Varsities poach for black women profs

LACK of senior women academics is forcing universities to poach staff from one another, leading to poorly resourced institutions, particularly in rural areas.

Institutions based in smaller centres are losing out as they struggle to pay competitive rates to keep their staff gender balanced.

At hearings on transformation at higher learning institutions held in Braamfontein Johannesburg yesterday, the Gender Commission heard that only 26% of professors were women.

The two-day hearings seek to probe the progress of transformation policies of universities across the country.

Rhodes University vicechancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela told the commission there was a serious shortage of senior black women academics.

“All 26 universities are fishing in the same pond, which is highly depleted … People are simply moving from one institution to another and my hope is that higher education institutions will enter into some kind of an agreement that we will contribute towards developing women academics and not rely on poaching from one another.

“I’m saying this because we invest so much developing these young people and then the other university simply comes and poaches, offers them better salaries, offers them a higher rank and we can’t do that because we [Rhodes] are not financially indulged … and so it does not serve the sector.”

He said universities were also competing with the state and private sector which paid well and attracted the few black women in the pool.

University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Dr Max Price told the commission only 26% of professors were women.

He said one barrier to female academics obtaining professorships was the years they took out of their careers to start families. “If you interrupt your career for five or 10 years or more then there is delay.”

Price and Mabizela, however, lauded the Next Generation of Academics programme for helping train new academics.