A new report from the Gender Equality Commission finds that some universities are reluctant to review their sexual harassment policies, resulting in insufficient measures being taken to protect victims and punish perpetrators. did.
Higher education institutions must recruit more women and people with disabilities to achieve equal representation as stipulated in the Employment Equity Act.
A new report from the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) finds that some universities are reluctant to review their sexual harassment policies, resulting in insufficient measures being taken to protect victims and punish perpetrators. He pointed out that there was.
“It is also important that universities provide adequate funding for gender transformation to meet employment equity goals and manage the retention of female staff,” the report states, adding that Walter Sisulu University and Focuses on gender dynamics at Sefako Makgat University of Health Sciences. , University of Fort Hare and University of the Western Cape.
At Walter Sisulu University, the 13 top management positions are made up of eight African men and five African women, and do not include people with disabilities or representatives of other races. There are 583 academic staff positions held by men and 516 held by women. At the management level, there are 473 women and 394 men.
“These figures demonstrate that women are underrepresented not only at academic level but also in top management and senior management positions,” the report said.
The university has appointed an Employment Equity Manager with decision-making powers, but the report says this is not effective “given the skewed representation of employment equity”.
This facility does not have flextime arrangements, childcare facilities, or policies that allow for reasonable accommodation of parental obligations.
“The lack of such a policy has led to a reluctance to implement the provisions of the Code of Good Practice in relation to pregnancy and the postnatal period, particularly Article 5.2.2, which requires consideration of safeguards and adjustments to the working environment during pregnancy or postnatal care. “feeding employees with breast milk,'' the report states.
At Sefako Makgat University of Health Sciences, the committee found that men are overrepresented not only at professor and dean levels, but also in senior, senior and academic positions.
“Universities are struggling to address employment equity barriers that are deeply ingrained in their social culture and further perpetuated by location, scarce skills, and some unattractive fields. ” the university said.
The University of Fort Hare has 18 senior management positions, of which only four are women and there is no representation of people with disabilities.
The report also found that the university's sexual harassment policy did not comply with codes of good practice.
Brightness Mngolosi, director of the Higher Education Resource Service of South Africa (HER-SA), said that although there are laws in place to address gender equality, there is little awareness.
“Code of good practice around pregnancy is taboo and unspoken, while code of good practice around harassment is still not fully addressed. Where policies exist, there is insufficient education, enforcement and oversight. and evaluation remains a challenge,” she said..
Meanwhile, the Gender Equality Commission praised the University of the Western Cape, revealing that of the 2,553 people it employs, 1,552 are women and 1,001 are men.
“Gender equality is considered a top priority at the university and the work of the Gender Equality Unit is paramount in this effort,” the report said.
The university recommended including a section on gender in personal data verification for payroll so that human resources professionals have information on gender diversity.
Regarding Article 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
For women, governments have an obligation to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure equal rights with men in the field of education.
HER-SA has welcomed the report, saying it raises “relevant issues”, but the organization has asked the Gender Equality Commission: “What needs to be done to get universities to commit to implementing the recommendations? ”.
The Ministry of Higher Education said it is working to eliminate gender disparities in educational institutions.
“The Higher Education and Training Authority is working with the CGE and Higher Health Authority. [an organisation in the department that deals with gender-related issues] To identify trends and challenges [by] We are working with the agencies,” said Lucky Masuku, the department’s communications director.