Heterogenous perspectives on the challenges associated with sustainable research capacity building of women in South African higher education institutions

Sustainable prosperity requires nations to use their full human capital, thus, both males and females. It is concerning that challenges such as inadequate funding, domestic responsibilities and a lack of networks and adequate mentorship for females in academia are leading to lower research outputs. The international research arena is far from correcting the underrepresentation, discrimination and inequality women in academia face. To this end, this research explored the challenges associated with sustainable research capacity building (SRCB) of women in the South African academic arena. To achieve the research objectives, ten semi-structured interviews grounded in a postmodern research paradigm and guided by the principles of phenomenology were conducted. Although many studies discuss women in academia and their challenges, males’ perspectives on the topic are not represented. In addition, there is a scarcity of literature that explores the context of research capacity building for women at South African (SA) higher education institutions (HEIs). This study addressed the latter two gaps in scholarly literature. The findings revealed that male participants in one SA HEI acknowledged that cultural norms and caregiving responsibilities disadvantaged women. However, in the other HEI, male participants viewed women as having equal or better promotion opportunities. Across both HEIs female participants agreed on challenges they faced but differed in how severe they are. In addition, across the two sampled HEIs cultural and societal norms delegate women the dual role of caregiver and academic. In turn, their capacity for research building becomes unsustainable, as low research output and stagnant academic positions for women follow. With sustainability in mind, HEIs should implement reforms such as equitable workload allocation, reduced teaching and administrative burdens, and targeted research support in the form of mentorship and funding. In addition, institutional and societal efforts to redistribute caregiving responsibilities are essential to enabling women to build research capacity sustainably. Although the findings are relevant to multiple contexts, they cannot be generalized due to the small sample size.