In 2014, South Africa’s Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor issued a call for 20 new researchers to join the prestigious ranks of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI). The twist? All of the positions would be filled by women.
There was concern that these positions would not be filled. Where would the country’s universities find 20 eligible women researchers, given that only one in five SARChIs had been awarded to women in the last decade?