Abstract
The chapter starts by examining the role higher education has played in improving women’s prospects, the gains they have made, and the challenges that remain. It explores issues related to access, retention, and field of study, along with the roles that race, class, geography, and social and cultural norms have played in either increasing or decreasing the likelihood of women’s success in the higher education system. The discussion then turns to the prevalence of rape, sexual harassment, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS on campuses and how they influence a woman’s ability to graduate from college.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Lynn Anzia, Women News Network, August 28, 2007, http://womensnewsnetwork.net/2007/08/28/percentE2percent80percent9Ceducate-a-woman-you-educate-a-nationpercentE2percent80percent93-south-africa-aims-to-improve-its-education-for-girls (accessed May 9, 2009).
- 2.
Ibid.
- 3.
Sally Baden, Shireen Hasim, and Shelia Meintjes, Country Gender Profile: South Africa. Report prepared for the Swedish International Development Office (Sida) Pretoria, South Africa; Bridge Development, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, (July 1998), 41.
- 4.
STATS South Africa, Census 2011, October 30,2012, Pretoria, South Africa, 35.
- 5.
Ibid., 3.
- 6.
Eynon, 181.
- 7.
Ibid., 182.
- 8.
The Council on Higher Education (CHE), “Vital Stats, 2013” Pretoria, South Africa, 2015, 26.
- 9.
Council on Higher Education, 2.
- 10.
Ibid., 27.
- 11.
Eynon, 183.
- 12.
The Council on Higher Education (CHE), “Vital Stats, 2013,” 26.
- 13.
Eynon, 183.
- 14.
Ibid.
- 15.
Ibid., 184.
- 16.
Ibid.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Council on Higher Education, Higher Education Monitor: The State of Higher Education in South Africa, HE Monitor no.8 (October 2009), 22; Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Reviews of National Policies for Education: South Africa. (Paris: OECD, 2008), 71.
- 19.
The Council on Higher Education (CHE), “Vital Stats, 2013,” 3.
- 20.
Ibid., 20.
- 21.
Council on Higher Education, 33.
- 22.
The Council on Higher Education (CHE), “Vital Stats, 2013,” 19.
- 23.
Ibid., 21.
- 24.
Eynon, “Interpreting the Economic Growth and Development Policies of Post-Apartheid South Africa: Its Influence on Higher Education and Prospects for Women,”179.
- 25.
Ibid.
- 26.
Ibid.
- 27.
STATS South Africa, Census 2011, October 30,2012, Pretoria, South Africa, 4.
- 28.
Michael Allen, Globalization, Negotiation, and the Failure of Transformation in South Africa: Revolution at a Bargain? (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 134.
- 29.
Eynon, 180.
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
Ibid., 181.
- 32.
Ibid., 179.
- 33.
Ibid., 178.
- 34.
Ibid.
- 35.
Ibid.
- 36.
Ibid., 179.
- 37.
Eynon, 186.
- 38.
Ibid., 189.
- 39.
Ibid.
- 40.
Ibid., 150.
- 41.
Ibid.
- 42.
Ibid., 187.
- 43.
Ibid.
- 44.
Ibid.
- 45.
Ibid.
- 46.
Ibid.
- 47.
Ibid., 188.
- 48.
Ibid.
- 49.
Ibid.
- 50.
Ibid.
- 51.
Ibid.
- 52.
Statistics South Africa, General Household Survey 2014, July 2015, Pretoria, South Africa, 20.
- 53.
Ibid., 190.
- 54.
Ibid.
- 55.
Statistics South Africa, General Household Survey 2014, July 2015, Pretoria, South Africa,, 20, Eynon, 190.
- 56.
Ibid., 191.
- 57.
Ibid.
- 58.
Ibid., 192.
- 59.
Ministry of Education, South Africa, Report of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions, November 30, 2008, 44.
- 60.
Eynon, 192.
- 61.
Ministry of Education, South Africa, Report of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions, November 30, 2008, 45.
- 62.
Ministry of Education, South Africa, Report of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions, November 30, 2008, 46.
- 63.
Eynon, 193.
- 64.
Ibid.
- 65.
Ibid., 194.
- 66.
Ibid.
- 67.
Ibid.
- 68.
Ibid.
- 69.
Ibid.
- 70.
Ibid., 195.
- 71.
Ibid.
- 72.
Ibid.
- 73.
Ibid.
- 74.
Ibid., 196.
- 75.
Baden et al., 42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Profiles of South African Women
Profiles of South African Women
Irene Moutlana
Irene Moutlana is the vice chancellor and principal at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT). She earned her master’s degree and doctor of education degrees from Harvard University as a Fulbright Student. She began her career as a high school teacher until she entered higher education as a lecturer and is today a central figure in the South African higher education system. Moutlana is known for her dedication to the development of South Africa’s students, as is reflected in her institution’s commitment to offer students an education on par with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Prior to her appointment as vice chancellor in 2008, she was the interim deputy vice chancellor of research, innovation and technology at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and a vice rector at the then Academic at Port Elizabeth Technikon. During that time, she was also a community developer and was nominated for Business Woman of the Year (2002). As a result, some people were surprised when she accepted the position at VUT; the institution was plagued by scandals and staff upheavals, and was known for a lack of high academic standards.
Today, under Moutlana’s leadership, VUT has redefined itself. It draws students from all over Africa with its world-class facilities (labs and lecture halls) and strong focus on research and innovation. And, given the institution’s close proximity to a strong industrial region, it has been able to create partnerships with local companies in the heavy-metal and petro-chemical industries and to attract experts in science, engineering and technology. Over the course of Moutlana’s tenure, VUT has received awards for financial management and governance in the management of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds and has grown its international partnerships in research and student exchange. And its engineering qualifications now have international standing, with accreditation through the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).
It took time and the creation of a new vision and strategy to transform the institution to what it is today: a University of Technology. In order to do that, Moutlana sought the advice and counsel of external strategists— people who could make an objective assessment of what the institution needed to do and how best to create a vision of shared leadership to implement the new strategy.
Moutlana’s appointment has not been without controversy. On November 29, 2012, she was suspended until an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement could be conducted. The investigation focused on the 2010 awarding of two contracts to consultants who assisted in the development of a new strategy for the institution. The Minster of Higher Education and Training disbanded VUT’s council as they were also implicated in the financial mismanagement. Moutlana was found guilty of personally influencing the awarding of the contract and for allowing the consultants to overspend on the project by almost three times the original amount. She was not found guilty of corruption or of personally benefiting from the awarding of the contracts. In June 2013, Moutlana returned to her position as vice chancellor and principal.
When Moutlana’s first five-year term was due to end in December 2013, VUT’s new council extended it for another three years. In 2014, she was appointed the deputy chairperson of the South African Technology Network (SATN). Five South African Universities of Technology established SATN in 2006 to promote the development of national education and training policies that support the work and contributions of their institutions.
Sources:
Mail& Guardian Website, The Jewel of the Vaal, May 27, 2011
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-27-the-jewel-of-vaal
(accessed November 21, 2016)
Bongani Nkosi, VUT vice-chancellor suspended over corruption allegations, November 29, 2012 Mail & Guardian website
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-29-vut-vice-chancellor-suspended-over-corruption-allegations
(accessed November 21, 2016)
IOL News Website, Vice-chancellors’ contract extension angers critics, September 29, 2013
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eynon, D.E. (2017). Women and Higher Education: The Successes and Challenges. In: Women, Economic Development, and Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53144-1_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53144-1_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53143-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53144-1
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)