4.3 Presentation of findings
4.3.1 Physical Science teachers’ understanding of gender, and gender equity in
4.3.1.3. Gender equity is equal distribution of resources, access to equal opportunities, and
The results revealed that participants in this study had different understandings of gender equity.
Two of the six teachers interviewed understood gender equity as the equal distribution of resources and equal access to opportunities. When Nhlanhla was asked about the definition of gender equity, he indicated that “in the gender equity it will be the equal entitlement or ownership related to either males or females”. When asked him to elaborate, Nhlanhla stated, “so if it is gender equity it will means that there are equal opportunities for males and females to access resources, to
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access opportunities for learning and all that”. It was evident that Nhlanhla understood gender equity very well, but when he explained gender, he seemed to define it as different gendered roles.
He seemed to contradict himself. Lattifa also agreed that “gender is equal distribution of resources, access to opportunities, fair treatment amongst females and males in societies, communities, and institutions”. This concurs with the Gender Equity Task Team’s gender equity definition, which is the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women. Gender equity is not only about the provision of equal opportunities, access to resources and educational opportunities or gender parity. It is to provide the required conditions for gender equity to happen and to be achieved.
The results also revealed that some participants understood gender equity as the fair treatment of females and males. Muzi and David understood gender equity as “giving men and women fair opportunities and equal treatment of men and women regardless their different needs”. Muzi also expressed a similar sentiment when he described gender equity as “the fair and considerate treatment of persons given their sex/gender and the historic/previous treatment or biases based on traditional stereotypes and/or beliefs about sex/gender expectations in society. In science education, females have historically not been given the space and support to pursue education in science”. When probed, David elaborated, “for instance, women in South Africa have been marginalised. Thus with gender equity, the state allocates economic support to them in order to raise them to a more decent state. The proponents of gender equality would say that men and women are equal while gender equity promoters would say that men and women are different and therefore their needs and opportunities ought to be considered differently. For example, more funding to support girls doing science subjects, safe classrooms for girl students (rape cases), free sanitary towels in primary schools and so forth”. The understanding of gender equity as equal access to opportunities and fair treatment correspond with what was reported by Gender Equity Task Team Report (as cited in Mda & Mothatha 2000, p. 40) which is “concerned with the promotion of equal opportunities and fair treatment for men and women in personal, social, cultural, political and economic arena”. This understanding of gender equity is in line with the second approach discussed in the conceptual framework, which relates the understanding of gender equality with the removal of structural obstacles to gender equity, gender bias laws, unfair treatment at work and schooling and unequal distribution and access to resources.
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Smanga added, “by gender equity we mean to say people having the same position in terms of sex or the numbers are equal. For instance, let us say that in a company they have equal numbers of females and males. Any company around SA according to constitution must employ equal numbers of males and females but this is still doesn’t happening”. This understanding of gender equity is in line with the first approach of the conceptual framework of understanding gender equality.
Gender equality is understood in terms of equal numbers for boys and girls, women and men.
Nomusa highlighted that “I am not good with gender things” when she was asked about her understanding of gender equity. This response indicated that she did not understand gender equity.
It my view that the understanding of gender equity as fair treatment between men and women was more dominant over equal distribution of resources and access to equal opportunities. This finding indicated that participants in the study understood gender equity as fair treatment. The understanding of gender equity is being assumed to be fair treatment because in the past, South African women (irrespective of their race) had always been disfavoured by the past policies and laws. After the democratic elections in 1994, South Africa implemented equal opportunity and affirmative action legislation for South African women to address the imbalances of the past.
Therefore, inequity issues of women became important including their “rights, equality, welfare and empowerment” (Mathur-Helm, 2005, p.57). Thus, recently the understanding of gender equity as equal distribution is being undermined and invoked because the Gender Policy Framework (GFP) will never be achieved unless women in South Africa have equal “opportunity, access to resource sharing, control and decision making in the economy, provision of services, and access to fair treatment” (Mathur-Helm, 2005, p.57). Therefore, although South Africa has implemented the gender policies as discussed in the literature review chapter, their effectiveness and success is still questionable and under debates (Mathur-Helm, 2005).
Five of the participants understood gender equity as the equal distribution of resources and access opportunities and fair treatment to both males and females. The teachers’ understanding of gender equity is the same as defined in the literature, for example UNDP (2000) and Mda & Mothatha (2000, p. 40). Therefore, these findings indicate that the teachers in this study do have reasonable understandings of gender equity in general. This corresponds with Monyemore (2012) findings of primary school teachers on gender issues pertaining to gender balances with relation to males and females within their society. Monyemore (2012) found that teachers understood the South African
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Constitution’s clause very well which aims at eliminating all forms of discrimination regardless of gender, race and ethnicity. These findings fit within liberal feminism, as their focus is to ensure that there are equal opportunities for both males and females.