4.6. Response remarks by Dr David Phaho: DVC: Research, Technology, Innovation and Partnership (RTIP

SECTION 3

4.6. Response remarks by Dr David Phaho: DVC: Research, Technology, Innovation and Partnership (RTIP)

The prevalence and horrific nature of gender-based violence serves as a reminder that South Africa’s democratic dispensation has a long way to go to eradicate male privilege and patriarchy. In this context, the struggle for gender equality is not just the preserve of feminist scholars in air-conditioned offices. When women and children are being slaughtered at a rate equalled in conflict zones, it produces a broader historic and moral obligation upon the whole society, men and women, to take a stand. “Not in my name” is a universal call. Both gender and racial discrimination should be classified as social pathologies – that is, a set of deviant, regressive behaviours and practices – that progressive democratic societies deem unacceptable.

In free societies where discrimination based on race and gender is outlawed, social ills such as gender-based violence, gross social inequality especially with regard to minorities, and inadequate social safety nets for the most vulnerable, are not that widespread. Furthermore, countries that have embraced gender equity have, in the main, made the greatest social and economic advances since the end of the Second World War. • Looking to Scandinavia for example, four of the countries there – Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Finland – were led by women in August 2021 and a few months later the fifth, Sweden, appointed Magdalena Andersson to the top job, making her the country’s first female prime minister.

The 35-year-old Finnish prime-minister, Sanna Marin, who is leading one of the most successful and progressive countries in history, is the world’s youngest head of state.

It is no accident that these women-led egalitarian societies have a high profile in supporting women’s empowerment and gender rights. • Meanwhile, in the US in 2021, Janet Yellen became the first woman in 232 years to serve as the country’s

Secretary of the Treasury – the latest in a line of secretaries that stretches back to Alexander Hamilton, one of the country’s founding fathers. In terms of academic qualifications and public- and private-sector experience, she is also the most qualified person to have held the top financial position in the world’s most powerful economy. • In New Zealand, the “shero” is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who led her nation through the pandemic with the kind of skill that can only come to the fore in moments of great global crisis. International media praised her swift response to the outbreak. The Washington Post described her regular use of interviews, press conferences and social media appearances as a masterclass in crisis communications. (Meanwhile, the presumptive leader of the free world, former president Donald Trump, was issuing insults from the White House.) Unlike her American peer, Arden won a landslide return to office in 2020. Elsewhere, in Europe, Angela Merkel, Germany’s longest serving and most consequential chancellor, continued to rule.

In recognition of the universality of human rights and the economic and social plight of women as unwilling prisoners of patriarchy, CPUT understands its duty to contribute to women’s empowerment through its teaching and learning; its research and innovation; and its non-curricular programmes, such as in the area of leadership development. In particular, the university acknowledges the roles and responsibilities of men in promoting gender equality.

To this end, CPUT has pledged to work with student formations to contribute to the HeForShe think-tank and is seeking to foster a more comprehensive engagement with men and boys, whether at home, work or in the broader society. The importance of men using the resources that they control for the greater good should be noted. Clearly, an attitudinal change is required within traditionally male-dominated leadership circles, whether in the public or private sector, or at universities.

A new generation of progressive leaders must be appointed – and not based on their knowledge of men’s football or their ability to network on the golf course. Skills and competency should be the only yardstick for leadership. To this end, the old arguments about a lack of suitable female candidates no longer hold water, given that the talent pool is becoming increasingly diverse – as is shown by the example of women leaders at the helm of some of the world’s most successful economies.

Universities, as centres of learning and ideas, should lead the way in prioritising leadership excellence which transcends race and gender. The profile of universities across the world shows significant enrolment of women in the past 50 years. The recruitment of university managers and academic leaders should reflect this changing profile. In other words, institutions should promote equity in response to this demographic change and be accountable accordingly. In addition, university leadership should ensure that the funding of academic endeavours, including for bursaries, scholarships and leadership, is distributed equitably to promote equality among women and men; and that reporting to funding bodies in both public and private sectors should account for progress made.