Numbers versus feelings: Navigating sources of information regarding gender bias in post-apartheid South African Criminology

• In Event: Advances in Comparative Methodology

Abstract

Addressing racial and gender imbalances remains at the forefront of transformation in post-apartheid South Africa, including at institutions of higher education. However, within the broader decolonial movement, gender issues have often been overshadowed by discussions centred on race, with little attention paid to the challenges faced by women in academia—particularly Black women. As a result, the push for Black representation and inclusion has largely prioritised the experiences of Black men, leaving gender disparities unaddressed. This paper critically examines how these imbalances present through different research methodologies and how understandings and interpretations of data risk reinforcing the very colonial structures that the decolonial movement seeks to dismantle. The sources of information include a national longitudinal study that tracts movements in the staffing of South Africa’s 26 universities and the researcher’s own qualitative and quantitative work in the Criminology space. At the national level, the proportion of female lecturers grew from 42% in 2005 to 54% in 2017 thus showing positive shifts in women’s representation in academia. However, drilling down to discipline level, Black women who published in a continental Criminology journal appeared nearly insignificant: only 2.7% were by Black women as first authors in senior academic positions. Such discrepancies in quantitative data necessitate a closer understanding of developments in the discipline. Further, thematic analysis of interview data with 17 female Criminology lecturers exposed several professional obstacles to academic progression, including being silenced, subjected to gender stereotypes, and disadvantaged due to the intersection of gender and motherhood. Many expressed reluctance to pursue leadership positions, citing persistent discrimination and marginalisation as barriers to career advancement. The paper calls for a nuanced interpretation of women’s standing in academia and recommendations for redress will be made for Criminology in particular.

Author

• Lufuno Sadiki, University of Cape Town