Equity Seminars 2008
11 November 2008
Professor Margaret Orr
In the pink of health? Women in academe
Never mind the numbers (which are problematic enough), are women thriving in academe? Much of the research evidence points to concern. Women tend to occupy fewer senior positions, produce less research, take more leave, and consume more Prozac than their male counterparts. This presentation will look at some uncomfortable realities, attack the male hegemony, blame the victim, and generally stir up controversy. When the dust settles, there will be some attempt at generating creative solutions.
Professor Martin Hall
18 August 2008
Deconstructing whiteness in higher education: Equity Programmes and Transformation.
Prof Hall will focus on the relationship between institutional culture, staff retention and advancement through asking the question - "how do we deconstruct whiteness as a concept?" Prof Hall's analysis shifts the "race work" away from the easy assumption that transformation is somehow a "black issue". Starting this way opens up for critically examining the everyday assumptions that constitute the culture of the "white institution"(irrespective of the race of its members). Prof Hall draws on practical examples based on evidence from the University of Cape Town's (UCT) 2007 Institutional Climate Survey, taking us into questions as to why "white institutions" have trouble retaining black staff, again illustrated from UCT's exit survey data for staff, which has now been aggregated in reasonable numbers for the last 18 months.
Dr Avinash Govindjee
21 April 2008
What is in the Equity Legislation?
The disparities created by discriminatory laws and practices of the past produced such pronounced disadvantages for certain categories of people that simply repealing the discriminatory laws could not adequately address the situation. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (“the Constitution) subscribes to the notion of substantive equality and the Employment Equity Act, Act 55 of 1998 (“the EEA”), which gives effect to section 9 of the Constitution, compels employers to promote equality in the workplace by eradicating unfair discrimination in employment policies or practices in South Africa. This is to be augmented by affirmative action measures designed to ensure the equitable representation of people from the designated groups in all occupational levels and categories in the workforce.
Employment equity has also been specifically highlighted as being a key goal of the higher education sector and a government priority. The EEA presents a particular set of challenges and constraints for the higher education institution as an employer and the current skewed demographic profile of academic staff within higher education institutions in South Africa raises the question of whether adequate progress is being made to improve the situation. This provides an interesting platform for debate.
This particular seminar will deal with the constitutional framework for equality in employment before considering the particular affirmative action measures, such as “reasonable accommodation”, contained in the EEA. Provisions impacting on the fairness of affirmative action measures, such as the establishment of a quota, also require discussion together with the compliance criteria designed to accommodate fairness and proportionality considerations contained in the EEA. Finally, the seminar will reflect on some practical aspects of the employer’s duty to achieve reasonable progress in the implementation of affirmative action measures and applicable case law.
