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Mawazo Ideas Podcast
The Mawazo Ideas Podcast gives a public platform to Africans who are making an impact with their Big Ideas. In five seasons of the podcast, we have featured interviews with African experts in science and policy. We discuss their science journeys, climate change mitigation and conservation, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent.
In Season 6 of our podcast, we delve into the experiences of African women in research through six compelling episodes. We explore why these women choose to pursue a PhD, the dynamics of research mobility, and how they secure funding for their studies. Additionally, we examine the challenges of studying in politically unstable regions, the crucial role of community support, and the unique obstacles they face—from gendered issues and Black tax to balancing work and personal life. Join us as we uncover the diverse realities and inspiring journeys of African women scholars.
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Mawazo Ideas Podcast
A Fellowship of Funders: Finding Financial Support for Your PhD
The team explores how African women scholars fund their doctoral studies in this fifth episode of Season Six of the Mawazo Ideas Podcast. The scholars take us on a daring journey of crowdsourcing funding information, seeking familial support, partnering with scholars from different geographical jurisdictions, adapting to existing funding criteria, and mapping new trajectories whenever necessary to secure the coveted doctoral degree.
Globally, funding has been cited as the major factor that drives research outcomes among scholars. African women, in particular, are positioned in the lower rungs of the academy and account for a mere 30% of doctoral graduates in sub-Saharan Africa (Tsephe, 2023). Seventeen years ago, African countries committed to spending 1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on research, yet they only spent 0.42% against the backdrop of a 1.7% global average (Caelers & Okoth, 2023).
According to Schultz1, & Rankhumise (2023), accessing research funding constitutes a significant challenge for many academics. A few funding opportunities specifically target African academics, particularly African women. Proactive academics who are knowledgeable about the opportunities and often take advantage of such opportunities. Notably, many academics report difficulties in obtaining funding, possibly because of a lack of transparency in funding opportunities, a lack of knowledge about funding opportunities, and a lack of expertise to access funding opportunities (Ramnund-Mansingh & Seedat-Khan 2020). Generally, funding is a challenge for Black women academics (Monnapula-Mapesela, M. 2017).
With the myriad of urgent problems facing the African continent, investment in research and development is imperative to the continent’s growth in all spheres. While research is not necessarily limited to the academy, a doctoral degree is a prerequisite to entering the academy, securing tenure, and commanding space for African women as a traditionally marginalised demographic. For these women, access to funding allows them to take up scholarly space and solve some of the most urgent challenges on the continent.
Further Reading
- Caelers D. & Okoth D. (2023) Research Funding in Africa: navigating sustainability and shifting perspectives. https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-023-00360-4
- Monnapula-Mapesela, M. (2017). Developing as an academic leader in a university of technology in South Africa: Dealing with enabling and constraining teaching and learning environments. Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 5(2), 69-85. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/164434
- Ramnund-Mansingh, A., & Seedat-Khan, M. (2020). Understanding the career trajectories of black female academics in South Africa: A case study of the University of Kwazulu-Natal. Perspectives in Education, 38(2), 56-69. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v38.i2.04
- Schultz1, C., & Rankhumise, E. (2023). Constraints and contributors in advancing black women academic researchers at a university in South Africa. South African Journal of
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