The Department of Science and Technology (DST) in South Africa is in the process of drafting and producing a Gender Equity Policy for the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector. To this end, DST decided to embark on an inclusive national public consultation process designed to inform the content of the envisaged policy. This forum is part of that exercise. You are invited to make your views on women's recruitment, advancement and retention in the SET known via this discussion forum.
The discussion forum is open to members of the general public, employers, professionals and practitioners in the SET sector, academics, students, public and private sector employees, recruitment agencies, politicians, members of science councils, professional bodies and any other individual who wishes to participate. The discussion forum will run for a total of 16 weeks (Start date: 16 March; End date: 6 July).
Specifically, the intention is to gather information on women's participation in the SET sector with reference to human capital development and research agendas. Below is a list of some of the issues to be explored and debated during the course of the discussion forum:
- Specific barriers and challenges confronted by women who enroll for SET disciplines in institutions of higher learning in South Africa
- Factors that impede the recruitment, advancement and retention of women in the SET sector in South Africa
- Strategies for mentoring, monitoring and evaluating the progress of women in the SET sector
- The influence of power relations and decision making processes on women's recruitment, advancement and retention in the SET sector
- Work experiences of graduates from SET disciplines and how these experiences contribute towards women either remaining or exiting from the SET sector
- Policy recommendations for the training of women in the SET sector within both the public and private sectors of the South African economy
- Research agendas
- Institutional and cultural factors that contribute towards the creation of specific mind-sets among both men and women working in the SET sector
- The extent to which the specific needs of and priorities for women are being addressed in academic institutions and SET workplaces
We are aware that the list of issues given above is not exhaustive. As such, we invite you to make your views known regarding any other issue(s) on the topic being discussed. For general information on women in the SET sector <click here>
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa is coordinating this component of the national consultative process on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
In addition to taking part in the discussion forum, submissions may also be sent directly to Professor Cheryl Ann Potgieter at the Human Sciences Research Council:
Contact details: Professor Cheryl Ann Potgieter, Head: Gender Coordinating Unit, Human Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X41, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa: e-mail: cpotgieter@hsrc.ac.za. Tel: +27 12 302 2722, Fax: 27 12 302 2216.
or, alternatively,
TO: Dr Shaidah Asmall, Manager: Science, Gender and Disability Unit, Department of Science and Technology, email: shaidah.asmall@dst.gov.za. Tel: +27 12 317 4315, Fax: +27 12 317 4644.
To proceed, click on “Log In” if you are already a member, OR on “Register”, to join the discussion forum |
