion rates, study areas, and postgraduate enrolment. This research proposes the development of a gender equality framework for a South African university by reviewing literature on gender mainstreaming, gender equality frameworks, and gender analysis including the South African gender context and women in academia, particularly, the attraction and retention of women in engineering fields. Based on the literature study, a gender equality framework process comprising four phases was proposed to obtain baseline information regarding the current state of gender equality strategies within engineering fields using gender analysis as well as manufacturing and university sector status quo. A gender quality framework is then proposed to support the inclusion and retention of gender-diverse communities. The proposed gender equality framework for universities could contribute to retaining women in male-dominated fields as well as highlighting discrimination and inequality practices in policies and processes, culture, and the classroom.
keywords: diversity; female underrepresentation; inclusion; STEM; strategy