Trends in the publication output of women at South African universities

Significance: This Commentary provides an updated picture of the contribution of female academics to university research output in South Africa over the past 16 years. From 2005 to 2020, participation and productivity of women, and especially black women, have increased, particularly in the areas of agriculture and engineering. Despite the substantial increases in the share of female-authored publications and participation of female academic staff, there remains a large gender gap

Recruitment and satisfaction of commercial livestock farmers participating in a livestock guarding dog programme

Livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) are used to prevent livestock depredation and used in a number of conservation programmes as a human-wildlife coexistence tool. Although the livestock protection outcomes of LGD use are well studied, relatively little is known about the motivations or perceptions of the farmers involved. This mixed-methods study investigated recruitment and satisfaction in 108 South African commercial livestock farmers participating in an LGD programme. A semi-structured interview schedule and existing dataset were used to collect both qualitative data (analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis) and quantitative data (summarised using descriptive statistics). Word-of-mouth was the predominant source of programme awareness (n = 69), with direct recruitment by programme managers reducing proportionally over time, indicating programme self-perpetuation. Satisfaction was ‘high’ for most farmers (n = 90) and trust between farmers and programme managers was important in recruitment, motivation and satisfaction, along with perceived reductions in livestock losses. Concern for wildlife only motivated 21 farmers. LGD behavioural problems were reported by 49 farmers, but 95 would still use an LGD again. These novel findings demonstrate the importance of inter-stakeholder dialogue for obtaining crucial knowledge for LGD program development. Where non-conservation-related motivators predominate for key stakeholders, greater emphasis on these other factors during programme recruitment, advocacy and/or evaluation may improve stakeholder engagement and retention

A Career-History Analysis of Gender Differences in Publication Productivity among South African Academics

Decades of research on gender differences in academic publication productivity has as yet provided very little, if any, empirical support for the common sense understanding that a certain measure of incompatibility exists between being a mother and a productive academic researcher. In an attempt to start unravelling the complexity of this productivity puzzle in the South African context, data collected from Curriculum Vitae (CVs) are integrated with qualitative interview data. This methodological approach provides a detailed view of publication patterns, couched within the context of an in-depth perspective on the career histories of sixteen of the country’s top-performing academics. The study identifi es important ways in which women and men approach their early academic and family lives differently, with divergent consequences for their career publication productivity

Mobility, gender and career development in higher education : results of a multi-country survey of African academic scientists

CITATION: Prozesky, H. & Beaudry, C. 2019. Mobility, gender and career development in higher education : results of a multi-country survey of African academic scientists. Social Sciences, 8(6):188, doi:10.3390/socsci8060188.The original publication is available at https://www.mdpi.comEmpirical knowledge of the mobility of African scientists, and women scientists in particular, holds an important key to achieving future success in the science systems of the continent. In this article, we report on an analysis of a subset of data from a multi-country survey, in order to address a lack of evidence on the geographic mobility of academic scientists in Africa, and how it relates to gender and career development. First, we compared women and men from 41 African countries in terms of their educational and work-related mobility, as well as their intention to be mobile. We further investigated these gendered patterns of mobility in terms domestic responsibilities, as well as the career-related variables of research output, international collaboration, and receipt of funding. Our focus then narrowed to only those women scientists who had recently been mobile, to provide insights on the benefits mobility offered them. The results are interpreted within a theoretical framework centered on patriarchy. Our findings lead us to challenge some conventional wisdoms, as well as recommend priorities for future research aimed at understanding, both theoretically and empirically, the mobility of women in the science systems of Africa, and the role it may play in their development as academic leaders in African higher education institutions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/6/188Publisher's versio

A gender perspective on career challenges experienced by African scientists

Empirical knowledge of the career challenges that confront African scientists, and women scientists in particular, holds an important key to achieving future success in the science systems of the continent. In this article, we address a lack of evidence generally on the careers of scientists in Africa, by providing the first continent-wide description of the challenges they face, and how these challenges differ between women and men. Our analysis of questionnaire-survey data on approximately 5000 African scientists from 30 countries shows that women are not more challenged than men by a variety of career-related issues, with the exception of balancing work and family, which the majority of women, regardless of age and region, experience. Contrary to expectations, women are not only less likely than men to report a lack of funding as having impacted negatively on their careers, but have been more successful at raising research funding in the health sciences, social sciences and humanities. These results, as well as those from a comparison of women according to age and region, are linked to existing scholarship, which leads us to recommend priorities for future interventions aimed at effectively ensuring the equal and productive participation of women in the science systems of Africa. These priorities are addressing women’s work–family role conflict; job security among younger women scientists; and women in North African and Western African countries. Significance: This study is the first to describe, on a multinational scale, the career challenges that confront African scientists, and women scientists in particular. Contrary to expectations, we found that African women scientists do not report experiencing career challenges to a larger extent than men do, and have been more successful at raising research funding in three of the six major scientific fields. However, the findings highlight the significance of the challenge that balancing work and family poses to the majority of African women scientists

Gender differences in the publication productivity of South African scientists

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is aimed at describing gender difference in publication productivity among South African academic authors, and to develop an understanding of possible reasons for these differences. It is argued that the lack of empirical knowledge of publication productivity of academics in South Africa needs to be addressed, as scientific communication through publication is one of the most central social processes in science. Moreover, one form of scientific publication, the peer-reviewed article, has become the single most important aspect according to which academics in South Africa and abroad are rewarded. The focus on gender differences is motivated by the fact that women have been strengthening their representation in South African HEIs, but not their proportional contribution to our country’s output of accredited research articles. A review of the past four decades of empirical and theoretical work on the gender gap in publication productivity leads the author to identify three sets of factors that may account for its existence: gender-socialised differences between women and men, women’s greater family responsibilities, and gender-related deficits in the academic workplace. However, none of these sets of variables by themselves satisfactorily account for gender differences in publication productivity, and they should not be considered independent from each other. The literature review is followed by a review of methodological considerations that need to be taken into account when studying gender differences in publication productivity. Against this background, the advantages and limitations associated with the first empirical project of the dissertation - a secondary analysis of SA Knowledgebase, an existing bibliometric database - are identified. This analysis is aimed at quantifying gender differences in the publication productivity of South African academic authors; at controlling for relevant variables (race, age, highest qualification, rank, institutional affiliation and scientific domain); and at investigating gender differences in the tendency towards joint authorship. The results show that South African male authors publish almost twice as many articles in accredited journals than women authors do, but that the latter’s contribution to the total scientific publication output of South Africa has increased from 16 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2001. Part of the gender gap in publication productivity can be explained by women’s younger age, lower qualification level and lower rank as a gender group, but not by any tendency among women to co-author less than men do. This project was complemented by the analysis of primary data collected from the CVs of and qualitative interviews with sixteen highly productive South African academics. This second project contributes to the development of a more in-depth understanding of the way in which men and women’s publication productivity is differentially affected, in a predominantly male milieu and across the span of their careers, by their family responsibilities, non-research academic roles, and gender-socialisation. The dissertation concludes with an integration of the literature review with the main findings of the two projects, on the basis of which recommendations are made for future research, and proposals are made towards rendering the measurement of publication productivity more sensitive to the gender differences highlighted by the dissertation.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif het ten doel om genderverskille in publikasieproduktiwiteit van Suid-Afrikaanse akademiese outeurs te beskryf, en om ʼn begrip te ontwikkel van moontlike redes vir dié verskille. Daar word aangevoer dat ʼn gebrek aan empiriese kennis oor die publikasieproduktiwiteit van akademici in Suid-Afrika aangespreek behoort te word, aangesien wetenskaplike kommunikasie deur middel van publikasie een van die mees sentrale proses in die wetenskap is. Daarbenewens het een vorm van wetenskaplike publikasie, die eweknie-beoordeelde artikel, die enkele belangrikste aspek geword waarvolgens akademici in Suid-Afrika en oorsee beloon word. Die fokus op genderverskille word gemotiveer deur die feit dat vroue hul verteenwoordiging in Suid-Afrikaanse hoër-onderwysinstellings versterk het, maar nie hul proporsionele bydrae tot ons land se uitset van geakkrediteerde navorsings-artikels nie. ʼn Oorsig van die afgelope vier dekades se empiriese en teoretiese werk oor die gender-gaping in publikasieproduktiwiteit lei tot die identifisering van drie stelle faktore wat die bestaan daarvan sou kon verklaar: gender-gesosialiseerde verskille tussen vroue en mans, vroue se swaarder gesinsverantwoordelikheidslas, en gender-verbandhoudende tekortkominge in die akademiese werkplek. Opsigself verklaar geen enkele van hierdie stelle veranderlikes egter gender-verskille in publikasieproduktiwiteit op ʼn bevredigende wyse nie, en hulle behoort nie onafhanklik van mekaar beskou te word nie. Die literatuur-oorsig word gevolg deur ’n oorsig van metodologiese oorwegings wat in ag geneem behoort te word ter bestudering van gender-verskille in publikasieproduktiwiteit. Teen hierdie agtergrond word die voordele en beperkinge verbonde aan die eerste empiriese projek van die proefskrif – ʼn sekondêre ontleding van SA Knowledgebase, ’n bestaande bibliometriese databasis - geïdentifiseer. Hierdie ontleding van is daarop gemik om gender-verskille in die publikasieproduktiwiteit van Suid-Afrikaanse akademiese outeurs te kwantifiseer; om vir relevante veranderlikes te kontroleer (ras, ouderdom, hoogste kwalifikasie, rang, institusionele affiliasie en wetenskaplike domein); en om gender-verskille in mede-outeurskap te ondersoek. Die resultate toon dat Suid-Afrikaanse man-outeurs bykans twee maal soveel artikels in geakkrediteerde vaktydskrifte as vroue-outeurs publiseer, maar dat laasgenoemde se bydrae tot die totale wetenskaplike publikasie-uitset van Suid-Afrika vanaf 16 persent in 1990 tot 24 persent in 2001 toegeneem het. Deel van die gender-gaping in publikasieproduktiwiteit kan verklaar word aan die hand van vroue se jonger ouderdom, laer kwalifikasievlak, en laer rang as ʼn gender-groep, maar nie aan die hand van enige neiging by vroue om minder as mans met andere te publiseer nie. Hierdie projek is aangevul deur die ontleding van primêre data wat ingesamel is vanuit die CV’s van, en kwalitatiewe onderhoude met sestien hoogs-produktiewe Suid-Afrikaanse akademici. Hierdie tweede projek dra by tot die ontwikkeling van ’n meer in-diepte begrip van die wyse waarop mans en vroue se gesinsverantwoordelikhede, hul nie-navorsingsverbandhoudende akademiese rolle, en hul gendersosialisering in ’n oorwegend manlike milieu en oor die bestek van hul loopbane heen differensieel op hul publikasieproduktiwiteit inwerk. Die proefskrif sluit af met ’n integrasie van die literatuur-oorsig met die hoofbevindinge van die twee projekte, op grond waarvan aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing gemaak word, en voorstelle aan die hand gedoen word vir die meting van publikasieproduktiwiteit wat sensitief sou wees vir die genderverskille wat in hierdie proefskrif uitgelig is