Promoting access to research

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) hosts the South African Women in Science Awards (WISA) annually to recognise and reward the achievements of South African women scientists and researchers.

Coinciding with Women’s Month, WISA is part of a suite of DST interventions to transform the research and scientific landscape, in which women make up only 26% of the total professoriate in universities and only 40,3% of the total researchers in the country.

According to a study conducted by the National Advisory Council on Innovation in 2008, women who have had successful careers in the science, engineering and technology sector cite the presence of strong female role models as motivation for their perseverance.

WISA is therefore aimed at profiling women scientists and researchers as role models for younger scientists and researchers, and encouraging younger women with emerging careers as researchers and scientists.

This year, the WISA theme is “Promoting women’s access to and excellence in research and innovation careers”. This is in line with the priority theme for the 55th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which was “Access and participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work”.

The 2011 Women in Science Awards also coincides with the centenary celebration of the awarding of a Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Marie Curie.

THE CATEGORIES
The awards are made in three categories, namely Distinguished Women in Science Distinguished Young Women in Science, and Scholarships and Fellowships.

Distinguished Women in Science
These awards go to women scientists and researchers who have made an outstanding scientific contribution to advancing science and building the knowledge base in their respective disciplines. The criteria used for this category include consideration of the nominee’s teaching and research experience, research and innovation outputs, national and international eminence, and experience in supervision and mentorship aimed at achieving equity and redress. Distinguished Women in Science awards are made in each of the following fields:

• Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences.
• Social Sciences and Humanities.
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

Distinguished Young Women in Science
These awards go to young women scientists and researchers who have made an outstanding contribution to advancing science and building the knowledge base in their respective disciplines. The criteria used for this category are the same as those used for the Distinguished Women Scientists category, except that the nominees must be under the age of 40 years. Distinguished Young Women in Science awards are made in each of the following fields:

• Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences.
• Social Sciences and Humanities.

Fellowships and Scholarships
Fellowships and scholarships are awarded to master’s and doctoral students under the age of 35 years who are registered full-time at a South African university. The criteria for awarding the fellowships and scholarships include consideration of the quality and feasibility of the nominees proposed plan of study or research and proposed time schedule (for scholarships); nominees’ academic and professional achievements, including research publication record; nominees’ commitment to the advancement of women and girls in South Africa/Africa; and a demonstrable need for the specialised knowledge and skills that the nominee plans to acquire.

Fellowships are awarded to students who already hold scholarships from the National Research Foundation or other sources and are meant to provide additional funds for enhancing the students’ academic programmes by supporting such activities as attendance of conferences and acquisition of specialised research skills or materials. Scholarships support the students’ tuition and academic fees at a chosen university.

The Department of Science and Technology supports the fellowships and the scholarships are supported by TATA Africa. Six fellowships and six scholarships are to be awarded.