In celebration of Women's Month, Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) is shining a spotlight on extraordinary students and staff on our campus who champion women's rights and gender equality. Through their dedication and leadership, they inspire and drive positive change. As Programme Manager at SU's Transformation Office, Dr Jean Farmer is a passionate voice for women's rights on campus.
Can you share your journey from growing up in Hanover Park to becoming an academic at SU?
I had a difficult childhood, but others had/have bigger challenges. Someone abused me from the age of 7 and when I turned 12, the abuser moved out of our house, and this coincided with my entry to high school. I am not sure that it was a conscious decision, but I was determined to become independent, which meant doing well at school. My mother was an avid reader and set an example. A kind librarian used to allow my sister and me to take twice the number of books permitted. We spent out holidays reading.
My teachers at Groenvlei Secondary School believed in our future. They lead us on resistance marches but never neglected our education. They exposed us to literature and mathematics beyond the apartheid Bantu curriculum. We knew quotes from Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Steve Biko and others long before it was legal.
I completed my undergraduate and honours degrees at the 中国体育彩票 of the Western Cape. By then I was used to being part of the resistance and managing personal challenges while ensuring that I completed my academic work. It was not always safe traveling to and from Hanover Park to school or university in the early mornings and evenings. I did not always have money for the full bus fare, so often walked half of the distance in the dark but I made it to class every single day.
I first studied BCur Nursing, then BA (Hons) and Education. I resigned from teaching after 16 years. Unlike in the 1980s, I could then enrol at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 as we live in Somerset West and my children were still young. I completed an MPhil in Intercultural Communication and PhD in Higher Education Studies, while working in various part-time and then full-time positions at the 中国体育彩票.
Is there a defining moment in your life that solidified your commitment to gender issues?
I am not sure that it was a “moment" but rather realising the widespread abuse of girls and women I saw when I was growing up. Early pregnancies and the school drop-out rate of girls in Hanover Park bothered me. I visited my old neighbourhood a few years ago, and it saddened me even more to see my childhood acquaintances living in the backyards of the tiny asbestos roof homes where we grew up. They are now great-grandparents to babies also living with them. The cycle as it affects mostly women and children, is truly vicious and unforgiving.
Do you have a distinctive stance in terms of gender equality or feminism?
Yes, feminism is nothing if it is not intersectional. Black women (which includes anyone who identifies as a woman) are deserving of the opportunities towards equality in all spheres – whether in academia, formal industry or the informal business sector.
What significant challenges have you faced in your academic career, particularly as a black woman in higher education, and how have you overcome them?
As a black woman there is almost always the burden of proof. I believe that the further you are from whiteness, the heavier the burden. So, I recognise that other women have greater challenges than I do. When we do speak, we are not listened to or made to feel that we speak too much, out of turn or too loudly. I witness so often that men scroll on their phones or work on their laptops as soon as a woman starts speaking. I have called men out for doing this. I have the confidence to speak up and if there is not a single word to describe an uncomfortable feeling, I will use a thousand words.
Can you share some insights from your research on black women's experiences in higher education?
There is the issue of unconscious bias towards Black women, a burden from the societal patriarchal systems. We are not mentored (if that is what is needed), not trusted and not promoted. I interviewed a total of 19 black women from various higher education institutions for my research about their trajectory to higher education academic positions.
My research shows that we face a variety of challenges from childhood, some of which are really extreme. However, while we all persevered and succeeded through childhood challenges, the biggest constraints occurred in the workplace. As women we could overcome the challenges of apartheid era education, abuse, arrests during apartheid resistance, death of parents, etc., but the biggest challenges to success occurred at certain institutions.
I have also, out of interest, spoken to white women about enablers and challenges. Many women often feel disregarded, a lack of opportunities and support in their academic careers.
What do you consider the proudest achievement in your career so far?
That I may have laid some paving for the way for other women.
How do you think the academic environment can be made more inclusive and supportive for women researchers?
Human resources and management need to listen that different women require different support structures – be it mentorship, child-care, communities of practice, study leave, breakaways – make a range of support structures available to women.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the field of higher education and academia?
Enrol. Apply. Do the degree. The time is going to pass anyway. But remember that your health, mental and physical, comes first.
What are your future research plans or projects you are excited about?
As someone who visited SU during apartheid and works here now, I can easily compare and see the changes which occurred over 30 years. However, we need to create this as a space of belonging for people who are here now and for those who are coming. We are not yet there, and I would like to find out what hinders the process and progress.
PHOTO: Stefan Els
