Short-term transnational mobility, gender and research careers in East Africa: The case of women in computer science

• In Event: How Does Mobility Change Researchers, Research Groups And Scientific Communities? (II)

Abstract

Transnational mobility of academics and researchers is an increasingly common global phenomenon, providing access to research positions and shaping the trajectory of research careers. Academic mobility is also a gendered process. Gendered roles, family ties, traditional values, national context and labor market conditions are some of the factors that determine access to opportunities as well as the decision to move. While long term mobility and migration leading to a “brain drain” is a serious concern for S&T systems in the Global South, short term transnational academic mobility in pursuance of a doctoral degree has been a key factor in developing computer science research capacity in East Africa. This process is mediated by donor agencies that provide funding for programs with the goal that participants return to their home country after earning their degrees to work as researchers.
In this paper, we focus on women’s career aspirations and experiences of pursuing doctoral degrees abroad to build their research careers. Our data is drawn from a long term ethnographical study of computer science researchers in East Africa. We examine how women experience this short-term transnational mobility and how it shapes their research careers. Our analysis considers both structural factors such as institutional environments, donor strategies, and university policies, and individual factors such as life events, family commitments, and career aspirations; as well as women’s agency in managing their research careers. We find that donor mandates to provide women equal access to these opportunities have resulted in women being equally represented amongst the PhDs trained through many of these programs. While mobility has played an important role in building their research careers, women have had a mixed experience, shaped by traditional gender roles and expectations.

Authors

• Ravtosh Bal, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

• Matthew Harsh, Cal Poly

• G. Pascal Zachary, Arizona State University

• Kerry Holden, Queen Mary, University of London

• Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University