Recognising the serious divergence in career outcomes for men and women, insofar as men are three times more likely than women to reach the top level positions in research, the South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) has in the past decade worked hard towards closing this gap.
“On scientific boards women are under-represented in most countries. The scarcity of women in senior positions in such bodies inevitably means that their opinions are less likely to be voiced in policy and decision-making processes, which may lead to biased decision-making and priority setting in scientific research, said Dr Anshu Padayachee, CEO of SANPAD.
“In a truly knowledge-based society, traditions — including traditional gender roles — need to be challenged. To not fully use the potential of all qualified people will affect quantity and especially quality of scientific research,” she said.
Among the women researchers currently being funded by SANPAD are:
- Dr. Ingrid Palmary of Wits University whose topic is Assessing the limits and strengths of psychosocial assistance offered to forced migrants in Southern Africa. This research aims at strengthening the capacity of local agents and communities to deal with and resolve trauma, through the promotion of culturally sensitive and inclusive approaches.
- Dr Reshma Sathiparsad of the University of KZN whose topic is Predictors and consequences of teenage pregnancy in KwaZulu-Natal. The study will explore factors related to and educational, socio-economic and health consequences of teenage pregnancies amongst school-going and out-of-school teenagers and will discuss whether
current policies are appropriate.
- Professor Bilkish Cassim of the University of KZN will research The influence of socio-economic and environmental factors on the health status and quality of life of older persons in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A key outcome of the study will be to develop a framework for the delivery of comprehensive geriatric care at the different levels of health care which will inform future health policies, planning and development.
- Professor Linda Theron of North West University whose topic Read me to resilience! A quasi-experimental study aimed at the empowerment of Aids-orphans will look at whether reading culturally-sensitive, metaphoric stories to Aids-orphans can encourage resilience.
- Dr Annamarie Kruger of North West University will research the Bone health of African women in transition. She will investigate the effect of urbanisation, compounded by HIV infection, on bone health of African women in the North-West Province. This knowledge will inform policies and programmes aimed at prevention of osteoporosis
and hip fractures.
- Professor Marietjie de Villiers and Gubela Mji of Stellenbosch University will assess The quality of the service at four rehabilitation sites in the public sector in the Western Cape. The objectives are to contribute towards problem solving in service delivery, facilitate livelihood strategies for persons with disabilities and give feedback towards existing and future policies.
- Dr Tracy Kolbe-Alexander of the University of Cape Town will research Health under construction: An adaptation for South African work sites. The main aim of the study is to determine the effects of a worksite-based intervention programme, focused on improving lifestyle of employees, and on behavioural and biological risk factors for non-communicable diseases.
- Professor Leila Patel of the University of Johannesburg will research A gendered impact analysis of the Child Support Grant in South Africa. The aim of the study is to conduct a gendered analysis of the social, cultural, economic and human development impacts of the Child Support Grant on female beneficiaries who are the primary-care givers of young children aged 0-14 years of age.
- Professor Jane Duncan of Rhodes University will look at A study of youth identity, media use and consumption and the public sphere in South Africa. The research will investigate the ways in which various forms of media, including new media, shape youth identity in South Africa; probe the possible ways in which media can be used to contribute to the civic identity of this social group; and will explore whether youth voices are being heard through the media.
- Dr Shirley Pendlebury of the University of Cape Town will research Healthy Cities for Children. She will examine the impact of urban planning and urbanization on children’s well-being in post-apartheid South Africa?
- Dr Ellen Hurst of the University of Cape Town will reseach South African informal urban language varieties: the national picture. This project is intended to identify the current status of South African urban linguistic varieties which fall broadly under the moniker ‘Tsotsitaal’, to ascertain the feasibility of recent appeals to make Tsotsitaal a national language and to identify barriers to prevent Tsotsitaal achieving legitimacy.
- Dr Michelle Cocks of Rhodes University will research “Untold stories”. The study will look at what narratives and perceptions related to cultural values concerning sacred places and species exist; how these values were related to other cultural meanings of nature in everyday life; and what could be their role in bio-cultural diversity conservation policies and practice.
- Professor Catriona Macleod of Rhodes University will research Life Orientation sexuality programmes and normative gender narratives, practices and power relations.The overall aim of this project is to contribute to Life Orientation sexuality programmes specifically in terms of addressing normative gender narratives, practices and power relations within which inequitable and coerced sex and the accompanying problems of unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of HIV and other STIs take place.
- Professor Claire Penn of Wits University has the research topic Moving towards cultural safety: Developing cultural and linguistic partnerships in the clinic. The research will explore how best to develop resource capacity in communities, through the inclusion of cultural brokers in everyday healthcare interactions. Partnerships between cultural brokers and health professionals promote better health communication.
- Professor Lilian Dudley of Stellenbosch University will research Improving continuity of care between hospital and primary care levels for TB and TB/HIV co-infected patients in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study hopes to develop, implement and evaluate a communication intervention to improve hospital management and the referral system for TB and TB/HIV infected patients between Tygerberg Hospital and primary health care services.
- Professor Heike Becker of the University of the Western Cape will research Cultural performance, belonging, and citizenship in contemporary South Africa. As the resurgent xenophobic violence in the context of service delivery protests demonstrates, such issues of belonging have become quite explosive, particularly among populations who live on the social margins of South African cities. This project will reveal how notions of inclusion and exclusion are mediated through cultural forms and the politics of authentication through which mediated cultural forms come to be framed as authentic and “true”.
- Professor Madeleine Duncan of the University of the Western Cape will research People informing Policy: Power and Progress. The aim of the study is to enable disabled and chronically poor people to understand and address their needs and rights with respect to relevant policy, by working through the framework of Community-Based Rehabilitation within a development context.
- Professor Ana Deumert of the University of Cape Town will research Electronic languages and literacies — digital communication in a multilingual society. The study will examine to what extent digital communication technologies (internet, mobile telephony) are re-shaping communicative practices, social interaction and identities in South Africa?
- Professor Maryna Steyn of the University of Pretoria will research Skeletal identity of past populations: origins, sexual dimorphism and health. The study will analyze and catalogue the largely unstudied collections of African human remains that are housed in several museums in Europe and South Africa, and also improve the methodology that we use to study these remains. Issues that will be addressed include firstly basic demographic data on the remains (e.g., sex and age), but also assessment of health status/disease, sexual dimorphism and ancestry.
- Professor Natasha Erlank of the University of Johannesburg will research Popular History-making and Civil Futures in Sophiatown. The aim of the project is to develop and apply new ways of engaging the past that can assist in developing South Africans’ capacity to participate in the country’s continuing transition to a more democratic society.
- Professor Minrie Greeff of the University of the North West will research A Comprehensive Community-Based HIV Stigma Reduction and Wellness Enhancement Intervention. The study will develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive community-based HIV stigma reduction and wellness enhancement intervention for a group of people living with HIV/Aids and the people living and working close to them in their community.
- Professor Cornelia Roux of the University of North West will research Human rights education in diversity: Empowering girls in rural and metropolitan school environments. The study will examine why and how cultural and religious practices influence basic human rights of girls; and how human rights education in schools, underpinned by sound educational curriculum theories and praxis, can empower girls in diverse traditional cultural and, religious environments.
- Professor Wilna Oldewage-Theron of Vaal University of Technology will research Nutrition education for mother and child health and wellbeing. The focus of this project will be to address the household food insecurity and the resultant malnutrition in children and their caregivers through the development, implementation and evaluation of food and nutrition intervention strategies to promote health and wellbeing by increasing nutrition knowledge as well providing a nutritious food basket in the Bakwena and Batlokoa communities in Qwa-Qwa.
- Professor Juliet Perumal of the University of Johannesburg will look at Women Leading in Disadvantaged Communities. The research will look at how female leadership can be harnessed to intervene in curriculum leadership that responds to the social challenges of evaded curricula such as HIV/AIDS, sexual health, transactional sex, etc. among students and staff.