Abstract:
The slow progression and under-representation of women in senior scientific career
positions is a well-known and persistent global problem, especially among
university-based academics, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To inform
action for change, we need to go beyond numerical evidence of inequalities to
understanding the underlying social, cultural and institutional drivers and processes
producing gender inequities in science careers. This requires a theoretically rigorous
gender analysis framework that is relevant to SSA and sufficiently accounts for
variations among both women and men. Since no such framework is available, we
conducted a literature review of emerging theories and empirical evidence on the
dimensions of and reasons for the prevailing gender inequities in higher education
institutions in SSA. Based on this, we propose an integrated conceptual framework,
identify available empirical findings to support it and develop a preliminary
explanation of observed inequities. Our findings demonstrate that women’s (lack of)
progression in academic/scientific research careers is shaped by intersections
between gender roles and social power relations of gender within the family, wider
society and academic institutions themselves. We argue that this integrated model
provides implications for theory, practice at institutional and policy level, and future
research.
