A Doctor of Philosophy - commonly known as a PhD - is the highest level of academic training. It allows the degree holder to teach the chosen subject at university, conduct research or practise in the specialised area.
However, in many African countries like
There are various reasons for this. For instance, a study covering several African countries found that barriers include sexual harassment, a lack of mentors - with some male faculty mentors being unwilling to act as mentors for junior women - and difficulty finding a balance between career and family.
A study by the
To support postgraduates in further education, several initiatives offer PhD fellowships - a merit-based scholarship - in
My colleagues and I from the
We focused on
By the end of 2019,
Of the active fellows, 55% are women. We found that the programme caters well for women looking to complete their doctorates. For instance, it recognises that women need special consideration when it comes to pregnancy and in the care of newborn babies, and that they may have different responsibilities when it comes to domestic chores and the care of the family.
All of these are factors could have previously prevented them from enrolling in, or completing, their PhDs. It's important that other institutions offering fellowships replicate aspects of this model to better support
Gender-sensitive
One of
PhD fellows are entitled to paid maternity and paternity leave. And fellows are granted a leave of absence during their maternity leave - their award restarts upon their return. This ensures they are not penalised in any way and eventually enjoy the same benefits as other fellows.
The programme also supports new parents as they participate in month-long "joint advanced seminars", training courses offered four times in the course of the PhD.
We found that meeting these practical needs during training supported women to maintain on-time graduation rates similar to their male counterparts.
There are a few challenges though. A recent evaluation of the
A second challenge relates to building a stronger feedback mechanism between actors. While the
Future benefits
Having a programme like this, which strategically addresses gender differences, has long-term benefits. Women
The programme is a timely initiative that ought to be replicated for greater coverage across the continent. It would take careful programming, commitment of resources in cash and kind and sustainable partnerships by African state and non-state actors with northern partners. But these could help create a more gender equal mix of successful PhD researchers and faculty on the continent.
Anne M. Khisa, PhD, Post- Doctoral Research Fellow,
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