Freedoms for Women as Outlined in the Freedom Charter: The Progress of Women in Education

Women at all levels of South African society began articulating their interests in the 1950s, with the Women’s Charter preceding the Freedom Charter by a year. Since 1994 South Africa has taken bold steps to advance the interests of women and made great strides in the quest for gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, persistent disparities remain in South Africa between women and men with regard to senior positions in the higher education sector. Drawing on a number of dialogues and discussions, this paper seeks to analyse the reasons behind gender inequality in education and reveal whether patriarchal values and stereotypes related to women in certain sectors of South African society are a factor. This paper will contend that despite legislation protecting women, both subtle and overt forms of discrimination still exist in the sphere of higher education. The paper also seeks to analyse challenges still being faced as well as offer possible solutions to the gender inequality that continues to prevail in the education sector