Funding for women researchers

UCT will award five substantial grants as part of recognising excellence by women researchers and investing in their work over the next five years under the banner of “Advancing womxn”.

As the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated today under the theme “Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth”, UCT will announce Dr Katye Altieri, Professor Floretta Boonzaier and Professor Janet Hapgood as the winners of R1million.

They will receive this fund each year for five years towards leading-edge research they will conduct in their fields.

Professor Patricia Kooyman and Dr Robyn Pickering are recipients of meritorious awards to the value of R750000 a year for five years.

On December 22, 2015, the UN General Assembly decided to establish an annual international day to recognise the critical role women and girls play in science and technology.

UCT vice-chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng said she hoped the awards would make space for more women’s voices to be heard – for their own advancement and for the advancement of others.

“They will not only be conducting leadingedge research in fields where women are under-represented and into women’s issues, but will also be advancing the next generation of women researchers,” Phakeng said.

She announced the Advancing womxn awards on National Women’s Day last year, saying that while they would target humancapital development, the projects would also “help us rethink our views of gender in South Africa”.

Altieri, Kooyman and Pickering were successful in the category “For womxn by womxn”, conducting research in a field in which women are in short supply.